Cultivating through increasing my stats in America-Chapter 130 - 129: The First Experience of Arm Wrestling
The gym had a large enough scale to continue accommodating Li Ang’s needs, but the quiet atmosphere he used to enjoy while working out alone was now impossible.
"Li Ang, with this weight, are you really not going to wear any protective gear?"
Li Ang shook his head and joked in response:
"Maybe this weight was my limit last time, but now it might just be a warm-up weight."
While he spoke, he added weight to the barbell on the bench press rack, reaching 160kg.
This weight for bench pressing had only been challenged by Blair before, but as his age increased, he hadn’t tried this weight in a long time.
Although Li Ang made a joke with his words, the actual weight he first attempted was indeed 160kg.
Around him, a good ten or so people gathered, over half holding up mobile phones to record, two or three on standby to spot him, and a few excitedly discussing just how terrifying this weight was.
pounds was a weight many veteran gym-goers wouldn’t dare attempt for squats, but now Li Ang had it supported with his two arms.
Even though his thick palms showed bulging veins, the barbell in his hands was utterly stable, without a hint of wobble.
When Li Ang finally lifted the weight, the entire place erupted with vigorous cheering.
The gym owner, Griffin, couldn’t hide the smile on his face.
Their gym had seen a significant uptick in foot traffic thanks to the addition of the powerhouse Li Ang, whose reputation spread far better than any ordinary advertisement could.
However, as Li Ang lowered the barbell, the onlookers realized he wasn’t planning to put it back on the rack but instead lowered it in a slow and steady manner for another bench press.
Only then did everyone grasp that Li Ang wasn’t joking; he was truly using this weight as a warm-up.
In the subsequent training, Li Ang didn’t display anything too sensational, merely demonstrating a 180kg bench press in sets, 6 sets of 8 reps.
For Li Ang’s current muscular endurance, to exhaust himself, he had to use weights close to his limit and attempt sets; otherwise, anything lighter wouldn’t even make his arms feel pressured.
Mid-training, Li Ang also measured his height and weight.
181cm in height, 75.8kg in weight.
Compared to a while ago, his height had increased by another two centimeters. Although this growth rate was quite astounding, considering his age of 17 and late development, it wasn’t that outrageous.
However, his weight had grown significantly, gaining a full ten pounds compared to the last slap competition.
There was no way around it; gaining muscle strength without an increase in weight was impossible.
But what was unique about Li Ang was that the weight he gained wasn’t obviously reflected in his muscle mass, partly due to his height increase and largely because of his exceptionally high bone and muscle density.
This resulted in his muscles still appearing in what others would consider a perfect state, with beautifully defined lines but not being overly exaggerated.
An afternoon of extreme intensity training led to a significant increase in his "Strength" attribute.
But ordinary people couldn’t possibly train like him, as they would likely end up with rhabdomyolysis if they didn’t die of exhaustion first.
"Li Ang, want to try arm wrestling?"
Griffin, the gym’s co-owner and a shareholder, watched him finish his training and sincerely stood by the specialized arm-wrestling table, inviting him.
This wasn’t because he feared Li Ang’s strength and wanted to wait until he was nearly exhausted before challenging him.
Okay, maybe there was a little bit of that reason, being the current arm wrestling ceiling in the gym and also the owner; losing to a young man new to arm wrestling would be too embarrassing.
"Why not?"
Li Ang was actually quite interested in this sport, but he had never involved himself before because his Strength was not up to par.
Over the recent period, he had finally managed to overcome his biggest weakness, Strength, and could now try some of the sports that had been inaccessible to him before.
When people heard that Li Ang was going to try arm wrestling, the previously quiet crowd suddenly gathered around again.
Watching this was much more interesting than just seeing others pump iron; what always attracted men the most was the most primitive, direct confrontation.
Although Li Ang had shown a terrifying talent for Strength, far surpassing Griffin’s results in the three major lifts, the crowd still did not favor Li Ang over Griffin.
That’s because arm wrestling is not just about the Strength of the biceps; it also requires wrist Strength, finger Strength, and even the rotational force of the shoulder joints, among other types of Strength seldom used in everyday life.
Besides, this sport also involves a certain degree of skill, and there’s a significant gap between newcomers and veterans.
Therefore, it is noticeable that many bodybuilders, even those who can bench press over two hundred kilograms, are not necessarily able to defeat a lightweight division champion who is much lighter than them in arm wrestling.
The two men did not start the match immediately after standing at the table; instead, Griffin explained the rules and techniques of exerting force to Li Ang first.
Griffin didn’t want to lose face but also didn’t want to take advantage of Li Ang, the newcomer, in such matters.
Teaching him the correct posture for exerting force was also to avoid injuries to the greatest extent possible.
Generally speaking, those who seriously engage in arm wrestling rarely get injured. It’s the amateurs who play recklessly that often encounter muscle strains, ligament injuries, or even joint dislocations.
Li Ang’s learning ability was undoubtedly exceptional at this point, needing only one explanation to remember all the techniques that Griffin had taught him, and he was even able to use them in practice immediately.
The moment their hands gripped each other, Li Ang could feel that Griffin’s palm was indeed broader and thicker than his own—a natural advantage in arm wrestling.
"Are you ready? I’m going to start exerting force," Griffin said.
Li Ang nodded, and under the expectant gazes of the onlookers, the two men’s hands finally began to slowly move towards Griffin’s side.
But after a mere two or three centimeters, this shift stopped and then fell into an eerie stillness.
"Exert your strength, Griffin!"
"This is Li Ang’s first arm wrestling match, you’ve got to fight for our honor."
"Come on! Come on!"
Amidst the jeers from the spectators, Griffin’s face grew redder and redder, like a red-faced duck.
Unfortunately for him, his wrist, after that initial shift, did not move any further.
Li Ang carefully analyzed the details of Griffin’s attempt to exert force. Through their handshake and the deliberate allowance Li Ang made for Griffin to exert force, he had already dissected Griffin’s entire technique through the muscles.
In other words, within those few seconds, Li Ang had already managed to stealthily learn in practice.
This required not only Li Ang’s familiarity with human muscles but also his brain’s powerful computational ability, which meant that, in some ways, the toll on Li Ang was quite substantial as well.
After he had fully assimilated it, Li Ang began to exert force slowly as well.
So the stillness that had lasted for a while in both of their wrists finally began to shift slowly towards Li Ang’s side.
After almost the same distance was moved in the opposite direction, Li Ang’s wrist suddenly broke away, signalling a tie between the two in this round.
