The second Richard starts laughing, Max starts grinning and laughing himself, and claps him on the shoulder. It's all good-natured, and while he wouldn't tell him - because God forbid this man get a compliment - his whole face changes when he laughs. He lights up.
It's nice to see.
"Not so much 'you suck', but maybe let's keep it realistic."
He picks up one of the smaller dumbbell, an 8kg, and hands it over. "How's that, and be honest - reckon you can go heavier, or do you wanna go lighter? And before you answer, this?" Max spreads his arms out, and moves them as if he's demonstrating a circle around them. "This is a magic fucking circle where it's impossible to sound pathetic, wow incredible, I'm a wizard."
Richard's laugh is almost a giggle and it transforms him from a sarcastic asshole to a rather charming guy, his smile and laugh are definitely the most attractive things about him.
"You say keep it realistic but then claim to be a wizard." He teases Max with a grin but takes the weight from him, hoisting it up and down a little and then nods.
"I think this is good. It feels heavy but not like 'holy shit I'm going to get a hernia lifting this in an effort to impress you' kind of way."
It really does; Max just hopes he can keep the mood up for the rest of the session at least.
"Yeah, I'm a realistic wizard - don't cheapen my degree alright, I worked hard for it."
He watches him, nodding when it seems like the weight works for him. With a smirk, he grabs the second, matching weight, hands that over as well. "The only way I want you to impress me is by giving this your best shot, yeah? I don't care if you can only do one set of each, just give me your best effort."
With a hand at Richard's back, Max guides him over to a clear space, away from the dumbbell racks and out of the way.
"Alright; you wanna keep it simple - really, all you need is to hit each muscle group and you're sorted, you don't need to do five exercises for each one, doesn't need to be complicated. If your form's good, even if you only get a couple of sets in, that's better than doing a shitload more but half-assing it."
As he lists the different muscle groups, he touches them on his own arm. "We're talkin' biceps, triceps, the shoulders, chest, and back. So," Max pretends he's holding a pair of weights himself, and demonstrates how the first movement will go. "bicep curl - you wanna keep your elbows tucked close to your sides throughout. But when you're bringing them down, keep it a little slower, controlled. Let's go for twenty."
With the second weight added to his other hand it is definitely a bit more difficult but still manageable, what's more difficult is staying focused on what Max is saying as he touches each of his own muscle groups. It's distracting, having each of these bulging muscles pointed out and Richard tries not to stare at Max's biceps.
"Elbows tucked...right. Okay." He muses out loud, his eyes still on Max's muscles but then he realizes that Max is expecting him to start the actual workout.
"Oh. Uh sorry." He mutters and tries to get into the same position as Max, which feels a bit like a joke. He looks like a fun house mirror reflection compared to the other man but he tries to put that thought aside and just lift the weights like he was told.
"Is this right?" He asks as he slowly does the move.
He notices Richard looking - have to be fucking blind not to - but he doesn't draw attention to it. Focuses instead on him, keeping the smile on his face encouraging instead of quietly amused. Flattered.
"Yeah, that's perfect - make sure you're inhaling on the easier bit, when you're lowerin' 'em down, and exhale when you're curling back up. There you go."
And then, when the last movement's done; "And you're done, gorgeous stuff. Chuck 'em down, give your arms a bit of a shake out. Not so bad right?"
"Inhale and exhale. So basically I should remember to breathe?" Richard asks sarcastically but does try to follow Max's instructions for the next few reps. His sarcasm is never hostile, it's just his natural tone of voice most of the time.
"Yeah I guess that wasn't too bad." He admits and puts the weights down carefully. "Now what?"
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no subject
Date: 2025-11-21 10:21 am (UTC)It's nice to see.
"Not so much 'you suck', but maybe let's keep it realistic."
He picks up one of the smaller dumbbell, an 8kg, and hands it over. "How's that, and be honest - reckon you can go heavier, or do you wanna go lighter? And before you answer, this?" Max spreads his arms out, and moves them as if he's demonstrating a circle around them. "This is a magic fucking circle where it's impossible to sound pathetic, wow incredible, I'm a wizard."
no subject
Date: 2025-11-23 02:14 am (UTC)"You say keep it realistic but then claim to be a wizard." He teases Max with a grin but takes the weight from him, hoisting it up and down a little and then nods.
"I think this is good. It feels heavy but not like 'holy shit I'm going to get a hernia lifting this in an effort to impress you' kind of way."
no subject
Date: 2025-11-24 11:10 pm (UTC)"Yeah, I'm a realistic wizard - don't cheapen my degree alright, I worked hard for it."
He watches him, nodding when it seems like the weight works for him. With a smirk, he grabs the second, matching weight, hands that over as well. "The only way I want you to impress me is by giving this your best shot, yeah? I don't care if you can only do one set of each, just give me your best effort."
With a hand at Richard's back, Max guides him over to a clear space, away from the dumbbell racks and out of the way.
"Alright; you wanna keep it simple - really, all you need is to hit each muscle group and you're sorted, you don't need to do five exercises for each one, doesn't need to be complicated. If your form's good, even if you only get a couple of sets in, that's better than doing a shitload more but half-assing it."
As he lists the different muscle groups, he touches them on his own arm. "We're talkin' biceps, triceps, the shoulders, chest, and back. So," Max pretends he's holding a pair of weights himself, and demonstrates how the first movement will go. "bicep curl - you wanna keep your elbows tucked close to your sides throughout. But when you're bringing them down, keep it a little slower, controlled. Let's go for twenty."
no subject
Date: 2025-11-25 10:05 pm (UTC)"Elbows tucked...right. Okay." He muses out loud, his eyes still on Max's muscles but then he realizes that Max is expecting him to start the actual workout.
"Oh. Uh sorry." He mutters and tries to get into the same position as Max, which feels a bit like a joke. He looks like a fun house mirror reflection compared to the other man but he tries to put that thought aside and just lift the weights like he was told.
"Is this right?" He asks as he slowly does the move.
DW ATE MY REPLY I thought I got back to this days ago sobs aggressively arthur fist meme
Date: 2025-11-27 10:19 pm (UTC)"Yeah, that's perfect - make sure you're inhaling on the easier bit, when you're lowerin' 'em down, and exhale when you're curling back up. There you go."
And then, when the last movement's done; "And you're done, gorgeous stuff. Chuck 'em down, give your arms a bit of a shake out. Not so bad right?"
Boooo DW! Stop eating shit you're not supposed to! XP
Date: 2025-11-28 12:11 am (UTC)"Yeah I guess that wasn't too bad." He admits and puts the weights down carefully. "Now what?"