“Feel the burn!”
“For those who wish to build muscle and strengthen their bodies, I always get asked how I became so large and powerful!”
“To which I say, one must not simply feel the burn in their muscles as they lift those mighty weights. As you take the bar in your hand and push it towards the ceiling you will feel every fiber in your body begging for relief.”
“As you begin to struggle, you have a very important choice to make. Either you push through the fires as they engulf your muscles, you move past the burning in your skin.”
“Or you collapse beneath the pain as your tendons ignite. You drop the weight you fought so hard to lift and fall back onto the bench in an exhausted, broken heap.”
“It is okay, not everyone can heave the weight off of themselves the first time.”
“But as the sweat drips from your brow and your flesh aches, you must try again.”
“For the moment you cease to try is the moment where you let the burn win. Everything you have worked for, all the pain endured, it will all be for nothing.”
“Maxwell, James, you two are no stranger to feeling the burning in your hearts and the blaze upon your skin. Truly, all of Arcadia must look upon you as beacons of endurance and power, correct?”
“However, I do not see that when I see you, my friends. No, when I look upon you all I can see are two men who were truly too weak to support the weight placed upon their shoulders. From the destruction of your beloved home to the death of your dear sweet wife and mother… You have been made a burn deep within your souls.”
“One so immense that you allowed it to define yourselves.”
“As the pain of your lives came crashing down upon you, the burn in your muscles became all that you knew. As Doom and Hatchet add more weight upon the bar that you can barely lift, you have made your choice.”
“You are tired, you are broken, you are scorched.”
“And as such you have given up on lifting that bar.”
“You felt the burn and you refused to push past it. Try as you might to stand back up with those plates upon the bar, you simply cannot.”
“Thus you sit, wallowing in self pity, angry at your inability to push your past off of your shoulders.”
“But have no fear, friends. You have front row tickets to Arcadia’s greatest show! One where I can show you what happens when you feel that burn and refuse to allow it to control you.”
“I shall show you true strength and unmatched power!”
“With one of your broken bodies upon either shoulder I shall throw you about the ring for the crowd’s enjoyment. I will show them what endurance and power really mean.”
“But fret not, friends.”
“You may be weak now.”
“But what doesn’t kill you shall make you stronger.”