Ethan was instantly embarrassed.
She placed one palm lightly above his lower abdomen, while the other gently supported the outside of his knee.
But Jasmine acted as if she hadn't noticed at all and continued, "Now let's start crunch training. The goal is to activate the core. Hold your head with both hands, open your elbows, and use your abdominal strength to lift your upper body, keeping your lower back firmly against the bench. 25 reps per set, with a 60-second break between sets. Ready? Let's begin!"
"Alright." With Ethan's face feeling a bit hot right now, he could only grit his teeth and start.
Suppressing the embarrassment, he began doing crunches one by one. Jasmine quietly counted for him, calling out breathing rhythm along the way.
"One... watch your breathing, exhale as you roll up... inhale as you lower..."
"Five... slow down, feel the abs engage..."
"Ten... very good, hang in there..."
"Thirteen... keep it up~~" Her voice suddenly carried a hint of barely noticeable lightness.
"Fifteen... great! Keep the rhythm..."
Jasmine's voice was gentle, yet carried a rhythmic pull.
Every count, every bit of encouragement, brushed against Ethan's tense nerves like a feather, mixed with the strange sensation on the outside of his thigh, making his heartbeat go a little off-rhythm.
...
After the first set, Ethan felt no real strain. After all, since being reborn, his physical strength had gone way up. But strangely, even without the effort, his muscles still ached all over.
Just as he was about to relax, Jasmine's hands had already settled on him.
Her fingertips were slightly cool, yet carried irresistible pressure, pressing precisely into his abs, following the direction of the muscle fibers, gradually pressing and kneading from light to heavy.
Her technique was extremely professional, with just the right amount of pressure, instantly relieving the strange ache and bringing an indescribable relief.
"Mmm..." Ethan was so comfortable he almost groaned, cursing inwardly: Damn, this move is... no wonder they can charge this much! The happiness of the rich really is this simple!
No wonder everyone wants to be rich.
After finishing five sets of crunches, Jasmine massaged him for a full five minutes before finally standing up.
She walked around to the top of Ethan's head, spread her legs shoulder-width apart, and stood firmly on either side of his head. Then she bent over, placing her hands on both sides of his abdomen again.
"Next, let's do a leg raise to strengthen your lower abs. Keep your legs together and straight, lift them to a 45-degree angle, hold for 60 seconds, and feel the burn deep in your abs. Five sets, same count." She explained.
Ethan obeyed and lifted his legs forcefully, his abdominal muscles instantly tensing like iron plates.
Jasmine applied slight downward pressure with both hands to help him maintain his angle and stability.
In this position, Ethan's face was almost pressed against her tight, flat stomach wrapped in her leggings. A unique fragrance blending gym-fresh perfume and her own scent lingered at the tip of his nose — a warm hint of sweat rising off her skin, carrying an indescribable allure.
After holding out for a minute, Ethan put his legs down heavily and let out a long, heavy breath.
The warm air brushed over Jasmine's lower stomach, and Ethan could even clearly see the tiny fuzz on her delicate skin gently swaying under the current.
After the first set ended, Jasmine's hand returned to his abdomen, her fingertips firmly kneading the spasming muscles: "Nice! Your core control is pretty solid. One more set, let's push through."
Her encouragement carried a strange kind of power.
At this moment, Ethan's mind was filled only with some line from a comment section he'd once seen in his previous life: no wonder people can't stay motivated to work out — turns out all you need is a "good" coach like this!
...
After finishing the five leg lifts, Ethan felt as if his entire abdomen had been hollowed out, weak and sore.
"Man, my workout volume today is a bit above normal."
Jasmine leaned down, pulled out a faintly scented tissue, and gently wiped the sweat from his temples: "Rest for five minutes, then we'll finish with the final set: weighted push-ups, to hit chest, shoulders, and back together."
"Whew." Ethan was slightly out of breath.
Jasmine brought over a bottle of chilled electrolyte water, twisted open the cap and held it to his lips. Ethan took a few sips from her hand.
The cool liquid slid down his throat, making him feel much better.
She then brought over a clean towel, handed it to Ethan to wipe his face and neck himself, then naturally took it back and helped wipe the visible sweat from his back and arms.
"Alright, time's up. Let's begin!" When the timer went off, Jasmine's voice rang out.
Following instructions, Ethan bent over the mat to get into position.
Just as he was about to lower down, he felt a weight settle over his lower back and hips. Jasmine spread her knees and knelt just below his lower back, gently supporting the area beneath his shoulder blades to help him keep his balance.
"Keep your core tight, keep your back straight, lower at a steady pace, then push up. I'll adjust the resistance based on your strength." She explained, her voice just above his head.
Ethan could clearly see, through the full-length mirror on the side wall in front of him, a rather distracting shape reflected behind her.
Turns out weighted push-ups just meant the coach adjusting her own weight in real time based on his effort! In plain terms, it meant sitting directly on his lower back.
This kind of hands-on guidance was really... impressive results, but a real test of composure.
After finishing the push-ups, he did another set of weighted squats with Jasmine providing close-contact support.
Ethan squatted down and stood back up holding a heavy barbell, while Jasmine pressed close behind him, her arms loosely wrapped around his waist and back, ready to provide support at any moment. With every deep squat, he could feel the closeness of her body and the transfer of effort.
After the trial session, Ethan felt completely drained, but his spirit was unusually charged up.
In short, it came down to two words: extremely professional, extremely "comfortable."
"Forget $16,000 for this service — even double that would be worth it!" Ethan slumped onto the high-quality leather sofa in the corner of the studio, staring at the ceiling with genuine admiration.
If every gym came with a "coach" like this as standard, wouldn't a six-pack basically become the national norm?
Jasmine knelt halfway beside the sofa, holding a clean hot towel, carefully and gently wiping the remaining sweat from the back of his neck and arms. Her movements were focused and gentle, as if handling a precious work of art.
The air was filled with the faint warmth of exercise and the lingering scent of cedar and bergamot.
Ethan closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment, when suddenly he felt Jasmine pause in wiping his face.
He slightly opened his eyes and caught her quickly averting her gaze and a faint, barely noticeable blush at the base of her ear, which vanished in an instant.
She quickly regained her professional composure, as if that earlier moment had just been Ethan's imagination.
"How are you feeling, Ethan?" She lifted her head, her smile still bright, but her gaze seemed even deeper than before.
Ethan nodded, twisted off the cap of the electrolyte water, and took another sip. The cold liquid slid down his throat, easing some of his fatigue.
There are 130 advance chapters ahead in my Patreon. If you are interested can check it out.
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