0117 The Self-Regulating Myocardium

After listening to Chen Jue’s explanation of “Hundred Steps Piercing Willow” and “Shooting Spears at the Gate,” Wu Fang couldn’t help but marvel, “That’s really impressive! The farthest distance in Olympic archery is only 70 meters, and your shot clearly exceeded a hundred meters this time.”

“To be able to hit such a tiny target from that far away, if you entered a competition, you’d definitely place high!”

Seeing Wu Fang praise him so much, Chen Jue felt a flicker of excitement.

However, sports competition is a brutally demanding path in life; stepping onto the field requires a heart of steel.

Given Chen Jue’s current mental state, wearing a mask and showcasing his skills online is already quite a stretch. If he were to actually compete under the watchful eyes of thousands, he estimated he could only perform at about fifty to sixty percent of his ability.

Moreover, fame isn’t always a blessing. There are countless cases like Liu Feiren, who fell from grace spectacularly.

When you achieve glory and fame in the sports arena, everyone applauds you, but once you fall due to misfortune, you face disgrace and universal disdain.

Chen Jue felt that, with his personality, simply recording videos of his skills and occasionally livestreaming was enough to sustain his livelihood.

As for becoming a sports star constantly in front of cameras, chasing after fame and fortune, he decided to pass on that.

Besides, the sports world isn’t something one can enter just by desire; there are many intricacies outsiders can’t imagine.

…

After training with Wu Fang in the morning, the two left the park chatting and laughing.

Chen had planned to drive her to work, but seeing her politely decline along the way, he decided against it.

Since their relationship hadn’t been confirmed as boyfriend and girlfriend, giving her a ride to school could invite gossip and affect her job.

They agreed to meet again for morning training the next day, and Chen drove back to his apartment in high spirits.

Having a girl accompany him during training made the morning workout feel especially fulfilling. Not only did he feel physically energized and unusually excited, but his mindset during training also became very positive.

Back at the apartment, after tidying his textbooks, Chen went for a light jog to Jiang University for class.

He had two anatomy classes in the morning, covering both biomedical and clinical medicine.

Having just completed intense strength training during the morning workout, Chen planned to get through Monday morning classes by supplementing his knowledge of the human body.

Although Li Rui had designed a full-day training schedule from dawn till dusk, being at a top university like Jiang University meant Chen couldn’t spend all his time exercising; he needed to absorb theoretical knowledge about the body as well.

It was like warfare—simply upgrading new equipment doesn’t fully enhance combat power; soldiers also need to learn tactics and ideology to improve their combat quality.

…

Carrying a small bag, Chen entered the classroom and took a seat in a rear corner, pulling out a grip strengthener to slowly squeeze.

After days of strength training, he noticed his grip strength had improved again.

His normal grip strength limit had risen from 105 kg to 110 kg, and with the “Mingjin” power technique, this limit could increase to around 125 kg.

This grip strength was already exceptional on a national or even global scale, placing him in the top tier—only 17 kg short of Lei Heng, the strongest grip in China at 142 kg.

If he wished, Chen could even make it onto the GM150 World Grip Strength Ranking.

…

However, Chen’s goal in training grip strength was solely to win gold bricks; he had little interest in the niche grip strength rankings.

As he squeezed the grip trainer while listening, the two anatomy lectures focused on the sternum and heart.

The sternum is a special bone located at the center of the chest wall, shaped somewhat like a tie or an inverted sword handle—broad at the top and narrow at the bottom, convex in front and concave behind. It consists of three parts from top to bottom: the manubrium, the body, and the xiphoid process.

Its main function is to maintain the stability of the chest cavity’s contour and protect the organs inside.

If infants lack vitamin D and calcium during development, the sternum can protrude abnormally forward, causing a condition known as pectus carinatum or “pigeon chest.”

As for the heart, it is the vital organ that drives blood circulation, composed of four chambers—the left and right atria and the left and right ventricles. Its shape resembles a peach, filled with numerous arteries, veins, and nerves.

The heart’s power comes from the unique cardiac muscle, or myocardium, which is distributed in the heart wall and the roots of large vessels. It belongs to the cardiovascular system.

The structure of cardiac muscle tissue is very similar to skeletal muscle but possesses highly special properties of automaticity and conductivity.

Automaticity means that, even without external stimuli, the myocardium can maintain its inherent rhythmic contractions.

Chen recalled witnessing a sudden cardiac death caused by a man who consumed heavy, oily, high-cholesterol food and kept irregular hours, which clogged the blood supply to the heart. This led to oxygen imbalance in the myocardium, disrupting its automatic contractions.

The principle is like a car engine’s air intake being blocked—without oxygen, gasoline cannot combust properly, causing the engine to misfire and stall.

The myocardium’s main component is cardiac muscle cells, which, like skeletal muscle and nerve cells, generate action potentials when excited.

If these cardiac cells’ action potentials become imbalanced, it affects the myocardium’s automatic contractions, resulting in dangerous conditions such as myocardial infarction or ventricular fibrillation.

At this point, emergency treatment with an AED (automated external defibrillator) applies an external electrical current to stimulate the cardiac cells’ action potentials, rebooting the myocardium to restore its automatic function.

It’s akin to jump-starting a car whose battery is dead by connecting it to an external power source, allowing the engine to restart under external voltage stimulation.

Because Chen came from an automotive finance background, applying his work experience to medical knowledge made it surprisingly easy to understand and far from dry, quickly illuminating several previously confusing points about human anatomy.

…

After spending the whole morning attending two useful classes and squeezing out a 0.01 strength attribute with the grip trainer, Chen felt very fulfilled.

After lunch, he took a walk back to the Wangyang apartment and stopped by the delivery station.

A large batch of items had arrived, all from the training list Li Rui had prepared.

From dumbbells and barbells to various sports protective gear, including a full 75 kg set of weighted equipment, everything had been delivered.

When Chen went to pick up the packages, the delivery station owner teased him, saying every item he bought was heavier than the last, and even the delivery drivers complained.

Because the combined weight was nearly half a ton, the electric tricycles used for delivery struggled, making multiple trips to deliver everything.

Chen smiled awkwardly, chatted a bit with the station owner, then bought a pack of cigarettes from the nearby convenience store, stepped outside for a smoke, and borrowed a flatbed cart.

He then made several trips hauling all the training equipment back to his room.

Looking at his increasingly crowded 40-square-meter apartment, Chen wondered if he should find a bigger place.

The barbell rack alone took up a large amount of space when placed against the wall.

“Forget it, I just moved in not long ago. I won’t rearrange anything for now,” he decided.

“If it really gets cramped, I’ll just rent a larger space specifically to store these training devices,” Chen mused, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

…

After a one-hour nap in the afternoon, Chen woke up and began rummaging around his room.

He packed his swimming trunks, goggles, and some supplements into his bag, then put on the adjustable weighted vest.

This vest was a concealed type, with weights adjustable from 2 to 50 kg by changing the number of inserts inside.

Since it was his first time wearing such weighted equipment, Chen didn’t dare to overload himself and set it to 20 kg. He also added weighted straps to his arms and legs.

Altogether, the added weight was 27 kg. After putting on his sportswear over it, Chen started moving around.

He found that compared to carrying a large sports backpack, this close-fitting weighted vest restricted limb movement much more.

Especially with weights on his hands, feet, and shoulders, every step and movement felt somewhat awkward.

Fortunately, Chen’s strength attribute was already quite high, so he tried jogging downstairs toward Jiang University.

Instead of going to the track, he headed straight for the university’s indoor swimming pool.

According to Li Rui’s training plan, swimming sessions were scheduled every few days.

Swimming not only helps with body shaping and fat loss but is especially effective at enhancing cardiopulmonary function. Compared to running or hiking, swimming also causes the least damage to the knees.

However, because it was Chen’s first time jogging with a 27-kg load, he found the 2.5-kilometer distance particularly exhausting.

By the time he reached the entrance of the indoor swimming pool, sweat drenched his entire body, and he felt more fatigued than any previous warm-up jog.

At that moment, his interface popped up a notification:

——————

[ Ding~ ]

[ Completed a high-intensity weighted aerobic exercise. Your entire muscle group has been fully exercised; muscle endurance has improved, and your stamina has slightly increased. ]

[ Strength attribute +0.02 ]

[ Freedom attribute +0.01 ]

First update~

(End of chapter)