0148 The Hidden Dangers of Dopamine

"Senior! That is insane!"
"A 900-kilogram leg press! Just looking at it gives me goosebumps!"
"There are barely a few people in our entire country who can lift that kind of weight!" Wang Xin led a group of members from the Self-Discipline Club swarming over, snapping photos and making a huge commotion.

They say excessive fitness attracts the same sex, and Chen Jue was finally witnessing it firsthand.
Had it been his former self, seeing someone press such an exaggerated weight would have only made him glance over a few more times.
After all, human strength is also a form of aesthetics, much like those professional strongmen who can easily rake in cash and eyeballs just by making a commercial appearance.

"I still have a long way to go. 900 kilograms is barely a partial press."
"Look, I didn't even dare to drop the safety rack. It's too heavy; my knees can't take it," Chen Jue said with a touch of modesty as he stepped off the leg press machine.

That burst of extreme leg drive just now had truly pushed the limits of his body.
Having performed just a single short-range rep of a dozen centimeters or so, Chen Jue could already feel his legs aching heavily, accompanied by a faint tearing sensation in his knee and ankle joints.

"Even a partial press is incredibly impressive!"
"Besides, Senior, you're a natural bodybuilder. Your leg circumference is still quite slim, and your muscle mass hasn't even reached its upper limit yet. Anyone can tell you're natty; there's definitely huge room for improvement ahead."
"Who knows, maybe you'll eventually be doing working sets by the ton just like those foreign legends, and take the national record for the leg press straight to the top!" Wang Xin said excitedly, gazing at Chen Jue's talent with intense envy.

One must know that fitness is a sport that relies heavily on talent. Most people train for years and still look like skinny runts, while only a tiny fraction can build muscles that grow outward with distinct angles and striated definition.
This is actually inextricably linked to personal constitution, such as basal metabolic rate, body fat percentage, digestion, and absorption.

According to popular theories in the current fitness circle, human talent is generally categorized into three somatotypes:

Ectomorph: Characterized by a short upper torso, slender limbs, long and narrow palms and soles. At the same time, the body has a high basal metabolic rate and stores very little fat, belonging to the type that is naturally immune to getting fat no matter how much they eat, commonly known as the skinny-runt constitution.

Mesomorph: Characterized by a broad chest, a longer torso, medium-length limbs, solid muscle structure, and naturally prominent strength. People with this constitution are not very tall but look exceptionally solid; for instance, Olympic weightlifter Lv the God of Army possesses this body type.

Endomorph: Characterized by a wide skeletal frame, a round face, a short neck, very large hips, soft muscle tissue, a body that easily stores heavy fat, and a well-developed digestive system with a particularly large appetite. Most people who can gain weight just by drinking water fall into this category.

Based on these three talent classifications, Chen Jue's constitution roughly fell into the mesomorph category—the kind of people commonly referred to as having "natural divine strength."
Even without much exercise, Chen Jue's innate muscular strength was stronger than that of an ordinary person.
The moment he began to awaken his self-discipline, his muscles would visibly grow with even the slightest bit of exercise.
If he were to resort to science and hardcore enhancements, he would basically be aiming straight for championship titles. Therefore, people with a mesomorph constitution are also referred to in the bodybuilding circle as having a champion physique.

...

After chatting with Wang Xin and the others and sorting out the piled-up dumbbell plates, Chen Jue resumed his lower-body and core strength training.
Since a 900-kilogram press was out of the question, he compromised and dropped down to 500 kilograms for working sets.
Combined with an oxygen-restriction mask and blood-flow restriction bands, after finishing 10 sets of 30 reps on the leg press, Chen Jue was completely exhausted, yet he could clearly feel that the muscles in both of his legs had swelled up by a small circle.

At that moment, the status panel popped up with a notification:

——————
[Ding~]
[You have completed a bout of limit-breaking comprehensive restriction training. The blood flow in your lower limbs was hindered by external pressure, the blood lactate concentration in your body increased, metabolites accumulated, growth hormone secretion was enhanced, muscle protein synthesis accelerated, and some muscles exhibited symptoms of hypertrophy.]
[In a hypoxic environment, your hemoglobin content increased, your body entered an active breathing state, your respiratory muscles were trained and strengthened, and your cardiopulmonary function improved.]
[Strength Attribute +0.02]
[Constitution Attribute +0.01]
[Free Attribute +0.01]
——————
[Ding~]
[High-intensity lower-body weight-bearing exercise caused minor tearing in your leg ligaments, along with minor damage to your knee menisci and ankle joints.]
[Temporary Constitution Attribute -0.05]
[Temporary Strength Attribute -0.10]
[Friendly Reminder: Please reasonably schedule your training intensity to avoid the body's natural risk-avoidance defense mechanisms being interfered with by the large amount of dopamine generated during exercise.]
——————

"Hiss!"
"I actually got injured?"
Chen Jue hurriedly stepped down from the leg press machine and tried moving around the gym to test it out.
At first, the pain was rather faint. As the temporary attributes boosted by the pre-workout and various buff enhancements began to fade and the physical excitement wore off, Chen Jue finally noticed a hint of a stinging sensation in the joints of both legs.

During intense physical exercise, the human body produces a large amount of dopamine, which is why people who frequent the gym often feel happier and even experience a certain degree of stimulation and psychological pleasure.
However, this excitement and stimulation can dull the pain caused by physical damage. Sometimes, when you bump or strain yourself, you only notice bruises on a certain muscle once you get back home.

Chen Jue had encountered a similar situation. With too many status stacks, training too wildly, and getting a bit carried away grinding attributes, he had overlooked the negative side effects brought on by the workout.
"Fortunately, it's only a minor tear. If it were an irreversible ligament rupture, that kind of severe injury would be a real headache!"
Chen Jue was suddenly overcome with lingering fear; it was a good thing he noticed it early, otherwise, he would have ended up in the hospital this time.

...

Realizing his physical discomfort, Chen Jue hurriedly packed up his things, bid farewell to Wang Xin and the others, and tiptoed out of the gym.
First, he temporarily stored his weighted equipment in Jiang University's security office, then hailed a cab directly to the Tianyu Rehabilitation Center.

As the center partnered with the top-tier Grade-A general hospital next door, Chen Jue directly registered for an expert consultation at Tianyu's front desk, and was then wheeled by a staff member to the hospital's radiology department to get scans of his legs.
By this time, Chen Jue didn't even dare to put his feet on the ground to walk; the joints in both legs were stinging fiercely, and visually, they were visibly swollen by a circle.

Fortunately, after the doctor's diagnosis, the condition was not particularly severe. It fell under the category of normal soft tissue contusion, with fluid pooling in the joint ligaments. Being prescribed some topical and internal medication and resting for a period of time would allow him to recover.
This at last allowed the stone hanging in Chen Jue's heart to drop slightly.
After all, the body is the foundation of everything; getting himself injured just to grind for a few stat points was truly quite inappropriate.

"My body is still not strong enough!"
"Blindly building muscle and strength while the supporting bone and ligament strength failed to keep up," Chen Jue sighed inwardly. This was probably the limitation of Western-style training.

Major massage and stretching were out of the question after an injury; he could only perform slight rehabilitation massages.
Handing the medication and scans prescribed by the hospital over to Master Liu in the massage room, the practitioner took one look and wore a look of complaint: "Tell me, how many times has this been that you've come to me?"
"Good thing it's only a minor tear. If your ligament had snapped, your life would be in real trouble!"

While applying medicine to Chen Jue, Master Liu recounted a few cases of ligament ruptures in the sports world.
For instance, China's flying hurdler Liu, the giant center Yao, and players like Rose in the foreign NBA had all suffered ligament ruptures. Upon returning to the court, they continued to experience frequent recurrences of injuries to the same spot, ultimately forcing them into premature retirement at their peak.

Although Master Liu didn't know what sport Chen Jue trained in, seeing him frequently appear at the rehabilitation center told him the kid was definitely doing work related to athletics.
Those who ate from the athletic bowl feared injury and illness above all else, so Master Liu specifically admonished Chen Jue to mind his safety.

Chen Jue humbly accepted the advice, inquired about a few precautions for repairing ligaments, and then rented a pair of crutches at the Tianyu Center, using them to avoid putting weight on his legs and worsening the condition.
Using crutches for the very first time, Chen Jue was a bit unaccustomed to it.
After being assisted by a Tianyu staff member to walk a lap, he gradually adapted.
When he hailed a cab back to his apartment, the kid was already using the crutches as if they were his own real legs, leveraging his powerful upper-body strength to suspend his entire body in mid-air.

Clack, clack, clack—using the crutches to make sharp turns with agile speed, he scaled the five flights of stairs in a flash and returned to his room.

...

Back in his room, Chen Jue first stepped into the bathtub to soak in a medicinal bath to promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis, then dug out all his backup topical medicines for bruises and strains, reapplying them to his legs along with the newly prescribed hospital ointment.
When he finally lay down on the bed, the swelling in his legs had noticeably subsided by a circle, but the stinging sensation of the ligament tear had not faded away.

With no other choice, Chen Jue pulled up his attribute panel:

——————
[Name: Chen Jue]
[Strength: 1.99 (-0.10)]
[Constitution: 2.42 (-0.05)]
[Spirit: 1.73]
[Skills: Omitted]
[Available Free Attribute: 0.05]
[Character Evaluation: Omitted]
[Friendly Reminder: Some ligaments are in a torn and damaged state. The fascial tissue within that region is experiencing moderate inflammation; please undergo rehabilitation treatment as soon as possible and avoid strenuous exercise.]
——————

"Good thing I've accumulated some attribute points over the past couple of days."
"Otherwise, I wouldn't even be able to go out tomorrow!"

Chen Jue felt a secret sense of relief, activated the [Targeted Allocation] function, and switched the human 3D structural diagram directly to the injured knee and ankle joints.
Without much hesitation, he poured all 0.05 free attributes into them in one breath.

——————
[Ding~]
[Completed a targeted attribute allocation. Blood circulation in the designated region accelerated, and the accumulated lactic acid and inflammation are gradually subsiding. The fascia and ligaments have undergone enhanced self-healing, and their elasticity and functionality have been improved and upgraded.]
——————