Bodybuilding with Borough Men

Bodybuilding and exercising is the rage today. I began body building in my thirties when it wasn’t as popular. I stuck with it till I was in my late forties. Bodybuilding was looked upon as a sport (hobby) back then. Today it’s looked upon as healthy workout sessions. It doesn’t seem to matter to doctors what your ailment is. They insist that patients exercise.

Many workout places have trainers available. To be a certified trainer, all that’s needed is to take a test by studying a few questions online. Hey, you even get three chances to take it over should you fail the 10 questions. It’s easier than taking a driver’s test. Perhaps, that’s why you hardly see any results on people walking out of bodybuilding facilities. A sport trainer is a whole other animal, with a college degree who can take you to the next level.

We have a bodybuilding area in our basement. My twins worked out every day, lifting weights and playing the same soundtrack, “Rocky I.” You could hear their grunts and the music on the second floor. They’d say, “where there’s no pain, there’s no gain.” When the grandchildren came along they followed their fathers into the basement workout place. The music changed and the grunts seemed louder.

When I got my office in NYC I looked for a place to work out. An R&B from Memphis singer named NaNa and I would head for Beacon Center in Harlem. We’d work out everyday in a facility there. I learned a new kind of bodybuilding, which I call Borough Men. In a room filled with mostly urban men, bodybuilders from one borough would challenge bodybuilders from another borough.

Each bodybuilder would show how strong he was by the amount of weight he could bench-press. It seemed like everyone there wanted NaNa’s a**. He had no borough behind him, only me. After three months of eye contact from all the Borough Men watching us bodybuild, a guy stepped forward and said, “it’s your turn, show us what you got.”

NaNa said, “add another weight to what you just pressed.” The room became still. I said, “NaNa what are you doing?” On the way back up with the weight bar, NaNa was struggling. No one helped him. His eyes were bulged like a bullfrog’s. He made one last effort. He reached the rack holder, stood to his feet and said, “no one messes with a man from Memphis, mother fu**ers.” We walked backwards out of the facility and never went back. After that I look at bodybuilding as more than just a sport. It makes you healthy. I learned challenges in bodybuilding can bring forth Borough Men from every state.