Learning Bodily Sensations — Getting the Pump

Abstract

In many ways, the above observation is characteristic of how the acquisition of physical skills can take place and manifest itself within a gym context. As an experienced bodybuilder, Tommy is quick to embrace the position of teacher and personal trainer. Further, he frequently mentions his own bodily sensations while instructing. He talks about bodybuilding as “a feeling that must be experienced”. While the role of personal trainer has been investigated in the previous chapter (see also Chapter 5), this chapter will focus on the bodily “feelings” and sensations that Tommy talks about and their pedagogical meanings.

Observation note, April 2012, Stockholm, Sweden

I find myself using an exercise machine called the leg kick and straining my leg muscles to what seems like the breaking point. Tommy is standing by my side, urging me on, “enjoy the pain” he says. When I finish my set Tommy takes his turn on the machine. Frantically, he shoots up the part of the machine that is resting on his ankles, and beside him, the full tray of weights is pulsating up and down. During each muscle contraction, Tommy grimaces. Straining, he breathes out each time he lifts the weights. It sounds almost as if he is roaring. His face turns a reddish colour, but he continues. “You just have to push on”, he says grimly, through his teeth. The words come in staccato and the veins on his neck swell each time the weights are “kicked” off. All the while, his hands are moving over his thighs, caressing them and exploring how they are shaped by his effort. It is almost as if he expects to find an undetected lunar landscape with elevations and depressions underneath his skin. He tries to find separations in the muscles, and to get to know his body.