Cheat day

Zero (3)

Wednesday.

It’s the day for my collaboration with Cha Ji-chan.

“How long are you going to be chubby!”

Cha Ji-chan announced the start with his usual loud voice.

“It’s been six months since I started working out with Chan-yong. Chan-yong has found enjoyment in exercising.”

“What are you talking about?”

He said something nonsensical, and when I tried to tease him about it, he ignored me and continued.

“I’m preparing for competitions and doing more broadcasts, so as I announced earlier, today is the last day I’ll be chubby. How about it? Are you okay with that?”

“Of course. Finally, I can live like a human being.”

There’s no day more moving than today, as I’m escaping the hell of doing high-intensity workouts four days a week.

“Right. You’ve become human.”

└ It seems like they’re speaking different languages, lol

└ Cha-chan’s specialty: only saying what he wants to say and hearing what he wants to hear

└ But didn’t the gym bag gain some weight?

└ Looks just right.

└ Isn’t he bulking up because of the competition?

└ He’ll cut later.

“Then today, we’ll take some time to check how much Chan-yong has changed and how to manage it moving forward.”

The camera is filming me.

“First of all, you can see with the naked eye that you’ve put in some effort, right?”

└ Yes, he really looks better.

└ Is Chan-yong’s height 184? I’ve thought this for a while, but he has a good basic frame.

└ He really worked hard for six months. At first, he struggled just doing 100 bodyweight squats.

└ He’s improved a lot for just six months!

└ What do you mean he’s improved? Look at his belly, it’s still sticking out, lol

└ Go look at his old videos.

“You can see it too, right? Among the people I’ve seen, he was top class in terms of effort.”

“After forcing me to do it.”

“Can you get results without exercising? Step on the scale.”

I stepped on the InBody scale.

“Last December, on the first broadcast of ‘How Long Are You Going to Be Chubby,’ I was 184 cm tall and weighed 135 kg, with a skeletal muscle mass of 42.1 kg and a body fat mass of 59 kg. Wow, looking back, that was serious.”

└ No way, how did body fat get to 59, lol

└ Was it really that serious?

└ I just watched the old video, and back then, his face looked like it was going to burst, and his belly was huge.

└ He originally had a lot of skeletal muscle mass, huh?

└ If you weigh a lot, your skeletal muscle mass shows high because you build muscle to support your body weight.

└ If he really had 59 kg of body fat, it’s amazing he wasn’t hospitalized. He was basically walking fat.

“From that body to now.”

Cha Ji-chan looked at the results sheet presented by PD Ahn Sang-kyu and exclaimed.

“Wow.”

He brought the results sheet close to the camera.

“Current weight: 94.8 kg, skeletal muscle mass: 37.2 kg, body fat mass: 32.8 kg.”

└ Whoa, he lost 40 kg.

└ That’s like shedding a whole child.

└ With a weight loss like that, and only 4.8 kg less skeletal muscle mass?

└ He lost 26.2 kg of body fat, lol.

└ Wow, that’s why the difference is noticeable.

└ This is a true human victory.

└ A little disappointing about the skeletal muscle mass, though.

└ It’s amazing that the body fat mass is still 33 after losing all that weight.

└ But his stomach, which used to be as big as Namsan, has definitely shrunk quite a bit.

“You mentioned it in the chat, but this is really impressive. He lost 40 kg in seven months, but only lost 4.8 kg of skeletal muscle mass. On the other hand, he lost 26.2 kg of body fat. It’s not perfect, but it can be considered successful.”

Cha Ji-chan slapped my back.

“How do you feel?”

“I’m feeling despair knowing I have to lose another 15 kg from here.”

“Look at this. Now you’re fundamentally thinking about getting healthy. Back in December, you were the one who would have a fit just by exercising.”

I must have been gaslighted.

“Anyway, it’s true that Chan-yong’s body has improved significantly compared to before, but there are still some areas that need work. Chan-yong, what’s your target weight?”

“80 kg.”

“On average, skeletal muscle mass should be about 48% of your body weight. Based on your current weight, that would be 45.5 kg. At 80 kg, that means around 36 kg. So moving forward, during your diet, you need to ensure that your skeletal muscle mass doesn’t decrease by focusing on weight training, nutrition intake, and rest more effectively.”

It seems like there’s still a long way to go.

“Your body fat mass is still too high. The healthy body you want should ideally be between 10-20%. If we aim for a comfortable 20%, you’d need to lose 12.8 kg.”

“If I lose that much body fat, I’d be at 82 kg?”

That’s close to my target weight.

“Right. In terms of BMI, that would be just under 25, which is healthy.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“How about you?”

└ Let’s do a mid-check before the competition.

└ Let’s reveal the InBody results!

└ It’s been a while, let’s go!

└ He looks good these days, but if he’s going to compete, he’ll need to cut a lot.

└ Judging by the fact that he hasn’t been wearing fitted clothes lately, it seems he’s gained some weight.

└ Is he bulking?

└ It’s obvious he’s gained some weight; he can’t reveal it, lol.

└ For real, this isn’t the old Defi.

Cha Ji-chan seems to be flustered.

He’s probably worried about his recent binge eating.

“But the BMI doesn’t accurately reflect muscle condition, so it doesn’t have much significance.”

“Why is your tongue so long?”

Cha Ji-chan’s eyebrows twitched.

After confirming his blood sugar was high last week and still eating Zero snacks, it seems like provoking him is the way to get him to pay attention.

The viewers seem to find it entertaining and request the InBody results, so Cha Ji-chan reluctantly stepped on the scale.

“By the way, Ji-chan was crazy about donuts while walking up to the sky.”

“Hey.”

After finishing the measurements, Cha Ji-chan interrupted me.

“I ate donuts, macarons, and daquois like there was no tomorrow.”

“The results are in.”

PD Ahn Sang-kyu brought over the results sheet precisely. I snatched it before Cha Ji-chan could grab it, and it was clear the binge eating had an effect.

“Height: 168 cm, Weight: 85 kg, Skeletal Muscle Mass: 42.1 kg, Body Fat Mass: 13.6 kg.”

└ Whoa;;;

└ Wow, he looks good.

└ Does that skeletal muscle mass make sense for that height, lol?

└ For real, with that height, he’d win anywhere. But why has the body fat mass increased?

└ Show us your bare chest, uncle!

└ No way, lol. Did you transfer Chan-yong’s fat to him? Where’s the Cha Ji-chan who had a body fat mass of 5 kg last year?

└ It seems like there’s still some left?

└ Just looking at his arms, he’s gained a lot of weight. He used to be ripped, but now his definition is hidden.

└ No way, he’s not at the level to compete, lol!

└ He’s turning into a muscle pig, isn’t he??

└ Donuts are that scary?

After reading through the chat, it’s clear that his muscle mass is among the highest for his height.

“…….”

Cha Ji-chan, looking shocked, snatched the results and stared at them for a while.

“How much body fat percentage should I have to compete?”

He asked PD Ahn Sang-kyu.

“Typically, you should aim for about 4-5%. With your current body, you’d get eliminated right away if you competed.”

The viewers enjoy PD Ahn Sang-kyu’s bluntness.

“Okay.”

Cha Ji-chan threw down the results sheet.

“Starting today, I’m going to start burning body fat. Since Chan-yong needs to maintain his muscle while losing body fat, this is perfect.”

I feel uneasy.

“What are you planning to do?”

“The best workout for this situation is conditioning exercises. It’s a method to reduce body fat while maintaining muscle.”

“Are you talking to me?”

“Have you heard of it?”

“No.”

“You can think of it as combining aerobic and anaerobic exercises easily.”

“I don’t want to know.”

“The reason this is effective is that when you sustain high-intensity workouts, your body runs out of oxygen, right? That’s called the oxygen debt phenomenon.”

“Then that’s not good.”

“If you maintain that state, you’ll be gasping for air even after finishing your workout, right?”

“…Yeah.”

“While you’re breathing like that, both fat and carbohydrates are continuously burned. The most representative exercise is the burpee.”

“I’m out of here.”

“Hold on. We need to do today’s broadcast. You’ll start with something easy.”

“Wait a minute.”

“You’ve done enough squats, right? Get into a squat position and just touch the ground.”

“I’m not mentally prepared for this.”

“No, you are. Stretch your legs back. Straighten your knees. You’ve done plenty of push-ups in school, right? Good.”

I don’t know why he thinks I’m ready when I said I’m not.

“Now pull your legs back to your chest into a squat position. Then come up. When you’re almost up, jump and grab the bar. Just like that.”

“No, I know this exercise.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It’s a killer workout.”

“That’s why it’s so effective.”

“What about you? What will you do?”

“I’ll do push-ups and pull-ups together. Watch.”

Cha Ji-chan moved under the pull-up bar.

He squatted down like he was doing a squat, then stretched his legs back to do a push-up, stood up, and jumped to grab the bar.

After doing one pull-up, he came down and squatted again.

He’s out of his mind.

“…”

“Okay, let’s do 100 of these for three sets today.”

“Are you crazy?”

“If you finish 100 before me, I’ll give you ten personal training sessions.”

“I don’t need it.”

“Beef.”

“Start.”

The beef that Cha Ji-chan buys is different from regular beef; it’s just on another level.

Moreover, unlike me, Cha Ji-chan added push-ups and pull-ups to the regular burpees.

In contrast, I only had to stretch my legs back during the squats and then stand up, so it wasn’t impossible for someone like me who had done countless squats.

“Huff. Huff.”

Actually, it seems impossible.

As I surpassed 30, I felt like I was gasping for air.

My form started to falter, while the monster across from me seemed unfazed, increasing his speed.

As I reached 50, my thighs began to react.

“Huff. Huff.”

“Good! You’re doing well!”

The difference in our counts was slowly decreasing.

“No.”

I was too out of it to count how many I had done, while Cha Ji-chan did a push-up and even clapped in mid-air.

I sneaked a look at the monitor, and before I knew it, the numbers were displayed in front of me.

I had done 67, and Cha Ji-chan had done 60.

“Huff. Huff.”

By the time I hit 70, my mind felt hazy, and I could barely jump off the ground, but when I reached 80, it felt like my chest was about to explode, so I collapsed onto the mat.

“Get it together! Huh? Aren’t you going to eat beef?”

Beef or not, I feel like I’m going to die.

I flipped over, lying flat on my back, just trying to breathe, and Cha Ji-chan’s movements had also noticeably slowed.

I was gasping, and my breathing became heavier, while my clothes were visibly soaked with sweat.

Barely getting up, I started the burpees again, but Cha Ji-chan was already ahead of me, and my exhausted body couldn’t overtake him.

In the end, while Cha Ji-chan finished 100 first, hands on his hips and panting, I managed to complete my own 100.

“Wow. That’s impressive!”

“Hah. Hah. Hah.”

“Anyone who hasn’t tried this can’t do 100 reps. Your basic endurance has definitely improved.”

I was too exhausted to respond, just lying there and gasping for breath when Cha Ji-chan threw a towel at me.

“Okay, we’ll go again in three minutes.”

“…I can’t do it.”

“You’re the one who walked to Busan. You can do this.”

Shaking my head, Cha Ji-chan forcibly made me sit up.

I should have just let myself eat donuts instead of provoking myself about gaining weight.