By

S.J Asher

Hey everyone! Today’s fitness blog post is written from the perspective of Som Thorne, the protagonist of my current writing project.

Som is a Dream Technician who maintains the city’s regulated dream network.

Enjoy!

Daily writing prompt

What are your favorite physical activities or exercises?

View all responses

Physical activity. Right. The Department mandates regular exercise for peak dream maintenance performance.

I’ve found calisthenics to be the most reliable option, given how… unreliable other forms of exercise have become.

Primary Routine:

1. Push-ups: 3 sets (Note: Usually avoid mirror observation during sets – last week saw my reflection finishing the exercises before I did)
2. Pull-ups on the old maintenance pipes
3. Burpees.(Critical: Stop immediately if shadow starts performing exercises out of sync)
4. Planks: Duration variable (Observation: Holding still helps stabilize reality bleeds. Unless you hold too long – then the floor starts holding back.)

The beauty of calisthenics is its simplicity. No equipment to malfunction, no machines to develop consciousness after prolonged dream particle exposure. Just you and your body. Or whatever your body is becoming.

PERSONAL NOTE: In real life, I actually do love calisthenics, though I’m nowhere near as proficient as Som! While I can’t claim my shadow has ever started doing push-ups without me (thank goodness), I do appreciate how writing fiction lets me take real experiences and transform them into something fantastical.

Som’s world might be a bit more unstable than ours, but at least they’ve got perfect form on those pull-ups…