THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
Two Months

Monday, 29 April 2013.

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At one of the gyms in Lerkendal Idresspark, the headquarters of Rosenborg BK, Zachary is fully focused on his training. Salty droplets flowed down her face dripping onto the gym floor as she pushed her body up, completing her 50th push-up. On his back was a dark line in the middle of the light grey color of the Nike boss without his arm.The diffuse sweat map showed the hard work he did in his practice that morning. Coach Bjorn Peters stood to the side, watching him like an eagle and shouting instructions at the speed of a machine gun.

There is no other soul in the gym. The other players have been given a morning off since they played Tippeligaen's match against Sandnes Ulf the previous day.

"Keep moving, don't slow down" shouted Coach Bjorn Peters, clapping as he moved around Zachary's position on the floor. "You can do it. Up and down, up and down..."

Zachary was very tired. It felt like his energy reserves were already depleted like buffalo. His vision blurred as his entire body screamed at him to let go and relax—to take a moment and lie on his back on the floor.

At that moment, the hard floor looked just as welcoming as the cozy bed in Zachary's eyes. But, he knew he could not stop before finishing the entire set of sixty push-ups. If he succumbs to fatigue, the effectiveness of the entire routine will be—red. So, he expended more energy from the depths of himself and forced himself to complete the 51st push-up that morning.

It has been almost two months since the day he signed a professional contract with Rosenborg. He hasn't made it into the starting eleven of the club. He has spent most of his time working with Coach Bjorn Peters for his fitness. He has gone through various exercises in a progressive overload regimen to improve his body control simultaneously with his balance and coordination.

He has followed Coach Johansen's advice to make the most of his time before he gets into the starting line-up to improve his fitness further. He wants to reassure club management and coaching staff that his growth spurt is not an issue and will not prevent him from appearing in Norway's top flight league. The only way to achieve this is through carefully planned exercises to improve his fitness in the shortest time possible. That way, the coaches don't have to worry about him being vulnerable to injury due to his physical changes.

With that in mind, Zachary has maintained a rigorous training schedule with Coach Bjorn Peters for most of the time he has not trained with the rest of the Rosenborg squad. Bench press, yoga, classic board for knee tightening, push-ups, sit-ups, hip stretches—ia has been doing it for two months under the supervision of a fitness trainer.

"Don't slow down" cried Coach Bjorn Peters. "Hold on. Only nine more, then we can stop for a short break." He added, clapping with a steady rhythm, was probably to encourage Zachary.

Zachary, on his part, did not answer because he did not have the strength to answer even with a simple answer. All the focus is on finishing the remaining nine press-ups.

Her black hair, tied into a loose bun, was soaking wet. He looked like he had just pulled himself out of the pool. However there is no water around, but only the Rosenborg gym is spacious and well-equipped. He paid no heed to the slightest sweat and continued with the press-up routine until he finished the entire set of sixty.

"Okay, you did well" Coach Bjorn Peters said with a smile. "Let's take a five-minute break before we continue." He handed me a bottle of water.

Zachary received the bottle and downed the water. It feels like the rarest potion in the world. So, he took it for granted, trying to recover his stamina in the shortest time possible.

"Next," Coach Bjorn Peters said after a few minutes. "We're going to start the classic knee tuck board using the Bosu fitness ball. I'll explain it to you once more. Keep an eye on me so you don't miss anything." He added, taking the blue Bosu ball from a nearby shelf and putting it on the floor.

Zachary took a few steps back to give the coach enough room for the demonstration. He then watched as the coach sat in a full board position, with palms resting on Bosu's ball and hands parallel to his shoulders. From his posture, Zachary could see that Coach Bjorn Peters was very fit. He can even make some professional footballers run away for their money.

“When doing knee tuck classic plank, the most important thing is to form a straight line from shoulder to heel,” he said while turning to glance at Zachary who is still in the plank position. "Then, what you need to do next is to strengthen your core and push your right knee across your body towards your left elbow." His words came out of his mouth at a steady pace even though he was in an unnatural position.

"Pause at the top point for about thirty seconds and then back to the starting position," continued the coach, still demonstrating the training on the Bosu ball. "Continue alternating between legs for a total of fifty repetitions. Are we clear?" He asked, lifting himself off the floor.

"Yes, coach," Zachary replied as he nodded.

For the previous two months, Zachary lived only for training. He does not socialize with friends or spend time doing anything unrelated to football. He even refused an invitation from Kristin and Marta to have dinner together during Easter weekend. All the focus is on reward—geting a place in the first team as quickly as possible. All other things can wait until he becomes a regular in the Rosenborg squad. He had no intention of continuing to watch Rosenborg Tippeligaen's match as a spectator in the stands.

So, he had been exercising like a madman — making use of every moment to practice with the help of physical conditioning potions. He even added some simple fitness routines in his daily life to make the most of those few unmoving seconds to his advantage.

When the microwave is on, he'll do jumping jacks.

As the water boils in the kettle, he will do a squat.

When commercials are in between his TV programs, especially sports and music shows, he will lift the weight of his hands.

After taking a break from the restroom, he would do different types of board exercises.

Thanks to that routine, he could feel his fitness gradually increasing once again. The previous year, it was almost flat, with none of its physical attributes experiencing any extraordinary growth. However, with two months of special training, he could sense that he had entered a period of rapid improvement once again. He had a hunch that one of his attributes could immediately break into S—'s rank if he continued to train.

"Zachary, are we together?" Coach Bjorn Peters said, his voice slightly raised. "Why do you daydream when I'm busy explaining exercise routines to you? Does this seem easy to you?" He frowned, seemingly annoyed.

"Sorry, coach," Zachary replied, his voice humble. "That's not gonna happen again."

Coach Bjorn Peters nodded, his facial expression slightly relaxed. "I'm saying that you should focus more on stabilization because you'll be using one leg at a time. You should keep that balance on one leg for more than thirty seconds. And don't relax your abdominal muscles while you do it. If not, the exercise will not be effective. Are we clear?"

"Yes, coach."

"OK, since you've had enough rest, get down and give me 50 sets of classic knee tuck boards" he said, looking at his watch. "You have to be quick and finish this maybe in twenty minutes. Coach Johansen has told me that he needs you to attend a video review meeting of the game at 11:00. So, you need time to prepare before heading to the tactics room."

"He wants me to attend a video review meeting?" Zachary asked, feeling his heart start pounding with hope. Coach Johansen had not called him for such a meeting during the previous two months. It was because only the players in the previous or next match squad could attend that meeting.

"Yes" replied Coach Peters with a smile. “Do not think that all your hard work is not noticed by the coaching staff. I've also submitted a report to the people in charge of your medical, informing them that you're fully fit and ready for action.Call you for another assessment in the next few days."

"Thank you, coach," Zachary replied, reflexively bending a little at the waist. He could barely hold back his happiness. Rosenborg will face Strindheim IL in the second round of the Norwegian Football Cup in two days. If the head coach calls him for a video review meeting, chances are he is part of the squad for that game.

"Together," replied Coach Peters, smiling. "And this is all because of your hard work. So, go ahead and give me fifty knee boards right away."

"Yes, coach," said Zachary, nodding in agreement. He then sat on the board position on the top side of the dome-shaped Bosu ball.

He then pulled his knees forward and immediately began a knee board routine. Since it seemed like he would get the chance to join the match squad, after all, he was more motivated than usual to finish training.