Torture chamber

Helen Buteme: I spend at least 3 days a week in a torture chamber (otherwise known as the gym). I’m developing a sort of love-hate relationship with it i.e. I hate it when I’m there and I love it when I’m done. Shao (my no-nonsense gym coach) boasts that I’ll be looking like a boy by the time he’s through with me. Hello?! With my short hair, absent hips and spectacularly flat chest I already look like a boy! Well, maybe he meant a well muscled boy. Speaking of muscles, I have been accused of having biceps. Fantastic. I’ve started wearing sleeveless shirts to show them off a bit. Ok, nothing to rival the bulges on Brenda’s arms but I’m getting there thanks to hard work. I’ve moved from bench pressing 25kgs to 55kgs and can so far squat 100kgs. Some of the guys at the gym are talking of changing their gym times to the early morning hours when Aggie, Yogi, Brenda and I are not there. They’re complaining that we are embarrassing them: there’s nothing worse than a woman half your weight bench-pressing more than you do.