" Focus on good form – try to get your chest close to the ground if you can, but don't force it if you can't. Better fewer good ones than many sloppy ones." He quickly demonstrated a couple, smooth and controlled. "Like so. Ready to give it a shot?"

  Dipa blew out a long, shaky breath, wiping sweat from her brow with the back of her hand. "Ugh, fine. Push-ups. Let's get this over with," she muttered, but she pushed herself upright and moved to the grass. She dropped into the starting position. Okay, credit where it's due, her Judo training definitely gave her a solid base of upper body strength; the initial pnk looked strong and stable.

  But this wasn't about a quick, powerful throw – it was about sustained muscur endurance, a totally different beast.

  She lowered herself down for one… nice and controlled. Up. Two… still looking good. Three… starting to slow down a bit, a little grunt escaping.

  Okay, impressive start! But on the fourth rep, the dreaded shaky-shake began in her arms. Serious trembling, like her muscles were vibrating. She ground her teeth, trying desperately for a fifth rep, lowering herself slowly… but nope.

  Gravity won. Her arms just buckled, and she colpsed onto the grass with a soft "Oof!"

  She immediately pushed herself back up to a sitting position, looking utterly disgusted with herself. Like, pure, unfiltered frustration radiated off her. "Are you kidding me?! Only FIVE?" she excimed, gring down at her arms as if they’d personally offended her entire family lineage. "That's pathetic!"

  "Hey, hold up!" James interjected quickly but gently. "Those were five good push-ups! Like, really solid form, chest almost to the ground. That's awesome for day one!"

  " Seriously, way better than struggling through ten bad ones, or even doing zero. Five is our baseline. We build from five."

  " Progress, remember?" He offered an encouraging smile, trying to head off the negative self-talk.

  He let her simmer for a moment before moving on. "Alright, shake it out. Next mission: squats and lunges. Great for leg strength and stability." He demonstrated each exercise slowly, emphasizing keeping the back straight, core engaged, and knees tracking over toes. "Nice and controlled movements. Quality over quantity."

  Her legs, clearly hyper-specialized for the specific explosive stances, low center of gravity, and rapid footwork demanded by Judo, were not fans of these repetitive, controlled motions. You could practically see the confusion in her muscle fibers. They protested almost immediately. Midway through just the second set of alternating lunges, she started to wobble significantly, her bance faltering like she was suddenly on a boat.

  Her face also went unnervingly pale, losing its earlier flushed color. Uh oh, danger zone.

  "Whoa, easy there!" James reacted instantly, taking a quick step closer, instinctively putting his hands out slightly, ready to offer support if she actually started to tip over. "You alright? Looking a bit… seasick all of a sudden."

  Dipa swayed precariously for another second, then abruptly sat down on the grass with a soft thud, definitely not a graceful nding. She pressed the palm of her hand hard against her stomach, squeezing her eyes shut tightly for a moment. "Ugh, no," she mumbled, her voice faint and strained. "Feel… really sick. Like, gonna-puke sick."