Chapter 173 - 126: BFR and Oxygen Restriction Mask

He attended two clinical medicine lectures in the morning and managed to grind out another 0.01 Strength Attribute by squeezing a grip trainer.

He received a notification that his grip strength had increased slightly. Under normal conditions, Chen Jue’s grip strength had already reached 131 kg.

By combining it with the 10% explosive power from [Outer Force], his maximum grip strength could reach 143 kg.

If he took a nitric oxide booster, he could probably add a few more kilograms to that number.

With his current maximum grip strength of 143 kg, Chen Jue had even surpassed the record of the nation’s number one grip expert, Lei Heng. If he were on the GM150 world grip strength rankings, he would be good enough to break into the global top ten.

Top ten out of a global population of 8 billion. That wasn’t just one in ten thousand, but more like one in a billion.

As for the world’s number one grip strength record, it was currently held by Nikita Yurkovets, a grip athlete from Belarus, at 168.2 kg.

This number even exceeded the 165 kg limit of the new grip trainer Chen Jue had bought, a feat that could only be measured by a professional electronic dynamometer.

’Once I completely wear out this current grip trainer, I should be able to challenge the world’s number one spot.’ Chen Jue thought to himself. While heading to the cafeteria for lunch, he went online and ordered a professional GM150 dynamometer to prepare for the future.

Although a world record in grip strength seemed as useless as a world record in Stone Skimming, it could be included in the [Strongest Human Training Plan] he designed as a benchmark. It was also a warm-up for grabbing that big gold brick later on.

...

After lunch, Chen Jue had planned to go back to his apartment for a nap, but he unexpectedly received a phone call.

He answered and found it was a police officer from the local station, calling to ask Chen Jue for more details about the rescue.

After all, it was a public security case reported by citizens, and its impact was so significant that it had become a trending topic online. The necessary investigations and inquiries had to be carried out as usual.

The officer on the phone also mentioned that the parents of the little girl he had rescued wanted to thank Chen Jue in person.

Furthermore, the district’s publicity department wanted to interview him.

The authorities always offer great encouragement and support for such positive, heroic acts.

There was a previous case where a young man who bravely dove into the water to save someone was rewarded with an apartment by his hometown government after his story came to light.

The impact of Chen Jue’s building-climbing rescue was just as significant, so the West Lake District planned to use it as a prime example of positive energy. They also intended to use it for a public service announcement, warning careless parents of mischievous children not to leave them home alone to prevent similar dangerous situations.

After listening to the officer’s explanation, Chen Jue readily agreed.

However, he stated his own condition: he would do the interview, but he would not appear on camera with his real face.

The police had been able to find him because they could run his information through the Skynet surveillance system and facial recognition big data in minutes.

Plus, since Chen Jue was already a person of interest on file, finding him was a piece of cake.

But if he appeared on camera with his face visible, he could kiss his normal daily life goodbye. He’d be gawked at and pointed at like a panda wherever he went.

"Mr. Chen, don’t you worry. Our station takes privacy protection very seriously. We’ll coordinate with the publicity department staff. You’ll just need to wear a mask for your appearance." The officer on the phone was very enthusiastic. He scheduled a meeting with Chen Jue for the next morning, then hung up to report back.

After hanging up, Chen Jue simply climbed back into bed to continue his nap.

An ordinary person who stumbled upon such a great opportunity would probably be too excited to sleep all night, like an elementary schooler who just found out they’re going on a field trip the next day.

But Chen Jue, having experienced several high-altitude climbs and appeared on camera for various videos, had honed his courage and willpower considerably. As a result, he had become rather nonchalant about this kind of big event.

Eat when it’s time to eat, sleep when it’s time to sleep. As long as it didn’t interfere with his normal life and grinding Attributes, he was fine.

...

He slept for an hour, and after waking up, he first splashed his face with water to wake himself up.

He paced around his room for a bit and looked at the training plan Li Rui had laid out for him.

He had already done high-intensity Swimming training yesterday. According to the schedule, today was for muscle-building with equipment.

This involved many types of equipment, making the barbells and dumbbells Chen Jue had bought seem rather limited and insufficient. He quickly sold off the things he couldn’t use.

He couldn’t do high-intensity training in his rented apartment, but the training plan had to continue as usual.

Fortunately, he had already found out that besides the swimming pool, Jiang University also had a public gym open to students. Chen Jue packed some of his purchased gear and supplements into a bag, changed into workout clothes, and drank a nitric oxide booster. Then, after putting on his weights, he jogged over to Jiang University.

To avoid his clothes giving away his identity again, Chen Jue went online and ordered several different types of popular sportswear. He planned to mix and match them to avoid being gawked at like a panda one day.

He jogged all the way from his apartment. After yesterday’s 27 kg weighted jog, Chen Jue felt much more accustomed to wearing the weights today.

After all, he had grinded out over 0.10 in attribute values the day before, and on top of that, he had applied a temporary buff today. His stamina and strength were both a huge step up from when he first put on the weights yesterday.

Besides boosting explosive muscle power, the nitric oxide booster also significantly helped with muscle endurance.

It was a 2.5-kilometer jog to the campus gym. Chen Jue broke a light sweat, but the soreness in his muscles wasn’t intense.

He also managed to grind out 0.02 Free Attribute from the jog.

By Chen Jue’s estimation, at his current rate of Strength gain, he could increase the weight by a few more kilograms next week.

...

When he entered the gym, he saw a few familiar faces.

Wang Xin from the Self-Discipline Club was lifting weights with a few other members. Seeing them, Chen Jue walked over to say hello.

"Holy shit! It’s senior Chen Jue!"

"Senior, how come you haven’t been to the track and field lately?"

"Senior, you have no idea! That [Human Body Flag Raising] move you invented has blown up on the international internet! A ton of top-tier Street Fitness athletes are making videos imitating it."

The members of the Self-Discipline Club all gathered around. When Wang Xin saw Chen Jue, his eyes lit up, and he quickly pulled out his phone, bypassed the firewall, and showed Chen Jue the results.

The Jiang University Self-Discipline Club’s international account had actually accumulated over 50,000 followers. The pinned video, in particular, had surpassed ten million views, and its likes were over a million.

Most of the comments were in English, with "Holy shit," "Motherf**k," and "Oh my god" popping up constantly. Clearly, foreign netizens were using their most enthusiastic "local dialects" to express their amazement at the stunning [Human Body Flag Raising] move Chen Jue had invented.

Even Hannibal, the black athlete who pioneered the five great skills of Street Fitness, had left a comment and a like for Chen Jue, which fueled the video’s popularity even more.

"Senior, the international Street Fitness community is all talking about the [Human Body Flag Raising] you invented! A lot of people are saying it’s the sixth great skill of Street Fitness, right up there with the Victoria Cross, Tiger Pounce Push-ups, and Russian Dip Variations."

"So far, only two veteran Street Fitness masters online have managed to replicate it. It’s even harder than the most difficult Russian Dip Variations!" Wang Xin said excitedly, translating the comments for Chen Jue while also explaining the move’s impact.

Originally, the Huaxian Street Fitness scene didn’t have a prominent reputation internationally. Compared to East Asians, who generally have less muscle mass, black athletes clearly had a stronger voice and more influence in the community.

But with the debut of Chen Jue’s [Human Body Flag Raising], a new banner was raised for Huaxian Street Fitness. It wasn’t just being discussed on the international internet; even some veteran Street Fitness masters in the country were talking about it. Some enthusiastic netizens had even given Chen Jue the titles "Huaxia’s Number One in Street Fitness" and "Flag-Raising Bro."

This left Chen Jue feeling utterly speechless.

’First "Climbing Bro," and now "Flag-Raising Bro?"’

’But "Flag-Raising Bro"... no matter how I hear it, it just sounds a bit awkward!’ Chen Jue complained internally, subconsciously glancing down toward his lower body.

Seeing Wang Xin and the others looking at him with admiration, Chen Jue put on a humble expression. "You guys are all just flattering me. I’ve only been training for a short time. How could I deserve the title of Huaxia’s Number One in Street Fitness?"

After all, he hadn’t been involved in Street Fitness for long. Of the five great skills, he had only just mastered the Russian Push-up. There was still a significant gap between him and the true veteran masters.

...

With Chen Jue’s arrival, the atmosphere in the Jiang University public gym became exceptionally lively.

But despite the commotion, the training had to continue.

After chatting with Wang Xin and the others, Chen Jue, under everyone’s shocked gazes, first took off his weights. Then, he pulled two small pieces of equipment out of his bag.

The first was the [BFR Blood Flow Restriction Band] that Li Rui had specifically mentioned. It was a special type of band that could obstruct blood flow. The theory behind it came from a new training method from abroad: Blood Flow Restriction Training, or BFRT for short.

The principle behind BFR training is to use low-intensity bands to apply moderate vascular occlusion to the upper and lower limbs, thereby restricting arterial blood inflow and venous blood outflow from the contracting muscles.

In this ischemic environment, the metabolic stress within the muscles that leads to hypertrophy is amplified, accelerating muscle mass growth. It’s earned the nickname "muscle-building black tech."

The other item was the equally niche and restrictive [Oxygen-Blocking Mask]. Its main function is to simulate a high-altitude, low-oxygen environment by limiting air intake, putting the body in a hypoxic state to make workouts more effective.

As soon as he put on both pieces of equipment, it was as if Chen Jue had applied two debuffs to himself at once—even more intense than carrying 27 kilograms of weight.

He just did two sets of 30 pull-ups on the gym’s Assisted Parallel Bars to test the waters, and a notification immediately popped up on his panel:

——————

[Ding~]

[Completed one session of comprehensive restriction-type exercise. Blood flow in your limbs was obstructed by external pressure. Your blood lactate concentration has increased, metabolites have accumulated, growth hormone secretion has risen, muscle protein synthesis has accelerated, and some muscles are exhibiting signs of hypertrophy.]

[In the hypoxic environment, your hemoglobin content has increased. Your body has entered an active breathing state, your respiratory muscles have been exercised, your cardiopulmonary function has improved, and your physical endurance has been slightly enhanced.]

[Strength Attribute +0.01]

[Constitution Attribute +0.01]