A few days later Raymond and Clara were in the car, driving to Katherine’s local gym.  Raymond was trying his best to focus on the road, but Clara was in the passenger seat chattering away excitedly, and he was finding it difficult to hold his concentration.   

“God, I can’t wait to see her actually work out, like…actually lift the weights,” Clara was saying eagerly.  “Your muscles get even bigger right after you lift weights, you know.  It’s called “pump” — I learned that in the weight training book I’m reading.” 

“Yeah, you already mentioned that book like twenty times,” muttered Raymond irritatedly.  “Could you just…lay off it, Clara?  I’m trying to drive us there and you keep talking and distracting me.” 

“Psssh I don’t think I’m the one distracting you,” said Clara, waving her hand.  “I think you’re distracted ‘cause you’re worried a out how much more I’m gonna lift than you.” 

“That’s…that’s ridiculous Clara,” said Raymond, making an effort to chuckle. 

“How is that ridiculous?” asked Clara.  “Look my legs compared to yours.  They’re like twice your size.” 

“Not twice,” said Raymond, knowing full well that if they weren’t twice as big, then they weren’t far behind. 

“And my arms!” continued Clara.  She held her arms straight out in front of her.  “They’re way bigger than those twiggy little things you have!”  She laughed and reached over, pinching what little flesh Raymond had on his upper right arm.   

“Knock it off Clara!” barked Raymond, “I’m driving!” 

“Well you drive like grandma,” said Clara, sighing as she sat back in her seat.  She couldn’t wait to get to the gym and start her training with Katherine, and she was already enjoying the spectacle of comparison with her older brother.  Both of them were wearing gym shorts and t-shirts, so their size difference was readily apparent.   

Raymond felt trapped.  He was kicking himself for agreeing to this stupid idea — he had convinced himself that he only agreed to it because of Katherine’s pressure.  Deep down, though, he knew that he was going through with all of this because he was afraid of getting shown up by his younger sister.  He hated the thought of Clara learning all Katherine’s weight training secrets, of Katherine helping her to get bigger and stronger.  And so he had made that split-second decision, at dinner, to go along with Katherine’s gentle prodding.   

As the actual exercise date had neared, however, Raymond grew more and more uneasy.  Clara seemed unnaturally excited by it all — she couldn’t stop talking about it.  She was reading about it on the internet, creating training schedules for herself, and had even joined an online forum for weight lifting.  And she was eating more too, seemingly in preparation for the training.  All of this made Raymond feel anxious, and he started to dread the training day.  How much would Clara already be ahead of him?  He tried to make himself feel better, assuring him self that even though she weighed almost 15 pounds more than he did, that didn’t mean that she was actually stronger.  But the more he thought about it, the more he was noticing, against his will, how much bigger Clara actually was than him.  He was noticing the size of her limbs more, and how her body she seemed to fill up chairs more than his did…he felt weird and uncomfortable noticing all these things…and he knew it was a byproduct of his anxiety. 

But he tried to rally himself.  He was 19 years old!  A full five years older than Clara!  What did it matter if she had a little adolescent fullness to her figure?  Working out would probably burn it off or something, right?  He twisted his thoughts in on themselves, performing a set of mental gymnastics as he tried to convince himself that working out would make him bigger, but Clara smaller.  It didn’t really work, though…plus he knew that all of his anxiety about his younger sister was masking the other topic that was even more distressing: Katherine.  Raymond still couldn’t even begin to wrap his head around how his ex-girlfriend had grown into a 6’4, 190-plus pound goddess.  It was all too surreal for him, and on top of making him feel troubled and confused, she made him feel angry.   

What had he done, to deserve feeling so inadequate?  Sure, he hadn’t really applied himself the way he could in his first year of college, and sure, he hadn’t really been that physically active, but so what??  He needed a break — he needed to just relax and mellow out with his friends and decide what he wanted to do with his life!  And Katherine…she went away for one year and came back looking like a totally different person…speaking French, with a 4.0 from Stanford, with all these lofty goals.  Raymond couldn’t help but feel, in his childishness, that she had done all of this just to embarrass him, just to make him feel inadequate.  He knew that this wasn’t actually the case, but he was not in the habit of interrogating his own thoughts.  He clenched his hands on the steering wheel, doing his best to ignore Clara’s excited chatter the rest of the way.   

A few minutes later they pulled up to Sarah’s gym.  She was waiting for them, sitting on a brick wall right outside the gym entrance.  Even though the wall was fairly high, Sarah’s legs went all the way down the the ground.  Raymond gulped as he saw what she was wearing: black gym shorts that were filled by her huge, creamy thighs, that only went down about halfway down, leaving plenty of her bare thighs open to viewing.  She wore a simple white workout t-shirt that her big breasts and shoulders were pressing insistently.  Her full muscular arms and legs were clearly on display, and Raymond couldn’t help but notice that he could see Katherine’s abs through her tight white shirt.  He felt another twinge of irritation as she stood up and approached them…was she actually trying to show him up?  But this annoyance quickly evaporated into sheer intimidation as she approached.  Even though only a few days had passed, he had forgotten how huge she was.   

“Well here they are — the two contestants!” Katherine joked as she greeted them at the door.  Clara rushed forward and gave her a hug as Raymond hung back.  Katherine chuckled as she stuck her hand in his hair and ruffled it, after hugging Clara.  

“Come on Raymond, I’m just kidding,” she laughed.  “This isn’t actually a contest — I’m just happy you both came.” 

“Well, it’s a contest to me,” said Clara confidently, drawing herself up next to her brother.  Katherine was reminded that even though Clara was a little shorter than Raymond, it only looked to be by an inch or so.  

“Y-yeah,” said Raymond suddenly.  “I…I don’t mind it being a, uh…a contest.”  He looked at his younger sister defiantly.  “Especially when I know that I’m gonna win.”

Katherine laughed.  She really wasn’t sure who was stronger…but if she had been forced to guess, she would have to say that Clara looked like she could lift more.  Raymond was just so…puny.  

“Well,” she said with a smile as they walked in, “whatever gets you guys going.”  She signed her two guests in and they walked up the stairs to the weight room.  Katherine had to admit to herself how excited she was by the prospect of seeing Raymond and Clara have a weightlifting competition in front of her.  She reminded herself that she was there to help them both, to teach them how to exercise properly, the do’s and don’t’s, the weightlifting basics, special tips, and on and on.  But she couldn’t get around her excitement about actually seeing who was stronger.  

The past few days, Katherine had reflected on why Raymond’s skinniness, his puniness, made her feel so turned on, and specifically why the actual size comparisons between her body and his were so erotic to her.  It was definitely a power thing, she had decided.  When she was next to Raymond, and it was especially obvious how much bigger she was than him, it made her feel powerful.  It made her feel like she could make him do anything she wanted.  At first, after she realized that her horniness had to do with this feeling of power, she had felt puzzled.  She didn’t find Raymond remotely attractive anymore.  He was just this little weasel of a thing…he had absolutely no presence in the room.  He didn’t have anything interesting to say…didn’t have any goals or ambitions to speak of…in short, he literally seemed like nothing compared to her.  

So why was she getting these strong erotic feelings when she compared her body to his, when she realized that she could make him do anything she wanted?  She didn’t want to do anything with him, right!?  Katherine actually wasn’t so sure.  As she thought about the power dynamics between her and her old boyfriend, she found herself having strange fantasies…fantasies that she had never had before.  She imagined what it would be like if she picked Raymond up and lifted him in the air.  Surely he would hate that…but what if she did it anyway?  She thought about what it would be like to physically dominate him, to wrestle him into submission, to pin him down.  And then she found her mind going straight to what it would be like if she forced him to go down on her, or if she made him get hard against his will and then forced him inside her.  

She had shuddered to herself as she realized that she was having rape fantasies about her ex-boyfriend.  Surely she wasn’t as monstrous as that!?  But the more she thought about it, the more calm and relaxed she became.  So what if she was having rape fantasies?  A lot of women had them…it was just that she was having them in the opposite direction than most other women.  And besides, they were only fantasies!  There was nothing wrong with just thinking about these things, surely.  And through all this, Katherine was noticing a pattern: she was becoming more aware of her own sexual motivations.  She still liked to imagine a large, tall muscled man, even taller and stronger than her, forcing her down and fucking her passionately as his vigorous limbs held her at bay.  But now, after seeing Raymond, she also liked to imagine that she was the one in the aggressive, powerful position, instigating the sexual exchange with the weaker, more passive partner…and even a partner who was unwilling.  

‘I guess that’s what being a “switch” is all about,’ she had mused to herself.  ‘Going both ways.’  She was excited to explore this new aspect of her sexuality, and was happy that she could disguise it as teaching Raymond and Clara how to lift weights.  Of course, she was happy to help them, but she wasn’t kidding herself.  She was doing this for her own sexual gratification too.

“Oh good, the bench press is open!” said Katherine happily after they had alighted the stairs.  They went over to the empty bench, which had a bare weight bar over it.  

“Ok,” said Katherine as she slid her body onto the bench and under the weight bar.  “The first thing that you need to remember is that technique is more important than anything else, ok?  Without proper technique, you can hurt yourself, especially lifting free weights like this.”  

“You’re supposed to keep your core tight, your feet on the ground, and your shoulders locked, right?” chirped Clara.  

“Wow, look at you!” said Katherine, impressed.  “Guess someone’s been doing her research!”  

“I wanted to prepare,” said Clara, smiling at Raymond, who shrugged his thin shoulders. 

“So yes, like Clara said,” continued Katherine, lying down fully and lifting the bar up from its rack, “hold the bar like this, with your feet on the ground, your core muscles tight, and your shoulders locked, like this.  And then slowly…slowly…lower the bar down, till about right here, and then push up again.  Remember, the bench press works your chest more than anything else, so push with your chest, not your arms.  Got it?”   

“Got it!” said Clara, as Raymond nodded.   

“Ok, who wants to try it first?” asked Katherine, but Clara had already slid into her place and was lying down on the bench.  

“Guess that answers my question,” chuckled Katherine, winking at Raymond.  “Ok, Clara…yes…just like that.  Good hand positioning.  Now…shoulders locked.  Good…and lower it down…yes, good…and up again.  Great!  How was that?”  Katherine was impressed with Clara’s technique, and she noticed that her arms had been steady as she pushed the bar back up, a sign that she could easily handle more weight.

“Easy!” said Clara from her supine position.  “I wanna do more weight!” 

“We’ll get there,” laughed Katherine, “but first we need to warm up, ok?  A big mistake a lot of people make is that they don’t warm up properly, and then they pull a muscle or something…and actually, you know, if you don’t warm up, you won’t be able to lift as much weight as you could otherwise.”  

“Oh ok, then!” said Clara, and she banged out another 8 repetitions without any issue.  

“Excellent, Clara!” said Katherine brightly.  “Ok, now Raymond, your turn!”  

Raymond walked up to the bench and sat down on it as Clara got up, making a face at him.  He laid down and reached up for the iron bar.  Katherine couldn’t believe how skinny his arms looked, and she felt her pussy start to lubricate itself as she contrasted his tiny frame with her own, and with Clara’s.  

“Ok, now just like Clara,” she said, and he lowered the bar to his chest, and raised it again.  

“Good!” said Katherine.  “But a little less jerky, ok?  Slow and smooth, like Clara was doing…ok…ok, yes.  Good.  And up again…a little slower this time, alright…yes.  Yes, good, Raymond!  How was that?”

“It was…easy,” he said, sitting up.  And it had been.  He had been worried that he wouldn’t be able to lift the bar after a few reps, but he had no trouble lifting it up and down 8 times, just like Clara.  He felt his confidence rise in his chest, even though he hadn’t failed to notice that his arms had been shaking a little bit at the end.  He didn’t know why his arms had shook — it was easy!  He looked over to Clara and gave her a smile.  She cocked her head and raised her eyebrows.  

“Ok, good, you two!” said Katherine, clapping her hands together.  “So now that we’re warmed up we can try some actual weight.  Let’s put 10’s on each side and see how we do.” 

“That’s 20 pounds, plus the 45 for the bar, right?” asked Clara.  “So 65 pounds?”

“Correct,” said Katherine, smiling. 

“I bet I can do way more than that,” said Clara. 

“Maybe,” laughed Katherine, “but let’s start small and work our way up, ok?”   

A minute later Clara had just performed a 10-rep set with 65 pounds and was sitting up proudly.  

“That was just as easy as the bar,” she said, stretching out her arms.  

“Good, good,” said Katherine encouragingly.  “Ok Raymond, now you.”  This time, his arms shook noticeably.  

“Look at him — he can barely do it!” laughed Clara.  

“Can…too!” said Raymond, sitting up after he had completed the set.  He looked up at Katherine with frustration on his face.  “That was easy!  Why are my arms shaking like that?”  

“Well,” said Katherine, “it’s probably because your chest isn’t having any trouble pushing the weight, but your arms aren’t used to lifting much.  So that’s why it still feels easy.  Remember, it’s your chest that’s doing most of the pushing.”  

“Haha, Raymond’s got little chicken arms — that’s why!” laughed Clara.  

“Now Clara, come on, be nice,” smiled Katherine.  “Ok, now you two seemed to do pretty well with that weight.  How about we put 25’s on each side and see how you do?”

“Why don’t you lift some, Katherine?” asked Clara.  “I wanna see you lift!”

“You will,” chuckled Katherine, “but this weight is too light for me to really make much of a difference, at least, if I don’t do like 100 reps or something.  Let’s see what you two can do first, ok?” 

Clara managed to do 5 reps of 95 pounds a minute later, and Katherine found herself quite impressed.  She had expected Clara to do well, but she hadn’t realized that she was actually as strong as she was. 

“Wow, Clara!” said Katherine as the red-faced teenager got off the bench.  “That was really, really good!  You’re even stronger than I thought!”  Clara beamed with pride as she panted in and out.  Raymond quickly got on the bench, not wanting this moment between his sister and Katherine to go on.  

“Now remember Raymond, slow, deliberate movements,” said Katherine as he lifted the bar up off the rack.  His arms shook immediately as he lowered the bar down.  

‘Oooo, he’s not gonna be able to do much,’ she thought as she saw him shakily lift the weight back up.  She felt a thrilled warmth wash over her as she realized that Clara’s upper body was already stronger than Raymond’s.  He managed three more jerky reps, but when he tried for a fourth, the bar seemed stuck by his chest — he couldn’t lift it.  

“Here Raymond, I got you,” said Katherine encouragingly, reaching over from behind and grabbing the bar with two hands and racking it without any difficulty.  

“I’m stronger than you, I’m stronger than you!” sang Clara, throwing her arms up in the air as she danced around.  Katherine couldn’t help giggling at Clara’s antics, and she looked down at Raymond, unable to stifle a little smile.