It was Friday night. An exhausting, closed-in week was coming to an end.

I went out for a long walk.

The temperature was decent, hovering at just around 0°C. I felt cold initially but my muscles warmed shortly thereafter.

With the stress of the week slowly leaving my body, I developed an urge to workout. I was some ways away from home, so I ran to the nearest park and found a bar.

It was back day.

The night sky was clear, empty, and naked––vulnerable and open for scrutiny.

I was doing variations of pullups; alternating between a wide pronated grip to target my lats and a supinated chin-up grip to better target the biceps.

Each rep, I hung on the bottom of the bar, arms stretched. I’d look up towards the night sky and lock my eyes with the moon and the stars.

The pullups were easier than normal––I had the beauty of the entire night sky attracting me upwards.

It’s interesting how the body’s capacity is so closely coupled to the mental state. In a regular gym environment, I’d likely do half the number of pullups. With the external stimuli, my mental fortitude increased.