Chapter 40: Challenging Yoga
"...Hello?" Lu Ke said in his mind, as no sound came back. "I'm not playing a single-player game, am I? Did the NPC go offline?"
"No, you're not. The yoga you're practicing is the earthly kind," Little Seven's voice was still cold and emotionless, but after getting used to it, Lu Ke could hear slight changes in its tone. For example, now, it sounded helpless and exasperated. If it were a person, it would probably be rolling its eyes. "No, you won't turn into a Super Saiyan. Finally, yoga has no direct connection to football, but it does have a direct connection to the quarterback position."
At this point, Little Seven's tone returned to normal and it began to explain its reasoning dutifully. "Yoga can train your body's control, allowing you to tap into more of your body's potential under extreme circumstances. It can also improve your muscle flexibility. A quarterback doesn't need the ability to tackle, block, or intercept. They need the ability to evade, break through, and fake out defenders. Therefore, they should avoid bulky and strong muscles, keep their bodies light, and increase their ability to withstand hits."
"Finally, yoga can also improve your five senses, increasing your perception and control of the football. The flexibility of your wrist, body coordination, and limb balance when passing all help with passing accuracy," Little Seven finished its explanation in one breath, pausing for a moment to wait for Lu Ke's response. "Any more questions?"
Lu Ke was sure that the last sentence was directed at him, and he couldn't help but laugh. "But why now?"
"Because you weren't qualified before." Just when Lu Ke thought Little Seven was starting to sound a little more "human," it delivered a devastating blow, stabbing a dagger right into his chest without mercy. "To be precise, you still don't meet the standard, but yoga is a cumulative process. It takes at least three months of training for it to be ingrained in your muscles."
Three months.
Lu Ke immediately realized what it meant, and his eyes lit up. "Rookie training camp!"
For all players, the most convenient and fastest way to get into the league was always the rookie training camp. Whether it was the draft or an undrafted rookie, the rookie training camp was a stage to showcase one's skills and the best platform for teams to judge and evaluate them.
"So, how should I start training yoga?" This was a field Lu Ke knew nothing about, but he immediately realized. "Videos!"
Each training task had a specific video to guide Lu Ke in completing the system missions meticulously. However, he hadn't had a new training task in several months, so he had almost forgotten about the omnipotent system.
He pulled up the video and was presented with a dazzling video page. After a quick look, he saw there were a total of thirty videos.
Lu Ke's eyes widened. "Do I have to do all of these movements every day?" Just by looking at the first video's movement, Lu Ke felt a sense of absurdity. It looked like a high-difficulty pose. How was it even possible? The remaining twenty-nine videos were even more unbelievable.
"No, just the first five movements." With Little Seven's reminder, Lu Ke noticed that only the first five videos were bright, and the other twenty-five were dim, meaning they couldn't be opened yet.
Thirty minutes and five movements. Although it was still difficult, it didn't seem so outrageous now. "Will the yoga movements increase in the future? Or will it just be these thirty, forever?" Lu Ke thought about this, but then shook his head. "Don't tell me. These first five are already giving me a headache."
For now, Lu Ke put the troublesome yoga behind him. After finishing his training, he started fulfilling his duties as a student.
Just as he joked before, there were only two weeks left until final exams, and this was not a joke but a reality. After the exams were over, it would be the Christmas holiday. These exams were crucial for every student, even the athletes.
In America, there were strict rules. The professional league was a professional competition, where sports were a job. The NCAA was not. All participants were students, and that was their primary identity. Sports were just a sideline. The NCAA had strict admission standards and academic requirements. Even if a player was exceptionally talented on the field, they couldn't play if their academic performance didn't meet the standards.
Throughout history, countless student-athletes—football players, basketball players, baseball players, and so on—had to sit on the bench because their exam scores didn't meet the NCAA's eligibility requirements, having to retake the exams again and again.
Dwyane Wade, a famous NBA player, was a prime example. He had to sit on the bench for his entire freshman season because his exam scores were too low. After failing the exam three more times, he was so frustrated he cried, but he still couldn't do anything about it.
The NCAA always put a player's academics first for a simple reason. Only a small number of players who left school would be able to enter the professional league. Most players would pursue other careers and jobs after graduation. Without an educational foundation, their future would be very limited. Prioritizing academics was a way of being responsible for the athletes.
For seniors like Lu Ke, this round of final exams would be their last before graduation. After this, they would start preparing for their graduation theses. So, this was an exam that concerned their graduation diplomas, and no one could take it lightly, not even the star players who had already proven themselves on the NCAA field.
In the professional football league, rookies had to take an IQ test and a psychological evaluation at the rookie training camp. College academic performance was also one of the reference standards. Although it had nothing to do with a player's athletic talent, it did affect a player's draft position. A first-round rookie could easily drop to the second or even third round.
Attending classes, borrowing notes, asking questions, talking to teaching assistants... In the blink of an eye, another day of regular life came to an end.
However, today's regular life was slightly different from usual—to be precise, it was a world of difference. In the hallways, classrooms, and plazas, everyone he met, and I mean everyone, would greet Lu Ke in some way, at least with a nod and a smile. Even his professor made a point to mention him before class. "Lu Ke, great job last night!" This made all the students in the lecture hall whistle and cheer, making a ruckus.
The victory last night was affecting the entire campus in every aspect!
After class, Lu Ke didn't rush home but went to a sporting goods store to buy some yoga equipment. For athletes, the importance of professional equipment was something they knew better than anyone. It's the same idea as "a craftsman must first sharpen his tools to do his work well." This was especially true for players who wanted to get a foothold in the professional league.
Carrying his new sports gear, Lu Ke jogged back to his apartment. By the time he got home, he had finished his warm-up. After a little rest and adjustment, he was ready to begin his exploration of yoga.
First, he laid out the yoga mat in the living room and then summoned the system and clicked on the first video. He wasn't in a hurry to train right now. His daily training was already complete, and the timer would reset tomorrow, so today's training wouldn't count. The reason he was starting today was that there was no official team practice today, so he had come back early to rest, and he also wanted to get familiar with the yoga movements to prepare for tomorrow's official training.
As the first video started to play, Lu Ke carefully observed the 3D projected movements.
The movement didn't look complicated, in fact, it looked a little simple. He had to stand on his right foot, then use his left hand to pull his left foot up, and then extend his left foot and right hand to form a straight line, balancing his entire body on his right leg. However, the simple and clear movement was extremely difficult.
Just by looking at the screen, it looked like an impossible movement. Lu Ke felt like his brain wasn't working. He didn't even understand how to maintain muscle exertion and limb balance. But after the video started playing, some text appeared next to it. After reading it carefully, he found that it was a detailed description of the movement and some things to be aware of.
This movement was called the standing bow pose. It had strict requirements for the muscles in the arms, hips, glutes, calves, and back. It was also beneficial for improving the body's flexibility and coordination, promoting blood circulation, and increasing cardiopulmonary function. More importantly, it was a movement that required a lot of focus and helped with skills like patience and decisiveness.
After reading it, Lu Ke started to try the movement, following the video.
The movement looked difficult enough, but doing it was even more difficult. Lu Ke had a vague feeling that it was a little different from the yoga he saw in real life, but since he had never trained in proper yoga, he couldn't tell what the difference was. To be more precise, he couldn't even complete the first movement properly.
Every time he stood up, his center of gravity would start to wobble. Before he could even extend his body forward, he would start to shake violently. Either he couldn't let go of his left leg in time and would stumble and fall forward, or he would let go of his left hand, and his entire center of gravity would shift back, causing him to fall. Or he would lunge forward, with every muscle in his body protesting.
After many attempts, Lu Ke finally stood on one foot, but the system still said his movement wasn't up to standard.
"How is that possible?" Lu Ke thought he had met the standard. "Is it because I didn't hold the pose for three seconds? Or three minutes?" Lu Ke studied it more carefully but found that it wasn't a matter of time but a matter of his movements—because his center of gravity started to wobble again. Forget three minutes, even three seconds was difficult.
This seemed like a bad start.