A Fitness Coach Was Asked About Priligy by a Student—He Asked Three Questions First

At 7:30 in the evening, only three people were left in the free weights area of the gym. Akai had just finished his last set of deadlifts. The plates were still on the bar, and he was leaning against the squat rack, scrolling on his phone. He was so absorbed that he didn't even notice his coach, Ahong, walk over. Ahong tossed a towel onto his shoulder. Akai jumped, nearly dropping his phone. On the screen was a list of search results, and the keyword was just three characters long.

"Searching like that, you could search your whole life and never find an answer." Ahong didn't lean in to look. He just started putting the plates back on the rack one by one. Akai was the kind of student who trained hard and moved well, never late to class. But for the past two weeks, he had been scheduling his sessions after 9 p.m., always saying it was because of overtime. Ahong didn't call him out. He just asked one question: "Are you trying to ask me, or are you trying to ask your own body?"

Akai was silent for a few seconds. He said that last month, he had spent the night with someone he'd been dating for six months, and things hadn't gone smoothly. He didn't go into detail, only saying "it didn't live up to expectations." After he got home, he started looking things up and found a bunch of terms, one of which was Priligy. He handed his phone over and asked Ahong, "Can I actually take this? Do you coaches all know about this stuff?" Ahong took the phone, read the page, handed it back, and said, "I'm not a doctor, and I'm not a pharmacist. Asking me this is like asking a plumber about a headache."

Akai laughed, a bit forced. Ahong went on to say that in his years as a coach, he'd had plenty of students ask him about things like this privately. The problem usually wasn't those three characters—it was what was behind the question. He pulled over two yoga mats and sat down, asking Akai to answer three things first. One: Does this happen every time, or was it just that one time? Two: Have there been any changes recently in your sleep, work stress, drinking, or training volume? Three: What do you really want to fix—your body's condition, or how the other person sees you?

The third question stumped Akai. He looked down and thought for a long time, then said his biggest fear was being seen as "not good enough." After that night, he didn't even dare bring up another date. He replied to messages more and more slowly, and the other person thought he regretted it. The two of them just froze like that. Ahong nodded after hearing it all and said, "So what you need to deal with is this, not that string of search results." He asked Akai to first write down the details of that night—not for anyone else to see, but for himself: what time he got off work, what he drank, how many hours he slept, how he was feeling.

The next week, Akai came back with that piece of paper, covered in dense writing. He realized that on that day, he had worked twelve hours straight, eaten only a bun for lunch, and had two drinks in the evening. Ahong didn't draw any conclusions. He just said these were all clues that could be taken to a professional, far more useful than reading one page here and another there online. He also reminded him that if he really wanted to understand related medications, he should first confirm whether it's a prescription drug, what the packaging says, and whether the source is legitimate. He should also bring a list of any supplements and medications he's currently taking, so a doctor or pharmacist can make a judgment.

Later, Akai did something that surprised Ahong. He didn't send another message to explain. Instead, he asked the other person out directly and honestly said he hadn't been in a good place during that time, admitting his nervousness. After hearing him out, the other person actually felt relieved, saying she had thought she'd done something wrong. Once they talked it through, the frozen relationship began to thaw. Akai said that after going around in such a big circle, what was really stuck wasn't his body—it was his mouth, too afraid to speak.

Ahong adjusted his training schedule, moving his evening sessions later, and reminded him to get enough sleep before training. He didn't recommend anything. He just said one thing: "You can look things up, but when you're done, take it to the right person." Akai nodded, folded the paper full of notes, and put it in his pocket. Before leaving, he turned back and asked, "So do you actually know about this stuff or not?" Ahong laughed and said, "I know squats, I know deadlifts, and I know your bad habit of not putting the plates back. For everything else, go ask the people you're supposed to ask."