Flex. Unflex. Flex.

A junior, who requested his name not be revealed, obediently flexes his chest at junior Irene Chang’s requests. As he flexes proudly, he knows that his hard work from daily workouts has paid off.

Hard work, and a little bit of nitric oxide.

Nitric oxide is a common and legal body-building supplement that enables users to exercise more efficiently and substantially. Since the beginning of freshman year, the junior has been pressured to become bulky. He started using nitric oxide after his first year of working out.

“I heard it would make me work out longer so I can get better results,” he said. “[And] now I can work out for, like, three to four hours.”

Despite its benefits, nitric oxide comes with its side effects. Dilating the blood vessels and exercising for long periods have been known to strain the heart, and taking too much nitric oxide can be toxic to the body. Along with the common by-products, the junior has also noticed that taking nitric oxide limits his focus, causes an addictive dependence and sometimes provides only temporary bulk to his muscles. Taking too much nitric oxide can also have its consequences, as the junior once experienced.

“He just dropped to the floor and couldn’t stop doing pushups. He had so much extra energy,” Chang said of that incident. “It’s scary. It’s like caffeine.”

Weight training and PE Elect teacher Jeff Thomas disapproves of nitric oxide usage in general.

“Any kind of stimulant … when you’re working out is never really a good idea because you can’t sustain it,” he said. “You can’t keep doing that the rest of your life.”

The junior insists he uses the supplement carefully, but he empathizes with other underclassmen who are struggling with building muscle, acknowledging that society portrays men in a single way: “Big.”

“It’s not so much the media but the people around them who are pressuring them,” the junior said.

Thomas agrees. “It’s got something to do with [a boy] being a man,” he said. “And they want to look good; there are a lot of social pressures.”

The junior, despite feeling less pressure than he did before, admits to not yet reaching total body confidence. But there is one thing he knows for certain.

“I don’t hate how I look,” he said. “Society tells guys to be buff and muscular … but now I just want to be stronger for myself.”