(ALISON) BECHDEL, (THE SECRET TO) SUPERHUMAN STRENGTH — I was born... in the primordial darkness just before the dawn of the exercise epoch.... There was no T-ball, no soccer, no aquatics....There was no working out, no going for the burn, no digging deep, nor any shredding of the gnar.
| A. | Brand name in home gyms | BOWFLEX |
| B. | One doing some fencing? | EPEEIST |
| C. | Reason for many a break | COFFEE |
| D. | Sport whose variants include bandy | HOCKEY |
| E. | Straight; plain-spoken | DIRECT |
| F. | Column on a baseball scoreboard | ERRORS |
| G. | Doing some light chores? | LASING |
| H. | Apparel donned for warming up | SWEATER |
| I. | One-piece garment for an acrobat, say | UNITARD |
| J. | Recovers from a sprint, in a way | PANTS |
| K. | Neurochemicals behind a "runner's high" | ENDORPHINS |
| L. | Legendary figure with a quiver (2 wds.) | ROBINHOOD |
| M. | Pal around; schmooze | HOBNOB |
| N. | Kind of grip in weightlifting or a throw in softball | UNDERHAND |
| O. | Game with winds and dragons (hyph.) | MAHJONGG |
| P. | What's taken by decisive people | ACTION |
| Q. | Composer of TV's "Batman" theme (2 wds.) | NEALHEFTI |
| R. | Having a thick, short build | SQUAT |
| S. | Essential point of an argument | THRUST |
| T. | Competition requiring good blades | ROWING |
| U. | The opposite of dissuading (2 wds.) | EGGINGON |
| V. | Close, as a margin of victory | NARROW |
| W. | Places for putting balls | GREENS |
| X. | Pursuit whose users certainly get their kicks (3 wds.) | TAEKWONDO |
| Y. | Daring doings; Herculean efforts | HEROICS |