So That's Where I Left My Hamstring

Trainer Kevin promised me that we'd ramp up the intensity of strength training once I got past the triathlon season. I'm starting to find out what this means. It means aggressive core work, new muscle soreness, and a lot of fun.

TK is also starting diet talk with me again. More about our mutual educational efforts at a later date.

Here's my three-week workout for October 9-30. It's a workout that pampers my pulled calf but not much else.

1. Oblique crunches on the exercise ball. Crunch, hold for 2 seconds, release. 3x10 each side.


2. Side plank. 3x25 seconds each side. Progress to 30 seconds.


3. Rolling plank on the exercise ball, from knees. 3x15.

Then move to the Bosu ball with a 9-pound body bar. For now. I think I'll be up to a heavier bar in a week. 3 supersets of the following:


4. Place bar on round side of the Bosu and grasp bar on either side of the Bosu. Pushups from knees. 15.

Stand on the flat side of the Bosu. (Ascending the Bosu is a trick. Balancing on it while TK is saying things to make me laugh is a feat.) Then:


5. Standing rows, 15.


6. Shoulder press, 15.


7. Bicep curl, 15.


8. Bent row, 15.

3 supersets done — descend Bosu as gracefully as possible. Now, finally:


9. Lie on the mat with the bar across hips, heels down, toes up. Bridge. 3x20. Superset with 3x25 each leg stationary lunges.

Annnnnd hello, hamstrings. TK told me I'd be feeling it. Good. I usually see big progress when TK's new workouts leave me sore enough that I don't think I can do them again two days later. But because that's what's on the plate, that's what I do. By the fourth time, I'm starting to add weight.

So, all done and YES I'M STRETCHING, THANK YOU. Jeesh. Grown woman has to be badgered to stretch. Inexcusable. Past the stretching, which still feels haphazard and obligatory, I'm thinking about how to stretch more intelligently and with purpose so that it will be an indispensable and beloved part of my day. I mean, it used to be. I used to do yoga. What happened?

Anyway.

Trainer Kevin also promises me when I'm comfortably holding 30 seconds on a side plank, he's going to "turn me into a fish." I don't know what that means, and if you do, don't tell me. It has something to do with yet more aggressive core work, and he's quite pleased to surprise me with whatever it is.

I think I'd better throw in some extra core work at home for good measure. Shoelace crunches... leg lifts... a plank or two... just for grins. TK isn't reading this, I don't think, so maybe I can surprise him in three weeks as well.