Remember last week how I was all “Grr…the gym is my bitch!” and “I eat bicep curls for breakfast?” Yeaaah…that was a very short-lived victory. My trainer, Kinga, thought last week was a bit too easy and decided to intensify things this week.
We usually fit about 3 circuits into an hour. This week’s circuit involved step ups on a giant block, rows, squats, something I like to call the lats killer, and the chicken wing (works the deltoids. Then we worked on my adductors, but not before lifting 95lbs with my calves. Then we moved onto what I like to call super lunges (see picture below). Those were actually pretty fun. Onto the abs! I did a mixture of crunches that worked the upper, lower and obliques. I love ab work. So we did all of this and then repeat, each time increasing the amount of weight and upping the rep from 10 to 12 or 15.
Some of you may be thinking, “Man Jenn, you rule.” But please hold all words of encouragement and praise until the end of this post.
During our last abs set, she mixed things up a bit so I could focus on my core. I have an arch in my lower back, meaning my pelvis tilts forward a bit leaving me with LB pain. We’re trying to tighten my glutes and abs so I balance out the two and minimize the curve.
She breaks out my arch nemesis, the exercise ball ::cue dramatic music:: She kneels down and rests her wrists on the ball. She then rolls forward, balancing on the ball, and then pulls herself back up using only her abs, ass and LB. Seems easy enough right? Well, yes, it is, assuming you have a good relationship with balance. As we’ve seen in the past, the exercise ball and I do not get along well. Let me demonstrate below with pictures.
I have to say that although I sometimes make an ass out of myself at the gym, I’m really loving it. I love being pushed and challenged each week. I also love that Kinga doesn’t just use weight machines. She shows me a variety of workouts that I can do at home that mimic the machine. She also provides a great variety of the same workout so I don’t get bored doing the same old crunch day after day.
I don’t know what I’ll do when our sessions are up! I only have 4 left 
Question: If you had to guess, what would you say is the strongest muscle in the body?
{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
Strongest muscle in the body? The heart?
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Great paint picture
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Lunges and I? We aren’t friends. Excuse me from reading this post why I go shove McDonald’s in my mouth. Ha.
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The toungue!
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I always crack up at the pictures…do you glasses actually fall off, or is that simply for dramatic, illustrated effect?
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I love being challenged at the gym as well. I miss doing it, really. Okay, that’s a lie. Sometimes I miss doing it and sometimes I rejoice in the fact that I don’t have to sweat and instead I could watch reruns on TV. Now I just jog. I’m lazy.
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We have two of those exercise balls at my work. My co-worker and I tried balancing on them the other day, using that as a chair rather than the high backed roller one we usually used. I hated it after five minutes. But man, those were an intense five minutes!
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I love your pictures! I admire that you’re sticking with this gym thing despite the mishaps
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I’m going with tongue as well for the strongest muscle.
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It’s totally the tongue! I forget where I learned that.
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a) I LOVE that her name is Kinga. Somehow, it feels terribly appropriate
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b) Your paint pictures crack me the hell up.
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The tongue!!
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tongue? mouth? something in the face i think?
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I gave up on the ball long ago when it was discovered to be the biggest magnet of cat hair in the house. Alas, I miss it and think it’s a great device to trick you into working the ol’ abs.
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the tongue! or maybe the glutes?
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i do a lot of various gym work, but i’m a total novice with the ball. in that i’ve never used it. i’m scared.
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yup totally the tongue.
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which is all kinds of awesome. hehe
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My first thought is that the tongue is the strongest muscle in the body. And from everyone’s comments on here, it looks like I might be right!
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Keep kicken’ ass at the gym.
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I think it’s the tongue, right?
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Damn, everyone beat me to “THE TONGUE!! HEHEHEHE!” comments.
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Wow, sounds like you get a good workout?
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Hmm, I never thought that it could be the tongue, but since everyone thinks it.. I’ll go with that.
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lick it.
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I don’t have to guess. It’s the tongue. Although in this blogging world, I’d say our fingers are going to surpass it.
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i love your animations, haha. i do not get along well with the exercise ball either, oy.
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i want to say the tongue is the strongest muscle…but who knows.
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and i do those same exercise ball ab things! It’s tough but it really does burn the next day and that feels good!
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I’ve heard the tongue is the strongest muscle in the body for its size….
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I loev your stick figure of super lunges! But you don’t have to wear a cape to do them, right??
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HAHAHAAHAH! Did you draw those!? I thought MY paint skills were good
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Kinga? HAHAHA somehow that makes the pictures even funnier.
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Oh you keep reminding me i need to go back to the gym, damn you! Sigh, i wish i could afford a personal trainer at my gym.
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And i’m chiming in on the ITS THE TONGUE comments. I totally knew that too.
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I love the exercise ball so far…but i’m only doing a little bit on it!
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Look up Kinga from BB6 and find out what she did!
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man, gym stories are weird to me! probably because i’ve never set foot in a gym before, but your stories are getting me to think maybe i should join one after all.
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Reading your workout tales makes me want to get a trainer who can whip me into shape. Because I don’t do so well on my own…
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Strongest muscle? I think the tongue. Yeah… it’s gotta be the tongue.
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Stick drawings plus superhero cape? Bravo…bravo…
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Ohmygod, Jenn, I relate to this so much. I just joined a gym across the street from my new job, and got a trainer as well. The first workout was Friday, and I thought it would be all honkey dorey, but here I am two days later and I still can barely walk, sit down, or move. I am in a world of pain over here. That being said, I’m psyched about tomorrow (le sigh) when I have session #2. I hope I can actually do the things he wants me too, however! I’m thinking the more realistic situation will be me falling into a pool of quivering mess.
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I’m going to the gym all inspired.
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