Sonya is my hero

Hello workout friends! Last week's workout didn't air because of severe weather, so below you'll find a repeat of last week's blog. In the meantime I wanted to let you know how amazing Sonya is. A few weeks ago she hurt herself during one of our workout shoots. Did she decide to stop her triathlon training? Of course not. Instead, Sonya started going to a physical therapist. She completed the Copper Creek Triathlon last Sunday. That in and of itself is incredible to me, but she also still gave 110% during the insane workout shoot we did yesterday morning. I've really enjoyed working out with Sonya - she always makes me work harder than I do on my own and I always walk away with a desire to do better next time.


Workout like a Navy SEAL
This week we're giving TRX Suspension Training a try. The exercises might appear to be pretty easy, but they aren't.

"It's basically a strength-training system," explains Barb Mendoza, "it's just body weight and two nylon straps!" It doesn't get much more simple that that and simple is part of the reason this personal trainer was drawn to the TRX. The other selling point - the system was invented by a Navy SEAL for working out in the field. "TRX 101 is that where you position yourself makes a huge difference," Barb tells us during our training session. We start out with our hands in the straps, feet on the ground, doing one-legged squats and lunges. Then we move on to upper body exercises like rows, flys and tricep extensions. We play around with the position of our feet and can immediately feel how a change in stance changes the level of difficulty.

What we didn't anticipate was putting our feet in the straps, but Barb shows us some moves that really push us out of our comfort zones. "You'll be on the floor for a couple of things and you'll be unhappy when you're there because it's gonna be hard!" She's not kidding. Sonya goes first. Her feet are in the straps and she's face down in a basic plank. That move is tough in and of itself, but then Barb tells Sonya to push her hips to the ceiling, into a pike. After several reps it's back to the plank - with a twist. Barb tells Sonya to swing her hips from side to side. This routine blasts your entire body, but really targets your core. "When we say core, everybody thinks abs," says Barb, "but hip flexors, hamstrings, glutes and back are also part of the core." And I get to target those muscle groups. Barb also puts my feet in the straps, but I'm face up. First I do hamstring curls like you would on a stability ball and it doesn't take long to burn out. The next move is a high bridge that torches your glutes and I'm thinking this is the fast track to a fantastic looking butt! Finally Barb has me swing side to side just like Sonya did and I can instantly feel my obliques and back working.

We loved the TRX workout. It was really hard and we're sure it produces results. If you want to give it a try with Barb, call her at 277-9721 or visit her website www.fitnessbydesigndm.com.

EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com