Stretching things: Customized daily exercise regimen pushes Anne to extremes

Greenwich Citizen reporter Anne W. Semmes resolved to get in shape for 2012, so she decided to enroll in an intense four-week boot camp at Peak Physique personal training center in Greenwich. This is the second installment of a two-part look at her experience -- as told in her own words.

By Anne W. Semmes

It's physical evaluation time in my preparation for a get-fit one-month boot camp at the Peak Physique personal training center in Greenwich, where my editor has sentenced me to complete the regimen for purposes of benefiting the reader. I'm already adopting the nutritional recommendations I shared with you previously and am now filling my life and my refrigerator with vegetables, fruits (did I mention the nutritionist likes berries) and nuts.

"So, what have you been doing for exercise over the last year?" says Dominic "Dom" Novak, the founder/president of this 20-year enterprise where everyone has a trainer and looks thin and strong.

I give Dom my local gym regimen -- 30-minutes of treadmill, 15 minutes of weights and 15 of abs three days a week (when I can get there), and 30 minutes of toning exercises at home the other three days (if I'm lucky). Sunday is rest day.

"So, what do you want to achieve?" he asks.

"I want core strengthening and lower back strengthening," I tell him, like all the rest of the world that sits in front of a computer all day.

"So, let's see where you need to go," he says.

For the next 30 minutes I'm put through various resistance exercises: walking with elastic mini-bands around my ankles, pulling elastics with my arms, lifting weights, bending, stretching, squatting . . .

Dom takes my measure and spells it out: "Your right wrist is weak and needs specific strengthening exercises . . . Your left external rotator is weak and needs strengthening . . . Your inner thighs need strengthening, especially on the left side . . . Your trapezius muscles need to lower (like all computer users)."

But he adds, "Your squat was excellent!"

(I'm warming to this guy.)

I'm told (much to my satisfaction) that my "overall form on all the exercises is good."

"I think you are in good shape mechanically," he says, "but you need a consistent daily program."

Before long he has a customized boot camp daily exercise regimen for me.

It begins with the Cat Back Stretch. "It's a great stretch to warm-up the abs and lower back muscles," he says. "Begin on all fours with your shoulders and hips squared and arms straight, pull your abdominals in and curl your back up like a cat does as you inhale, hold for a brief moment, exhale and then return to the starting position."

This is a cinch.

The Bird Dog Stretch comes next. "It's for glutes or butt muscles," he says. "Go on all fours and pick up your arm and opposite leg and extend as far away as possible from each other keeping your hips and shoulders aligned and hold for five seconds and repeat with your other arm and opposite leg."

No problem.

"The Downward Dog is a great stretch to flatten the back muscles and stretch the hamstrings and lengthen the calves," he continues. "On all fours, push from your arms and extend your hips to the sky while keeping your legs straight, then press your heels to the ground."

Heels to the ground? Is he crazy?

"Press the heels down," he insists, "and hold for a count of five."

Oh, my god.

They come one after the other, each exercise more grueling.

"This is the Pilates crunch position," he says, "You alternate leg in and leg out. It's an excellent lower abs exercise that lengthens your hip flexors and stretches your hamstrings. Lie on your back; keep your abs drawn in and your head and shoulders off the ground with your legs straight in the air. Begin by bringing in a leg straight to your arms as you exhale and briefly hold as your other leg lowers down and then exchange legs"

So, this is what my core feels like. Oh, my God -- a block of cement.

And then its Plank time.

"The Plank is a full body exercise that emphasizes the core," he begins. "With both your elbows on the ground and your shoulders directly over them in a straight line pick up your hips keeping your legs straight and hold this position making sure that your shoulders and hips are lined up in a straight line. Hold for 15 to 30 seconds breathing normally."

Breathing? Who's he kidding?

The Side Plank comes next.

"It's an excellent exercise that challenges the oblique muscles and hips," he says. "On your side with one elbow placed on the ground with your shoulder directly over that elbow and your opposite hand placed against the ground for support, pick up your hips with your legs stacked on each other in a straight line, and hold for 15-30 seconds breathing normally."

"Oh, my God!" I explode.

"What am I doing to you," he says, in a half laugh. But then he tells me about the 56-year old woman who won his monthly Novak Maniac Award for holding a Side Plank position for 12 -- I repeat --12 minutes!

No time to commiserate. We're onto the next exercise, the One Leg Standing Holds. "It's an excellent exercise to challenge the stabilizing grounded leg," he says. (And just you try, reader, to stand with your right leg grounded, with a slight bend in the knee as you raise your left leg with your knee bent and even with your hip, and hold that knee up for 30 seconds!)

"It's so hard!" I cry, losing my balance. (The longest hold Dom knows of is one minute!)

And then it's on to the weights to strengthen the word processor's wrist muscles, forearms and biceps. By the time he's through I have a list of 18 exercises.

"This routine," he says, "will give you everything you want. It'll take you 50 minutes at first," he says, "But you'll wind it down to 40."

"Nutrition is 95-100 percent of the battle," he reminds. "Exercise allows the body to become stronger, and 30 minutes on the treadmill or walking will condition your heart. If you follow the program diligently you will reap the rewards of being leaner, stronger and more toned."

So, out the door I go with my personalized boot camp assignment. "Do this 6-7 days for four weeks," he says, before adding an encouraging word. "Remember, it's crawl, walk, jog, run."

Stay tuned for this reporter's self-assessment after four weeks of her personalized boot camp.