Sweat Equity: Getting the works with G-Werks

I've gone soft. After training at 501 Fit in Minneapolis last week, I learned that my upper body's weaker and I need to be sent to my room until I relearn the sacred mandate, "Thou shalt not slouch!"

I'm getting back in shape after spraining my neck in a ridiculously teensy car accident a couple of months ago. We can quickly lose strength after an injury. That's why the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) recommends full-body "reconditioning" after doctors, chiropractors or physical therapists pronounce you whole and set you free. It can take months of work for overall strength to fully return, explained Robb Rogers of the NSCA.

So I was thrilled when personal trainer and 501 Fit club co-owner Phil Martens invited me to his gym. Martens, a former gymnast, used identical G-Werks machines (which he designed) to train six of us simultaneously. His patented machine uses pulleys and a mix of dumbbells to challenge different muscle groups. It even has a funky bench that drops down like a Murphy bed for chest presses and upright rows.

Marten's devotees like his program. "I've been coming here since Jan. 3 and I've lost almost 30 pounds just doing his program," said member Luther Ranheim. "I've been a real success story."

Marten's methods got Natalie Furst's arms in shape for her recent wedding. But on a recent Wednesday, arms were the least of Furst's concerns. "I can't believe I came back on leg day. It's tough," she sighed, while taking the machine next to mine.

"Wednesdays are definitely the grossest," warned Courtney Kersten, before taking the bench to my left. What the heck had I gotten myself into? I took a deep breath and dove in.

We started with 12 cable squats -- grab a weighted cable with straight arms, squat and exhale. We did 15 ab crunches on fitness balls, then bounced between two machines -- doing 12 squats with bent-arm rows at one machine, and 12 weighted leg-kickbacks on the other. We repeated the circuit, this time doing 24 reps each.

Some of Marten's moves surprised me. Simple adjustments on standard routines ramped up the challenge and worked new muscles. Ever wonder what would happen if you grabbed an anchored cable with only one hand, while doing deep squats? Well, you'll look a little drunk at first. It's tough to keep arms parallel when only one hand has weight.

"One-arm squats work your erector spinae [as well as your legs]. Remember, keep your shoulders straight," said Martens, as he instructed me to reduce the curve in my low back and for Courtney to straighten her arms.

Next came kneeling cable crunches, something I'd never done. An innocent-looking rope dangled above, taunting us to grab each end and pull them to the floor while kneeling. We raised the weighted rope back to the heavens, only to yank it back down. Frankly, my crunch croaked. I just had no strength. That was surprising. Until the whiplash, I always did 60-pound lat pull-downs to tone my back. Now, I couldn't do a single 50-pound yank.

Before a full pity party erupted, I remembered the advice of Chris Coffey, the exercise physiologist at the Institute for Exercise Medicine and Prevention. After an injury, "you are re-educating and re-awakening new nerves and new muscles to act more efficiently," he said. That's why a therapist or trainer's job is try to challenge you in different ways -- and that is what makes you stronger.

OK. So I'll try again with small weights and build back over time.

Next, Martens had us stand on the left leg with a 15-pound dumbbell in the right hand. We bent, right leg extended behind, tapped the dumbbell to the left foot and stood again, looked across the room and finished with our right leg straight in front. We did 12 reps and switched sides. What a fun kaleidoscope of movement! Our balance and core strength were tested in so many ways.

I'm stealing that one.

Dee DePass • 612-673-7725