Dana Hunsinger Benbow

dana.benbow@indystar.com

Let's call this "How to work out while feeling completely self-conscious."

Take the more than 20 guys of the Indy Eleven — lean, muscle-toned specimens of athletic greatness. You know, World Cup type of guys?

Invade their hour-long, strength-training session at Indianapolis Fitness And Sports Training. Get so close to them that their sweat drips on you as they walk by.

"It's about to get rowdy," Jae Chung, a strength and conditioning coach at IFAST, told me as things heated up.

He wasn't kidding. These guys like to work out to music blaring. They scream as they do exercises that push them to their limits.

But the rowdy part escaped me. I felt more, hmmm, sheepish.

As they aced the split-lift squats, every bulge on my body, every flabby dangle became magnified.

I reluctantly peeked in the mirror as I got up from a hamstring leg curl and it was a terrible sight. Who is this out-of-shape wannabe encroaching on professional athleticism?

Chung, my mentor for the training, tried to make me feel better.

"Wow. You're doing great," he said. "That was perfect."

He did ask me if I'm an anxious person; he said my breathing seemed rapid. Maybe that had something to do with working out with the Indy Eleven!

All my girlfriends were jealous when they heard I was getting to work out with the team, which is known as a nice-looking (or as some call them, smoking hot) bunch of guys.

Jealous, really? If you had the chance to be up close and personal with this team, would you want it to be while you're sweating, grimacing, hair a hot mess?

Come to find out, it didn't matter one bit. Why I felt insecure, I'll never know.

Who, really, was I kidding? These soccer guys (who range in age from 19 to 34 years old) weren't watching me, some worn-out reporter.

They had much better things to do. Trust me. They were focused.

As we laid down on the ground, our feet propped up against a wall, our rears pulled upward, blowing up a black balloon (this was an exercise to strengthen the abs), it was all business.

The workout with them was intense, carefully plotted for their exact needs.

As Chung said, these guys don't need cardio during their season. They run plenty on the soccer fields.

But soccer players, unbeknownst to me, typically have overdeveloped quads relative to their glutes. IFAST gives them methods to undo that imbalance.

They strengthen the areas of their bodies that are weak in relation to other body parts. The team did lifting with barbells, dumbbells and kettlebells.

"Heavy lifting is what makes people strong," Chung said. "And strength determines endurance. Strength determines power."

Mike Ambersley a nine-year veteran of professional soccer and a forward for the Indy Eleven, said the IFAST trainers are big on helping with proper breathing to maximize the results.

And they help him concentrate on his hips, getting them stronger, more flexible.

Soccer players kick a lot. They plant their feet a lot.

"I love it," he said of the workouts. "I really look forward to it."

I can totally see why.

I learned more in my workout with Chung and the Indy Eleven on how the body works, how muscles work and how the brain works, than I've learned in months.

I felt more like I'd left a college classroom course than an exercise session.

"We train brains, not muscles," Chung said. "Because the brain controls the muscles. It controls everything."

So, if you ever want to get a lesson on how to really get strong, on the ins and outs of your body, go to IFAST.

And if you happen upon a session with the Indy Eleven, leave your insecurities at the door.

IFAST

9402 Uptown Drive, Suite 1600

(317) 578-0998

Offers personal, semi-private and team training options. Prices vary.

Info: indianapolisfitnessandsportstraining.com

Call Star reporter Dana Hunsinger Benbow at (317) 444-6012. Follow her on Twitter:@danabenbow.