Chapter 80: Don't Stick Your Butt Out So Much
"Mm! I'll do my best to remember it!"
Saying that, Kitasan Black quickly pulled out her little notebook and pen, scribbled furiously for a moment, then set them down at her side.
Once she was done taking notes, Makoto nodded, then adjusted the training equipment while giving instructions.
The first exercise was the cable chest fly.
She sat firmly on the machine's seat, feet planted wide apart, knees steady, keeping her body stable.
Hands gripping the handles with palms facing each other, she spread her arms to the sides, elbows slightly bent and a little lower than her shoulders.
Her hands and arms stayed relaxed with minimal force; it was her chest muscles that pulled the arms inward, dragging the cable weights.
When her hands came together in front of her, she paused briefly, then slowly released, controlling the motion as her arms returned to the starting position.
Throughout the process she was to focus on the contraction and relaxation of her chest muscles, keeping the pace steady and slow.
The exercise mainly worked the pectoralis major, while also engaging the pectoralis minor, serratus anterior, anterior deltoids, and the short head of the biceps.
As with her other practices, the training was divided into multiple sets, each with a certain number of reps, with clear rest intervals between them.
After the cable fly, they moved on to bench press, deadlifts, bent-over rows, and so on.
All of these were strength-oriented upper-body exercises, targeting mainly the muscles of the chest and arms in front and above.
Once today's session was complete, tomorrow's training would, as Makoto had explained earlier, switch to the back and lower arm muscles instead.
By the end of the workout, the fatigue was plain on Kitasan Black's face.
Sweating and panting, she sat cross-legged on the floor, heels tucked as close as possible, upper body leaning forward under Makoto's pressure, letting out a low cry of pain.
"Ahhh, it hurts, hurts, hurts… why does it hurt so much, Trainer…?"
"It's because today's training was concentrated."
Keeping a steady rhythm of fifteen seconds per set, Makoto assisted her with butterfly stretches as he explained:
"In your usual training, whether running or weighted drills, you're more or less engaging your whole body's muscles."
"But today, especially just now, only certain groups of muscles were taking on the full workload."
"When the weight is concentrated like that, of course those muscles get much more fatigued."
"Alright, get up—go stand against the wall."
Once the lower-body stretches were done, he gestured for her to move to the wall, back toward him, hands pressed against the surface.
"Yeah, that's the right distance. Now rest your elbows on the wall, about shoulder height, hands together. Lean forward…"
"No, I didn't say stick your butt out—don't arch it so much."
"Relax your hips, lift your head, slowly slide your elbows upward, chest pressing closer to the wall… Can you please not make those weird noises…?""
Following his instructions, Kitasan Black leaned her head up and pressed forward against the wall, her face a mix of pain and pleasure, while strange "hnn mnn" sounds slipped out of her mouth.
At his exasperated complaint, she couldn't help but protest between breaths:
"Uhh… ah… b-but… it really does feel weird, Trainer…"
"I know, but… never mind. Do as you like."
He had been about to scold her again, but gave up with a sigh.
After all, he'd gone through this kind of training himself—he knew that once the exercises were done properly, stretches afterward often felt both painful and oddly refreshing.
That was actually a good sign, proof that the training had worked. Otherwise, she would've felt either only pain, or nothing at all.
Still, hearing Kitasan Black let out sounds like that made him feel more than a little awkward.
Feeling uneasy, he couldn't help but glance around, hoping no one else was paying attention to them.
Just as Makoto's eyes swept the room, he suddenly locked eyes with Air Groove and Duramente, who were walking over.
From the weariness on Duramente's face, it was obvious that her training had been no less intense just now—she was probably here for her cooldown stretches as well.
Since they had already noticed each other, Makoto thought for a moment, then decided to greet them.
"Good evening, Air Groove-san, Duramente-san."
"Trainer Yasui, Kitasan Black, good evening."
Naturally, Air Groove responded with a smile. Then she turned toward Duramente.
"Duramente, you—"
But Duramente ignored her, merely glancing briefly at Makoto and at Kitasan Black pressed against the wall in mid-stretch. She gave the faintest of nods.
Then, without a word, she walked over to the pull-up bars, lifted her long legs up, and began stretching on her own.
"Dura– you… Ahh…"
An expression of awkward helplessness crossed Air Groove's face. She shook her head and bowed apologetically toward Makoto.
"I must apologize, Trainer Yasui. This girl… isn't good at interacting with others. Please don't take it to heart. I'll be sure to teach her properly afterward."
Makoto didn't really mind.
He had only greeted them out of politeness in the first place. Duramente's reaction wasn't unexpected at all.
But just as he turned his attention back to Kitasan Black's stretches, Air Groove called out to him.
"Trainer Yasui, Duramente and I will be heading to the cafeteria for dinner shortly. If you don't mind… would you and Kitasan Black join us?"
…
A short while later, at a table in the academy cafeteria.
Sitting across from Air Groove, Makoto rubbed his chin, speaking thoughtfully:
"So, your proposal is for Duramente to try training together with Kitasan Black?"
That was the request Air Groove had raised after they sat down.
Back in the gym, Makoto had already guessed that she wanted to discuss something, hence the dinner invitation.
But he hadn't expected this. For a moment, he was caught completely off guard.
From a training and resource perspective, he couldn't see the necessity at all.
Compared to him, Air Groove's ability as a Trainer was certainly not inferior—if anything, with her real-world racing career, G1 victories, and managerial background, her experience was even richer.
And compared to Kitasan Black, Duramente came from one of the most prestigious families in the industry. Even if, in terms of outside perception, their backgrounds seemed similar, the professional resources at Duramente's disposal were far superior.
So then, training together… for what reason?
Makoto frowned slightly in puzzlement.
"Yes. To be frank, Trainer Yasui, Duramente is… sigh~"
With a weary look, Air Groove glanced over at another table not far away.
The two Umamusume hadn't joined them at the same table—Kitasan Black and Duramente were instead seated opposite each other at another.
Air Groove drew her gaze back with a sigh, her face carrying the heaviness of a teacher who knew her pupil all too well.
"Dura has always been impatient by nature."
"In her debut race, she got anxious barely out of the gate.
"She calmed down later, but by then too much of her stamina was already spent. Otherwise, she would've had a real shot at first place."
"The same happened in the Kyodo Tsushin Hai."
"If I had to put it simply, her recovery is quick, but in the end… she still lost."
"Because of that defeat, she's stopped listening to her Trainer's instructions. Even when I took her out to relax, it didn't help."
"Fortunately, she still respects me somewhat. At her family's request—through my mother, no less—I've been looking after her in her Trainer's place these past weeks."
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Note:
Umamusume in this chapter:
Kitasan Black: https://umamusume.fandom.com/wiki/Kitasan_Black
Air Groove: https://umamusume.fandom.com/wiki/Air_Groove
Duramente: https://umamusume.fandom.com/wiki/Duramente
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