Satomi-sensei joins the gym, hoping to get in shape for her secret pastime.
Episode 3 – “Sensei is on a Diet Too?”
Hmm.
At some point Dumbbell was going to give us an otaku angle. Ayaka’s taste in American action movies was just not going to be good enough. It was great for the muscles, because that’s what this show is all about, but there was no manga or anime connection. Enter the sexy cosplayer Satomi-sensei! Well, she’s not feeling so sexy when we first meet her because, like Hibiki, she’s feeling pudgy and the audience can’t tell at all that she’s supposed to be “soft.” It doesn’t matter. She needs to go to the gym! The reward for suspending our disbelief that she’s not in great shape is the not-Kancolle not-Shimakaze cosplay at Komiket! I’m ready to believe anything for this show!
Since Dumbbell is about building a better body through bigger muscles, there’s no way to avoid talking about diets. According to the show, what we eat is as important as how heavy our dumbbells are, but it’s not just what we eat, but how we eat. Ayaka mentioned stress during Akemi’s discourse on insulin carrying sugar to our fat and muscle cells. The reason our fat cells take in calories as readily as our muscles when we are in “starvation mode” is the stress hormone cortisol. However, don’t believe all those infomercials about combating cortisol just because you’re “stressed out.” It’s a particular kind of stress on the body caused by hunger.
Akemi recommends eating many times during the day to avoid this kind of starvation stress, but another good way is changing your meals to include more protein and a bit more fat instead of starchy food. Sugar takes 20 minutes to fully digest and enter your bloodstream, carbohydrate is 40 minutes, protein is 90 minutes to 2 hours, and fat is 4 hours. If you include enough fat and protein in your meals, you’ll feel full and keep topped up with blood sugar until your next meal. Please note: do not eat like this if you are exercising for more than 90 minutes. Your body has different requirements during such an effort.
There’s another note to add with the nice addition of Satomi-sensei to Macho Man’s disappointed ikemen harem: she’s coming in with a group of older women. It was her colleague Aina-sensei who pushed her into joining the Silverman Gym and we see Aina with the pretty lady with dumbbells during the opening credits. If high school girls aren’t your thing while watching this show, just wait for the more mature onee-sans sure to join the cast.
Heh.
Ah. Here’s the sensei character. It looks like her colleague joins up too. Oh ho. Satomi-sensei has a secret hobby. Aina-sensei is a livewire. She pokes Satomi for not having a boyfriend to show off her pudgy body. Aina-sensei has the gym flyer. When does she join up? Satomi-sensei doesn’t want to meet students or parents outside of work. That policy will be broken in short order.
Aina-sensei is in the opening credits! And she’s with dumbbell onee-san! I like any lady with sexy hair.
No way high school girls joined this gym… except for those two. Akemi wants Sensei to get macho with her! Eh? Hibiki wants to break hearts with Sensei! That’s not better. Uh oh. Satomi-sensei falls for ikemen Macho Man like Hibiki did!
Don’t mention Satomi-sensei is getting older!
Macho Man exercise video! Dumbbells, finally! Working biceps the day after triceps is still letting a muscle group recover, even if they’re on the same body part.
Satomi-sensei needs to get used to this stuff like Hibiki did. She doesn’t know what “shredded” means! She’ll be joining the videos soon enough.
Working with free weights is a total body workout. Even just curling your bicep means stabilizing your core and flexing your chest to maintain proper form. Yass! Akemi and Hibiki are handling dumbbells for real! So, how heavy are the dumbbells you lift? 2, 4, 6, and 50 kg! It took three episodes, but they finally answered the question in the anime title.
Interesting tan line. Big hint for her hobby. Macho Man defends Satomi’s “hardcore hobby.” Maybe he knows something? That explains that! 29 year old cosplayer! The famous Yulia Riko.
Fun. Ayaka is hanging out with Akemi for lunch now. Hibiki is eating too much. Good discussion about an insulin spike increasing fat at the same time as muscles. Hibiki’s diet of fat-fried meat and carbs once a day is no good.
Akemi-Sensei explains insulin. Ha! The little animations are on her tablet. The bodybuilder diet is constantly eating by breaking up the meals and eating more often. Gotta have a cheat day! It’s more for the mind than the body. That scream of pleasure! But don’t start the new diet with a cheat day, Hibiki!
Alright! Satomi-chuan! Uh, I mean, Yulia-tan!
Uh oh! What are they doing here? These dramatic faces tickle me so. Satomi-sensei crouching and hiding is still a pose for the hungry photographers.
Ah. Macho Man is macho man cosplaying. How does everyone know about Muscle King? Satomi-sensei must only know about titles with cute girls and outfits. Haha! Cosplay explosion!
The next exercise video – the front press, just because the Muscle King did it. Now Satomi is doing the overwrought commentary like Hibiki used to do, while Hibiki is the star! Ain’t character progression grand? Fun! The Hibiki exercise model still looks nervous doing these spots. This exercise works the deltoids, or shoulder muscles.
Hee! Satomi’s cosplay hobby secret is safe, but it’s been replaced by a fujoshi aspect. Hibiki says Satomi likes BL “too.” Oh ho! We learned something nice about Hibiki.
The omake covers the bicep curl. Satomi-sensei joins in. Hilarious. A bag of magazines is good for curls and they’re of Hina from TadaKoi! Dumbbell and TadaKoi share the same animation studio and director. Muscle King, lend me your strength!
