I’ve been Twittering a lot about the gym: that I go, that I signed up for a new gym closer to work, that I have a trainer now who I pay a lot of money to kick my ass on a weekly basis.

I got a few questions from some Twitter and Facebook friends (since my Twitter stream is linked to my Facebook status – no I am not on Facebook all day long. They’re all feeeeeeds, people!) asking me what I actually DO when I go to the gym, so why not hit everyone at once and just blog about it. EFFICIENCY, PEOPLE.

(So if you don’t want to hear about what I think are the benefits of a personal trainer and my particular program, thanks for stopping by, but you’ll probably want to stop reading right about …. NOW.)

Before I start, I have to say, while yes it is a commitment and a considerable chunk of change, the best thing I did for myself was invest in a personal trainer. I say this for a few reasons: #1) Despite the fact that I have had a gym membership for years, I rarely ventured off the treadmill or elliptical because I just had no idea what to do with any of the other machines – how much weight to use? How many reps to do? #2) While I truly do enjoy working out once I get to the gym, I need some motivation to get me there. And nothing gets you to the gym regularly like coughing up a bunch of dough and having a person waiting to work with you. #3) I have workout ADD. I get bored SO EASILY. The thought of jumping on a treadmill for 45 minutes or doing the same rotation of 6 exercises every week bores the crap out of me.

Hiring a trainer fixed all of these things: I now know how to use most of the machines in my gym, which ones work best for the results I’m looking for, and how much weight and how many reps to do to get there. My trainer is waiting for me every single Tuesday at 12:30 pm on the DOT. I paid her to. And I sure as hell am not wasting my hard earned money by ditching out. And finally, I never do the same work out twice. Last week I was running around on a bunch of machines, yesterday I was doing crazy lunges and deadlifts with free weights. It’s impossible to get bored when a person teaches you a million different things to do.

If you can’t afford a trainer all the time (I only hired mine for 3 months to start!), I really do honestly think it’s worth hiring one for at the very least a session, or a couple of weeks. Most trainers offer packages (with discounts!). Ask around at your gym and find out!

At my gym, once I hired a trainer we did an hour evaluation session where my trainer took all of my measurements, calculated my BMI and my body fat percentage, she had me do some cardio and evaluated my resting and working heart rate, etc. Then we sat and talked about my goals. Now when your trainer asks you why you’re there BE HONEST. It’s the only way you’ll get the results you want. So I told her all of what I said above (that I have no idea how to use machines, I get bored) as well as the regular reasons you go to a gym – to be healthy and fit. And when she asked if there was any other reason I took the opportunity to tell her that my 10 year high school reunion was coming up and while everyone else is going with husbands and boyfriends and kids, I just got me so let’s make me EFFING HAWT. What? It’s true!

She took ALL of these things into account and we got started on a program.

So from a workout stand point, my week looks a little like this:

Monday: 45 mins of cardio (running on the treadmill or climbing stairs)
Tuesday: 30 min personal training session (I’ll go into detail below of what I do).
Wednesday: 45 mins of cardio OR 1 hour of yoga (depending on what my body needs).
Thursday: 30 mins of strength training based on my Tuesday session
Friday: Day off
Saturday: 30 mins of strength training based on my Tuesday session and some cardio
Sunday: Day off

Yeah it’s a lot and it sucked at first, but now 7 weeks in of this particular program, it’s second nature. (I think once I hit the one month mark, it just got easier from there).

With that all being said – OF COURSE I miss a day here and there or just don’t effing feel like it. I’m not a freaking robot, and things come up and sometimes your body just can’t do it. But for the most part, that’s the schedule I try to stick to on a regular basis.

At nearly the two month mark I am definitely noticing a huge difference in my stamina. I can run (inside and outside) for much longer distances without even thinking about it! I think it takes longer to notice changes in your body – I am definitely more firm all over, and can see what I think is the beginnings of a cut in my arms and legs – but it’s not a terribly noticeable difference to anyone but me I’m sure. (And I could be making it all up in my head to make myself feel better!) But that’s another huge benefit of a trainer – I can’t/won’t give up. In general, I love instant gratification, but with working out, that just doesn’t happen. You have to keep working, and you have to keep working hard – literally for months.

What I’d like to do on here (for myself and anyone who’s looking for a little variety in their own workouts), is detail what I do in my Tuesday workouts with my trainer (which I then do again two more times during the week.)

This week (only) I’m going to do two Tuesdays worth of what I worked on (last Tuesday was more focused on upper body, while this Tuesday had a lower body focus).

Last Tuesday
- 10 minutes , level 8 on the StairMaster to warm up (this is the machine where you’re actually CLIMBING stairs, not just pushing up and down on pedals)
- 2 sets of 10 Push ups (“man pushups” – no knees) – 1 set of 10 on the floor, 1 set of 10 on a bar
- 1 set of 12 reverse lunges into a front balance with a 10 pound medicine ball (instead of just coming up like the girl in the video, I bring my leg up to a balance posture in front).
without resting immediately go to
- 1 set of 12 pull ups (I use a pull up machine with counter weight)
without resting immediately go to
- 1 more set of 12 reverse lunges into a front balance with a 10 pound medicine ball
without resting immediately go to
- 1 more set of 12 pull ups
without resting immediately go to
- 1 final set of 12 reverse lunges into a front balance with a 10 pound medicine ball
without resting immediately go to
- 1 final set of 12 pull ups
take a short rest
- 1 set of 12 single leg presses (do 1 set each leg)
without resting immediately go to
- 1 set of 12 dips
without resting immediately go to
- 1 more set of 12 single leg presses (do 1 set each leg)
without resting immediately go to
- 1 more set of 12 dips
- 2 sets of 10 on each side (I have no idea what they’re called) I pulled a weight across my chest and rotated to work my side abs.
Then I finished out this session with 4 different ab exercises (planks, scissors, side planks … Note: I hardly ever do crunches – crunches alone don’t work).

Now THIS Tuesday (the work out I will do Thursday and Saturday of this week):
- 10 minutes , level 8 on the StairMaster to warm up (I always start here)
- 2 sets of 10 Push ups (“man pushups” – no knees) both sets on the floor
- 1 set of 12 regular lunges with 10 pound free weights in each hand
from there without resting go to
- 1 set of 12 squats with 10 pound free weights in each hand
from there without resting go to
- 1 more set of 12 regular lunges with 10 pound free weights in each hand
from there without resting go to
- 1 more set of 12 squats with 10 pound free weights in each hand
take a short rest
- 1 set of 10 single leg deadlifts with a 10 pound weight in each hand (THESE HURT)
from there without resting go to
- 1 set of 12 reverse rows
from there without resting go to
- 1 more set of 10 single leg deadlifts with a 10 pound weight in each hand
from there without resting go to
- 1 more set of 12 reverse rows
I finished this session (like all my sessions) with more ab work and stretching. This was a much longer ab session than last week. YIKES.

In addition to the whole trainer thing to keep even more motivated, I joined a group at work (it’s literally for competitive/motivational purposes only) which we call the “15/30 Group”. We try to work out 15 days out of every month (GET IT?! Clever!) and keep a running tally in the office. And, besides the whole hiring a trainer thing, nothing keeps me hitting the gym like the thought of someone beating me. Ha.

So there you go. That’s what I do during the week. I hope none of that comes off bitchy or preachy – I just wanted to say what works for me and detail out some variety that, if any of you are interested in, can add to your own workouts.

(Also Get in Shape Girl? LOVED IT. I had the ribbon one!)