Make Me Strong Like Bull

So after signing up for my new online personal trainer yesterday, I got my full plan for April in my email box today. Let me say how happy I am with my plan!

In the initial questionnaire, I gave a lot of information about what I have done and my body type. Also she asked what I want to look like. I don't know what it's called...but I want to look like my body idol, Laila Ali:


That in my opinion, is a killer body. And that body requires some major work to achieve.

So when I looked at the program that was created for me, I was really happy to see that the stuff I like and the stuff she thinks will work for me are one in the same, woot! What is that you ask....lifting HEAVY weights. Sorry, but I can't do the bodypump situation...lifting 10 lbs 100 times. I like to lift 100 lbs 10 times. That makes me feel strong and I get muscle definition pretty fast that way. And since I would like to look like miss diva herself...well I need to lift heavy. And yes ladies, you can lift heavy. As long as you aren't on steroids, you will not end up looking like this:

Anyway, the mix of cardio and weights is fun and interesting and I'm really excited for workout #1, which will be tonight!

Moving On

So today, one day after ending my relationship with my trainer, I decided to get another one.

But I bet it's different than what you think!

I'm going to do on-line personal training. I have researched this a lot, even before signing on with the trainer at the gym, and I think it's the way to go for me. The reason I vetoed this before was that I wasn't in a gym groove. I was trying to get back into the gym and wasn't feeling it. So I knew the motivation of an in-person trainer would be better, even if the cost was high. Now that I'm back into the gym groove and feeling good, I know I can handle an on-line trainer.

I'm sure you're asking what an on-line trainer is, right? They basically create a personalized program for you to do. After checking in on a regular basis (frequency depends on the program, but ranges from every other week to every month) the program is modified to give you the best results. You have to be self motivated - because there is nobody going to the gym with you, nobody yelling/cheering for you, and nobody to make sure you are there. But it does give you a great program to follow once you motivate your own self to get to the gym. This is why I think it's good for me now - my mindset is ready for it.

The pros to me for online training are fantastic. It's way less expensive ($30-50 a MONTH vs. $45-60 an HOUR) and you still get a great workout plan. Each program I examined asked for a pretty detailed client profile (actually more detailed than anything I was asked at the gym for in-person training) and most ask for pictures/measurements as well (eek!). I love the cost - because at $30-50 a month, I can afford to do this for a long time. It won't be a huge financial burden at all (less than $2 a day). I've heard other pros from my research online, but I'm reserving my judgment on those until I actually start the program.

The cons, well I don't know all the cons yet. I know that the big one is that you are not training with them in person. Nobody to correct your form, nobody to push you to one last rep, nobody to help you get through the workout. You have to be motivated from within for every workout.

Another big pro for me was that I could really research the people I was thinking about hiring. There were reviews online on the trainer's website as well as non-affiliated other sites. This was awesome. Reading blogs about how a trainer helped someone made me very aware of their skills and programs. This is something that is unique to this online world we live in.

So that's the whole thing for me going forward. I'm going to give this a try and see how it goes. I just signed up for one month and I'm getting my client sheets done today and submitted. Here goes nothing!