She kicked my BUTT!!! However, I loved every minute of it.

I started off running two laps around the track then on to walking lunges, bosu squats, then some sort of variation of jumping jacks b/c my big girls would have knocked me out if I did the regular version. Finally for the legs we did some thing where I straddled a set of steps and I had to jump on them with both feed then jump back down. Oh I also did sets of stiff legged deadlifts (yummy, , I love deadlifts!).

Then more laps around the track!!!

I then told the trainer about my fascination of getting a bigger butt. Sooooo, I had to do sets of doggies, some sort of hamstring curls, and kickbacks. She really pushed me with these and my form remained excellent through out these sets. For the final butt exercise I had to place both of my feet on a bosu ball while lying down on a mat and left my butt as high as I could and lower as low as I could go without touching the ground. Then I had to do this again yet crossing my right leg over left and again with my left leg over my right.

Then more laps around the track.

On to abs!!! I had to do some sort of thing where I criss crossed my legs over each other progressively getting higher then lowering them again without touching the floor. I did this two additional times. I tried to do this one exercise where I held a yoga ball with my feet then caught it with my hands all while my feet and arms werent touching the floor. I did all of three. So we moved on to a variation of this exercise where I held my trainers ankles while lifting my feet towards my head and she pushed my feet away from her.

Finally after about an hour I was done and allowed to stretch.

Today, was the most difficult, most rewarding, most enjoyable workout i've EVER had. I can't wait until our next session.

Congratulations! You sounds like you had a fun-filled, successful session Are you going to work regularly with her or was this an introductory session? It sounds like she really found ways to make you enjoy a good, intense work out.

Mel

Yes it was awesome Mel.

Ummm, I'm going to do four more sessions with her hopefully, once a week. College student here, I don't have the dinero to spend, so I'm hoping to take in everything and begin to do what she teaches me on my own. I figured I lost all I have on my own so just a few sessions with her should be sufficient to teach me some new thigns.

That's what I need!!!!

How are the prices on that? The trainers at my gym look very unmotivated while working with clients, so I have actually considered trying another gym to find a good trainer.

Keep up the great work!

Claire, it'll be $168 for 4 sessions, kinda steep, but hey I feel it's worth it.

Wow, you got a good price! I'm so excited for you!!

That's actually a great price for a good trainer! have fun, soak up lots of info!

Mel

That price is okay, especially since you really liked her. My gym quoted me $85 an hour and tried to sell me a package of 8 or 12 - nicely telling me how I could split up the payments, if that would help. So, if I wanted that many it could have been $1000 - now that's a lot of money and I'm not rushing to book it just yet!

Elisa, I don't know if it's true at all gyms, but at mine, price is negotiable. They don't advertise it, of course, but several things routinely happen. One, free sessions get thrown into a package. Or two, the "level" of training gets dropped, and with it, the price (it's complicated but my gym has five levels of training, each level being 10% higher than the one below it, supposedly based on the credentials and expertise of the trainer). Or three, free merchandise is thrown into the package (supplements etc). If a potential client was firm, the prices caved in fairly quickly. And, just like buying a new car, you always get your best deal at the end of the month at my gym, due to trying to hit the monthly "number" (quota).

It wouldn't hurt to ask!

Great stuff seeing the trainer. I wouldn't have gotten as far as I have so far without the trainers. The ab exercise where you pass the ball from your feet to your hands we call field goals - & they can really kick your butt! Sometimes I superset them with step ups & yikes!!!!

Good luck with the rest of your sessions!

What's the variation cause I have larger girls myself and would love know a modification to do(rather than have one arm holding them down!)?

Thanks for the tips Meg! I'm still giving the whole thing some thought but that information might help. We didn't even get into who I might be training with but I'm afraid I might be picky. I just had the free session, which is how this came about. I liked this guy but he actually does not do PT right now. He's just part of their fitness assessment team (for lack of a better term).

I had always heard that there were different prices for different levels but they didn't mention that this time and also - don't you often get what you pay for?? These are rhetorical questions really. I'm just thinking out loud.

What I learned from my college age trips overseas is don't start the negotiating, unless you really want to buy. No one wants their time wasted. I think it was a market in Istanbul where we figured this out!

Price. I pay $1400/20 but my trainer kicks in free sessions. He's a Master Trainer and frankly, because of our connection, I am willing to pay the money, even though it's a hardship. Like said above, I wouldn't be as far along as I am without him.

As for jacks, wondering if they were seal jacks or crossovers? My trainer makes me do jacks, seal jacks and crossovers (usually 3 sets of 20) to just warm up. Sometimes he throws them in at the end of something else, like walking lunges with a weighted twist (this morning).

Elisa, you absolutely should be picky about your trainer!! As we've been saying, it's a lot of money and you deserve the best. You might want to check out this post I wrote a while back about picking a trainer: How To Pick A Personal Trainer

As for getting what you pay for with the "levels" of trainers ... at my gym, there are five levels. Theoretically, Level 5 gets you the top trainers. In reality, Level 5 is paid by people who don't know better and can be charged the max (sad to say, but training is a business). Our best trainers frequently drop their prices down to Level 1 and 2, especially for new clients, because they know once they have that client, he/she will get results and will be a repeat customer. My certifications made me a Level 3 or 4 trainer, but I never could bring myself to charge someone those prices and always cut down to Level 2 or 1, even if it meant less in my pocket. Even the cheapest training prices are expensive and I wanted to try my best to make training affordable.

That's a long way of saying that more money doesn't necessarily buy you a better trainer.

Wow, after looking at some of the other prices I guess I did get a good price.

Daimere - The variation which I guess is close to jumping jacks, I got down on the floor on my hands and feet and I moved my feet back and forth like I was running.