Fitness First Personal Trainer session (ouch!)

I had my first ever personal trainer session yesterday at Fitness First Angel, and daaaym was it the first time that I realised the above to be true!

I'm lucky enough to have a corporate package, which means I get a FF 40 minute BodyFirst session for free. During a Bodyfirst session, you work with one of the club's personal trainers to develop a training plan to suit your fitness level and personal goals.

I was a bit scared about signing up for my session, so I asked to be paired with the friendliest trainer possible, and ended up signing up for session with Daniele, who turned out to be absolutely lovely.




The session started off with Daniele asking me few questions about my current gym routine and my goals. I told him that I had been getting a little bored with my gym routine recently - I tend to do a set routine which includes 10min warm up on the cross-trainer, followed by 15-25min on the treadmill alternating between running and walking, and finishing with 10mins on the bike using the random interval setting. I also said that I'd love to start doing weights, but I was terrified of that area of the gym, which seems to always be full of scary men.

Daniele started me off on the cross-over, and talked me through the benefits of interval training. I've been hugely focused on cardio and aim to keep going for a long time, rather than going hard for a shorter time. Whilst this is great for stamina, it explains why I am getting bored - long, samey runs on the treadmill really aren't that exciting. Daniele said that whilst cadio burns calories, weight training burns fat, so if I'm looking to lose weight I should do 20-30 mins of high intensity interval training, followed by weights.

I also love running outside, so we decided that the best pieces of cardio equipment for me would be the cross-trainer and bike, leaving me free for a outdoor run on the weekend. He set me this program, and said I should increase the intensity as I get fitter.

- 5mins warm up (level 4)
- 21mins interval training (6x 3 mins at level 9, 30secs at level 14)
- 5mins cool down

We then moved over to the free-weights area, and he talked me through all of the different types of weights and what they can be used for. We then started with bench presses using 2kg weights (3x 15reps, with 40 secs rest). We then moved on to some amazing bungee rope things, that let you use your weight to do stand-up press ups. I'm sure there's a sliiiightly more scientific way of saying that. We then moved on to squats using a 8kg weight. I loved these, but I found the technique and keeping my back straight really difficult. I guess practice will make perfect.

All in all I absolutely loved my session - I wish I had more money so I could have one weekly! Until that happens, I'll be doing my intervals and practising my squats. Wish me luck!