If you are a regular reader of this blog, or pay attention to my 5:41am FourSquare check-ins at Transformation Fitness, you are well aware that since late March, I have been seeing a personal trainer. Her name is Sarah and I adore her. I’ve talked about my sessions before (here and here). But today… I am opening the kimono (as Jim Kreller might say) into what actually happens at 6am, 3 times a week.

Come along with me…

I start every session out with a 1/2 mile run on the treadmill to get warmed up. Then Sarah spends the next 30 minutes with me (and yes, she uses every.single.second). Each day is something different – some new combination of arms, legs, back, abs. We’ve done TRX bands. We’ve done intervals on the treadmill. Agility exercises on a ladder. She never bores me.

Today, with only 4 hours of sleep, I arrived at 5:54am to get started. And we kept with basic exercises. (Please note: basic does not mean easy!)

We started with squats.

Squats

Abs in. Hips out.

Still smiling.

Then we moved on to walking lunges. Does anyone actually like lunges? Doubt it. But man do they completely transform your bum. They’re worth it.

Why not add some weights to the mix?

Repeat this 3x. Get some water. Next!

And now to the bench press. Before Sarah, the only time I benched was when I was throwing discus. And I was never very good at it. This morning I grunted. True story.

Yes, I realize it would be much more impressive if there were big weights on the bar.

PUSH!

From there, we did triceps. Mine were already killing me from 2 days ago. So this was a bit difficult. Can you tell by my face?

Already sweating.

Focus.

Repeat that set 3x.

Then, for the first time ever, she had me do assisted pull-ups. I stood on this very unstable bar that was attached to weights and then lifted myself. I haven’t done something like this since the flexed-arm hang in high school. Holy moly it was hard!

Pull!!!

So tall...

And then to biceps.

curl it girl

I love bicep curls. For some reason they make me feel like a badass.

Repeat 3x. By this time, she had distracted me by talking about So You Think You Can Dance. I can’t imagine what these 90 minutes/week would be like if we didn’t get along. I love our chats!

We always end with abs…and this time, it was my turn with the camera.

Ladies & gentlemen – please meet Sarah.

Sarah demonstrating my next move

Even when she makes me do things I hate, could I ever be mad at her? Doubt it. She’s too cute.

So that’s what 30 minutes look like. It’s hard. But you know what? I wouldn’t change a thing. Having a scheduled, personalized training session makes me get out of bed early. Gets my heart rate up and my body sweating. I am a faster runner because of it! And, my strength is definitely improving, I have lost 4 lbs and decreased my body fat by 3%. So continue I will.