When I first started lifting weights I hired a personal trainer at my gym so I could learn my way around the free weight room and learn proper form. After about a year, I decided to begin working with an online personal trainer and I’ve been training this way ever since.

Online personal training works well for me. I can workout around my schedule and I can ask endless questions through email and refer back to them as necessary. The coaches I work with design my training, nutrition, and supplemental programs based on my goals and change things up every 4-6 weeks.

Right now I’m enrolled in an online group training program through Precision Nutrition. Sadly, my 6 month training session with Precision Nutrition is coming to an end. For the next few weeks, the coaches have given my group the assignment to create our own workouts so we can apply some of what we’ve learned throughout the course.

Let’s just say, I thrive on structure in the gym so I met this challenge with a bit of hesitation. I was telling MizFit about my workout and she encouraged me to write all about it today. Let’s just say, day 1 turned out to be quite a good experience.

I sat down with my fitbook and planned a full body workout using some of my favorite lifts that haven’t been in my program in awhile, some old moves, and some new moves I’ve learned through Precision Nutrition. I ended up picking 7 exercises, for 5 sets, for 9 to 11 reps…sounds a little odd doesn’t it? Here’s what I came up with…

• Warm up: Dynamic stretching plus 5 minutes on revolving stairs
• 1A Reverse lunges – 5 sets of 5 reps each side
• 1B Lumberjack squats w/ calf raise – 5 sets of 5 reps
• 1C Push ups (feet elevated on a bench) – 5 sets of 9
• 1E 1 minute on revolving stairs – 5 sets at level 9
• 2A Decline alternating chest press – 5 sets of 5 reps each side
• 2B Decline crunches – 5 sets of 11 reps
• 2C Single leg deadlifts – 5 sets of 5 reps each side
• 2D Single arm rows (on one leg) – 5 sets of 5 reps each side
• 2E 1 minute on revolving stairs – 5 sets at level 11
• Post-workout 5 minutes bike sprints

Overall this was a great learning experience and actually kind of fun. I was glad I went into the gym with a plan so I stayed focused and made the most of my time. I also liked sprinkling in bursts of cardio throughout my session so my heart rate stayed elevated throughout the entire workout.

Was it a perfect workout? No, there was a guy doing bicep curls in the squat rack(!) so I had to improvise on my reverse lunges. But that’s a whole other story!

I have to admit it was a little odd being my own personal trainer, but I’ll get even better at designing my workout tomorrow.