Happy Wednesday Babes!
Let me tell you, this post is way over due!! As you guys know, I am an Equinox Partner and right before the wedding, I had the opportunity to workout with one of their Personal Trainers. I have never worked with a Personal Trainer before, so I was really excited to have this opportunity!
Before I became an Equinox Partner, I had already been working out there for over a year, so I had the opportunity to get to know some of the trainers before hand! Everyone that signs up at Equinox is given a complimentary assessment and person training session and after turning down multiple opportunities to do my assessment because I “knew what I was doing”, I finally decide to give it a go. One day when I was lifting, I had a trainer come up to me and basically ask me what I wanted that specific workout to accomplish. After telling him, it ends up that the workout I was doing, was actually doing the opposite of what I wanted it to be doing. So he took me over to a different area and showed me a workout that would actually help!
Normally, I would feel offended in a situation like that because I can tend to be a “know-it-all” when it comes to the gym but in this particular situation, I felt very comfortable and was thankful for his help. The trainer that helped me that day became my own personal trainer a few months later and his name is Richard.
EQUINOX PERSONAL TRAINING 101
All Equinox Trainers go through vigorous training along with rigorous education through the Equinox Fitness Training Institute, which is an elite program overseen by experts on their own Health Advisory Board.
Before your personal training begins, you complete a personal assessment, which includes an in-depth medical and fitness questionnaire, body composition index, movement screen, postural analysis and metabolic rate measurement.
So we scheduled a time to meet, did my assessment, talked my goals, which was all around toning (but especially in my arms for my wedding day) and then he built a plan specifically around me. Richard is a Tier 3+ Trainer which means he is top of the line. While all trainers at Equinox are the best and most educated trainers in the industry, the more hours and training you put in, the high of a tier you get to be.
In our sessions, we really focused on movements that moved the whole body. Most of our exercises required a full range of motion, opening up my hips and working the whole body. It was always a full body workout that left me exhausted by the end of it!
Towards the end of our 12 sessions, I legitimately started to get sad because it was coming to and end. I finally understood why people love working out with their trainers so much.
Why I Liked EQUINOX Personal Training
It Taught Me Correct Form
I have been working out and lifting weights since I was sixteen but I had never worked out with a trainer. Everything I did was self-taught. While that has been getting me by, it was really interesting (& probably very helpful to my body) to learn the correct form for a lot of certain workouts that I had been doing wrong for 10 years.
Learned Some New Moves
As I mentioned above, I can kind of tend to be a know it all at the gym. When it comes to working out, I have my set routine. They are workouts I like, that I’ve seen results from and that I’m comfortable with. Well let me tell you, I thought I had my favorite moves down, until I started training with Richard. It taught me that even if you have a great routine, there is always room to learn something new!! Not to mention, when you do the same workouts over & over & over, your body starts to get used to them.
It Gets The Whole Body Moving
Another thing I really liked about personal training was that we never focused on just one part of the body. If we were “technically” focusing on upper body that day, the workouts would also include my legs too. Everything included a full range of motion and we always focused on my core.
Accountability and Encouragement
It was nice having somebody else care as much about my progress as I do. I would get weekly texts helping me stay motivated, we would talk about what I was eating, he would ask me to send photos of meals to hold me accountable and would give me weekly homework assignments to add into my workouts when I wasn’t training with him. This was my favorite part! The average outside person doesn’t care that much about your health.
Got Me Out Of My Comfort Zone
As I mentioned above, when it comes to my workouts, I have my set routine down. But when I was training, Richard would get me to do workouts that were out of my comfort zone or that I normally wouldn’t do. Mainly working with my coordination skills and agilities…. which are not my strong points – lol.
It Made Me Push Myself Harder
I realized that in certain areas, I could be lifting heavier. Where I would normally go for the 5 lb weights (because that’s what I was used to doing), Richard would choose the 10 lb weights. When I would normally stop at 10 reps, he would push me to do 20. He taught me that I wasn’t pushing myself hard enough and that I was capable of doing more than I was giving myself credit for!
Would I Recommend Equinox Training & Would I Do It Again?
100% yes to both of those questions! Whether you’re new to working out, you’ve been training for years or you have a special occasion (like a wedding!) coming up that you need extra help to get in shape for, I think that every person can benefit from Personal Training. Then if you’re wanting the top of the line trainers and to get the best results, there is no other place to do that than Equinox.
If you’re in the Houston area and are looking to try out Personal Training at Equinox yourself, I can’t recommend Richard Thomas enough!
Click here to read my whole review on Equinox in its self!
xo,
Lauren