I used to be in great shape, but once I hit 30, it became increasingly difficult to maintain a nice body without hitting the gym several times a week. When I first started going, I mainly focused on cardio in order to drop the extra pounds that I had been gaining. I spent an hour on the treadmill, went to a spinning class twice a week, and hit the stair-climber on other days. Still, I wasn’t shedding pounds as quickly as I hoped — which is when one of the consultants at my club said I should try a weight training program.

I wasn’t interested in bulking up, so at first I dismissed the suggestion. But after talking to a few other people and doing some research on my own, I decided that a weight training program would be beneficial after all. Doing a minimal amount of reps with the right weights will tone my muscles, giving my body more definition than I’ve ever had before. And a good weight training program will help increase my overall muscle mass, which will make my metabolism much more efficient and allow me to shed excess fat more quickly. Those were the kind of results I was looking for!

So I decided to go ahead and set up an appointment with a personal trainer at my club. At our initial meeting, we talked about my goals and expectations, and then went over some of the equipment at the gym. Next, the trainer told me he would need a few days to design a custom weight training program for my size and body type, and give me a chance to try out the new routine to see if I liked it. I had to pay extra for this personalized weight training program, but I’m hoping it will be worth it in the end.

While waiting for my custom weight training program to be finalized, I thought it would be fun to check out some other programs online to see how they’ll compare to mine. I actually found a lot of information about how to increase muscle mass and strength, and how to determine the ideal number of reps to do at each machine in order to hit my goals. I also found out about a bunch of protein shakes and other supplements that are designed to be used in conjunction with a weight training program to give you the desired results. Now I’m thinking I probably didn’t need to pay for the trainer at all, and could have come up with a decent plan on my own!

At any rate, I’m excited to get started on my custom weight training program and get the body I used to have when I was 22 years old. I know it’ll take hard work to get there, but I’m ready for it!

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