Personal Training | Three Months On

On 1st January this year, one of my friends, Rosie, tagged me in an Instagram post to win a year’s worth of personal training sessions with Aaron (green_machine_training) at the South Coast gym in Lancing. All I had to do to win was follow both Insta accounts and tag 5 friends.

I figured I had nothing to lose, so decided to enter. A few days later, I got a message saying I’d only gone and bloody won!!

Part of me was super excited because I knew this could be the kick up the arse I needed to feel better about myself and improve my strength and core; however, part of me (the sofa loving part) was terrified about having to commit to a training session every weekend (and driving on the big road). I decided to go for it though because, let’s face it, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity πŸ’ͺπŸ’ͺ

Before I started, I weighed and measured myself so I could track my progress as one of the other goals I wanted to work towards was toning everything up!

Before weight:

I thought I was about 11 stone 9/10 lbs (or 76kg if you prefer) but it turns out I’ve been about 12 stone 1/2 lbs (77kg) for a while. No wonder I couldn’t fit into most of my clothes properly.

Before measurements:

  • Arms: 12.5″
  • Chest: 41″
  • Waist: 34.5″
  • Hips: 41.5″
  • Thighs: 25.5″

Before photos:

I had my first session on Saturday 19th January and I got J to take some before pics!

Because I was wearing a top in my first photos, I decided to brave taking some more pics in a Next changing room after my second session, this time while wearing a very unflattering sports bra!!

My starting goals:

On my first session, we chatted about where I was and where I wanted to head.

I said that I didn’t have a “goal weight” in mind, but I wanted to tone and strengthen my body and if I lost some weight in the process, then fab!

I also had a beautiful green dress from Voodoo Vixen, that J bought me when we were first dating, but could no longer fit into because I couldn’t zip it up; I wanted to be able to fit into it again!!

My starting calories:

Aaron suggested I should download the My Fitness Pal app to help track my average daily calorie intake and he started me off at 1600 calories.

The following week, Aaron put the daily calories down to 1400, with the notion that it didn’t matter if I went over. The calorie deficit, plus training and upping my daily step count (from around 2000 to 5000) would help me to start losing weight. Plus, as long as it works within my rough calorie allowance, I can still eat chocolate, pizza, burgers, ice cream and all the other lovely things there are in the world πŸ˜€

J bought me a Mi Fit 3 band to help track my calories more accurately! I absolutely love it and it links to My Fitness Pal (via Google Fit).

My starting exercises:

Aaron started me off with some light weights and a few reps in my first few sessions, just to ease me into it. I started off doing goblet squats with a 7.5kg weight, I really liked doing these!!

I hate the RDLs (Romanian Dead Lifts) because there’s so much to remember lol … You have to pull your shoulders back, tuck your chin down, bend your knees a little AND stick your arse out to bend over lol. My brain can only remember a couple of things at once!

After my first session, we added in dumbbell shoulder presses using 3 kg of weight.

Then we added in glute bridges (hip thrusts) using my own body weight to start with then very low level weights!

My progress weight:

I’m now down to 10st 13lbs which is just over 1st weight loss!! My weight does fluctuate during the day which is entirely normal and it can go up to about 11st 3lbs.

My progress measurements:

  • Arms: 11.5″ (1″ loss)
  • Chest: 39.5″ (1.5″ loss)
  • Waist: 31.5″ (3″ loss)
  • Hips: 40″ (1.5″ loss)
  • Thighs: 22″ (3.5″ loss)

My progress photos:

I’m pretty impressed with how toned my body is starting to look!! However, after looking at the before and progress photos, I realised I really needed to buy a new sports bra πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚

I popped into Primark where I got this one for Β£4!!

My progress goals:

Well, after 3 months of training, I can actually zip the green dress up!! It still feels pretty tight, especially round the chest (I have a lovely back cleavage) and I definitely can’t wear a bra, but it’s an amazing start πŸ˜€

I’m now looking to up my workouts and include doing some at home; either with some of J’s weights or a HIT workout following a YouTube video!

I also want to try and tone my back more as it’s the one area I feel unhappy about.

My progress calories:

I’m now up to 1525 calories a day and I’m trying to up my protein intake. I bought some whey protein from Asda (in chocolate flavour) and it tastes so damned good!! I’m also trying to eat eggs for breakfast a few times a week.

My progress exercises:

We switch up the exercises with a bit of cardio now and I’m using heavier weights.

Although I still occasionally do goblet squats, I’ve moved on to box squats which I find a lot harder!

My RDLs are up to 35 kg now and I have to wear straps to help me hold onto them!

I’m also doing incline bench presses, at 20 or 30 kg (I can’t remember!)

In my last session with Aaron, I moved up to 42.5 kg hip thrusts!

I’m now also using the leg press machine at 40 kg which is super fun but feels heavy AF!

So yeah, that’s my progress so far! If you are looking for a PT in the Sussex area, I’d definitely recommend him, we get on really well, he pushes me when I feel like giving up, plus the gym is super spacious!!

I still have 8 months to go with Aaron as part of the giveaway and I can’t wait to see how I progress even more! I’ll catch you up in another three months πŸ™‚

Do you have a personal trainer? Have you ever been tempted to use one? Let me know in the comments below πŸ™‚ x

*I won this opportunity in a giveaway but was not obligated to post about it on my blog.

Follow me on:Β Bloglovin πŸ’‹ FacebookΒ πŸ’‹ Instagram πŸ’‹ PinterestΒ  πŸ’‹ Twitter

You may also like

14 Comments

  1. Wow! You can definitely see the difference between your before and in progress photos. Congratulations on your progress so far, you’re doing amazing!! I’ve never had a personal trainer but have enjoyed excercise classes in the past. I really need to get my butt in gear and excercise more regularly again. That green dress is stunning by the way. πŸ’š

    1. Thank you! The biggest change really is how confident I feel! I can fit back into my old clothes comfortably again πŸ™‚
      Ah yeah, if it’s something you enjoy, you should definitely go again x

  2. Wow!! Good for you girl!! Your progress has been AMAZING in just 3 months!! I’m actually so excited to see your next update πŸ˜€

  3. Wow, that is fantastic progress Holly, well done. I’ve just started doing group training with a personal trainer, which is a more affordable way to do it, plus you get other people to work out with. I really enjoy working out with weights, it’s amazing how quickly you can see progress.

    1. Thank you Joanne. I had no idea you could do group training, that sounds like a lot of fun, do you all encourage each other??

  4. This is amazing – Such a cool competition to win too! It sounds like you’ve made amazing progress, and you look lovely in the green dress!
    Hels πŸ’•

    1. I was so excited! I’m so glad I won and said yes!! Thank you, I’m hoping I can fit in it properly by the end of the year πŸ™‚ xx

  5. WOW!! That’s such a big change in hardly any time at all!! You can tell there’s a massive confidence boost in there too with the gym photo in just leggings and sports bra πŸ˜‰ you look amazing! It’s certainly motivated me to get up and exercise today! Keep at it and you’ll be rocking that beautiful dress in no time!

    1. It feels like it’s taken ages, although I suppose because I’ve been living it every day! Thank you, my confidence has definitely increased, I’ve started wearing more dresses πŸ™‚ Wahey, go exercise πŸ˜€

Leave a Reply to KimCancel reply