My Gym Trainer

This user-friendly workout system provides you with a 4-week program of cardio and strength training workouts for beginner, intermediate or advanced exercisers. The sturdy laminated pages, which detail your workouts for each day, easily stand up to rigors of a gym workout, providing pictures and detailed instructions for each exercise. The workouts progress from week to week and you can used the included logs to track your progress. You can't switch out exercises or workouts, which may frustrate more intermediate and advanced exercisers, but beginners who find the gym confusing will appreciate the guidance.

If you've ever walked into a gym, looked around and thought, "Where the heck do I start?" My Gym Trainer may be just what you need to guide you through a basic exercise program.

How it Works

My Gym Trainer is a 4-week exercise program that comes in a binder with 24 removable workout cards detailing daily cardio and strength training workouts. You can choose from 3 different fitness levels, beginner, intermediate and advanced. The workouts are set up for daily workouts (with one day of rest) that include interval cardio workouts and strength workouts that cycle through different muscle groups. Each workout card includes everything you need for that day's workout, including the speed/intensity for the interval workouts and the exercises, reps, sets and weights for the strength workouts. There are also pictures of each strength exercise and the cards are laminated and removable, so you can take them to the gym and sweat all over them without damage. This review covers the advanced level series.

The Workouts

The workouts consist of 25 to 35-minute interval cardio workouts that change each day: The treadmill on day 1, the bike on day 2 and the elliptical on day 3. You cycle through the workouts again on day 4, 5 and 6. Each cardio workout is followed by a circuit strength workout (e.g., one exercise after the other for 3-4 circuits) for different muscle groups and the workouts change each day: Lower body/back/biceps on day 1, chest/shoulders/triceps on day 2 and core on day 3. You cycle through the workouts again on day 4, 5 and 6 with different exercises.

Stand Out Features

• Easy to use - The binder is well-organized and the tabbed sections make it easy to find your workouts. The cards contain all the information for your workouts and the program is easy to follow.
• Sturdy and high quality - The cards are laminated and easily stand up to the wear and tear of gym workouts.
• Attention to detail - The workouts are well thought-out, progressive and complement each other, giving you a balanced routine each week.

Drawbacks

While this is a high-quality workout system, it is pricey at $50 (although not as expensive as a personal trainer) and may be too one-size-fits-all for more advanced exercisers. Using the same cardio machines and following the same circuit each week (even with different moves), may get tedious and there's no way to substitute activities or exercises.

The only other issue for some may be the 6-day workouts. Beginners may have trouble starting with 6 days at the gym, especially if they're new to exercise.

Overall, My Gym Trainer is a great resource particularly for beginners who aren't sure where to start at the gym. They can work through the three intensity levels for a complete 12-week program (each binder is sold separately), making it a great way to progress without the expense of hiring a personal trainer. This is a great way for beginners to learn how to navigate the gym and follow a well-rounded cardio and strength program.