Accelerated Fitness – Cromwell
I briefly mentioned in my last post that over the weekend I took my first trip to Accelerated Fitness, at the Cromwell location (also located in Glastonbury and Tolland). My friend Maria brought me as her guest to join a session with one of Cromwell’s two personal trainers, Kevin Carlson (or as she calls him…Oh Sadistic One). This place is more than a gym; the primary line of business is personal training and programs tailored to each client’s fitness history and goals. Maria has her own program, but on Saturday when I was her guest, Kevin just decided to have some “fun” with us.
Kevin’s sick idea of fun!
I hadn’t been to a personal trainer in awhile so i was very excited! The setup was very Crossfit-box-like…plenty of toys of fitness torture were set up along the walls with an open space in the middle. The session lasted about 50 minutes and consisted of various circuits of 2-3 moves each, the whole circuit repeated three times. Here are some examples of moves Kevin had Maria and I doing:
- Full-to-forearm dynamic planks
- Cable wood-chops (10 each side)
- Chest-presses
- Butt-to-box squats (I used the squat rack bar)
- Squat-curl-presses
- TRX rows
- Cable pull-downs
- Rope undulations
I’d never tried the last move before and 10 seconds in, I was wondering why people always said rope undulations were so tough. I felt fine! After another 10 seconds, I started wondering how long Kevin would have us doing this move. After 10 MORE seconds, I was gasping for air. VERY deceptive and effective move!
Make it stoppppp.
The dynamic planks and butt-to-box squats were both eye-opening for me. I quickly realized once I switched which arm I was putting up first (when going from forearm to full-arm plank) that I have got some SERIOUS upper body strength imbalances! Kevin suggested the next round that I start with my weaker arm, so I did and that made it easier to complete the last round. But damn, I really need to get that weak side of my upper body caught up to its stronger half!
Yes I purposefully matched my PUMA sneakers to my Blogilates tank…
No offense to my beloved Group Power, which I will continue to take and love every Monday, but squats with a squat-rack bar are WAY harder than those with the Group Power bar/plates! The added challenge of making sure my butt touched the box every time was particularly killer. Without that box behind me screaming at me (louder than Kevin even) to go down lower, I so would not have gotten there. So I’m sure I’m not going as low as I really COULD be in Group Power! I’m definitely going to try to push myself to squat deeper next time I take the class.
Maria and I after our session!
Kevin was encouraging and quick to give me props for a job well done, but also didn’t let me slack off. He pushed me at just the right moments, when it seemed that I was about to give up on completing a set. Whenever he thought my weights were too light, he made them heavier before we completed the next set, like when I did chest presses. But he also knew when it was unsafe for me to be lifting too much weight, and didn’t hesitate to lighten it if needed, like when I did the squat-rack bar squats. Maria claims he is usually a whole lot meaner to her and had his best behavior ready for me. I’m not sure who to believe 😉 but I do know that I still got in a great workout.
Unfortunately the only non-personal-training class offered with Kevin at Cromwell’s Accelerated Fitness location is a 9am Saturday bootcamp. But I caught the tail end of it while I was waiting for my session to start, and it looked awesome. And for only $10, I’d say it’s an amazing deal! I’m definitely game to give it a go sometime with Maria. Anyone can attend the class!
Personal training is not something I’m looking to get into regularly, but if you’re interested, check out the Accelerated Fitness offerings here. I’d definitely recommend seeing Kevin at the Cromwell location. Maria will second that – she may claim he tortures her, but also gives the transformation she’s seen from said-torture two thumbs up. You can read her full testimonial (the first story on the page) here!
On my way out, Kevin tried to convince me to sign up for this weekend’s Fitathlon in Glastonbury, CT. I was glad to have a good excuse to say no (I’ll be away) because I’m sure half the stuff I’d have to do would scare the sneakers off of me. But then Kevin offered an alternate date of 10/5 in Westport…oops, I’m out of town then too! But then he brought up ANOTHER date of 11/2 in Farmington…and dammit, I’m free then! So I put it in my calendar with a question mark and gave him a maybe. Not sure if I’m down to pay money to be petrified, but it could also be a good challenge for me. This is a decision for Future Caitlin to make.
Thanks Kevin for a great session and Maria for bringing me along!
Have you ever tried a fitness location like Accelerated Fitness, where the primary offering is personal training?
Have you ever done one of those obstacle course races?
What was your best personal trainer experience, if you’ve ever had one?
