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Consider changing your diet up some more - for instance, start juicing some fruits and veggies every morning and give yourself a shot of energy the natural way. There are PLENTY of recipes out there that use natural foods to give you the energy boost that you may need - and more than that, sustained energy throughout the day as well. I started juicing fruits and veggies almost a month ago now and I've found a nice improvement in my energy levels, and I workout pretty much every day.

Is this a question or a statement? Like the others here, I definitely agree that your friendship with him is getting in the way of you doing what you probably know is right. He may be your friend, but you are also paying him GOOD MONEY to perform a service. If you are dissatisfied with the service, then yes, of course say something. Being punctual is actually one of my pet peeves. I definitely do not appreciate it when people are late. It shows absolutely no respect for the other person's time, even if he isn't cutting YOUR workout short because HE was late. On a more general note, I don't like staying with personal trainers for too long. They do serve a perfectly legitimate purpose - they critique your form, show you new exercises, turn you on to new diet plans and the like. But remember that fitness is as much an art as it is a science. Another personal trainer might have a new collection of exercises that you haven't tried before that you might like better (and, more importantly, might WORK BETTER) for you. At some point, you're basically paying $100 a week for your personal trainer to stand there and watch you work out. He might chat with you about things, throw out a pointer here and there, but honestly, the more significant benefit of him being there is GONE. So, you could approach it that way. You're simply ready to rotate personal trainers because, at least in my mind, it's usually beneficial to do that anyway.

First, yes - it is possible to achieve your goals. It's always possible and there is always a way...you just need to find it. If you are looking to gain muscle, then you'll need to weight lift. It looks like you can pretty easily put on and take off weight from your past achievements. Start with a simple weight training routine that includes a lot of the basic, compound movements like squats, deadlifts, bench presses and shoulder presses. Start light, work your way up. This isn't a rush; don't feel like you need to add an inch to your arms in a month (cause it won't happen anyway). Increase your protein intake and be sure you're taking in good quality calories. There is so much to this topic that it's tough to put it into a single forum post. The bottom line is your goal can be reached by a combination of weight training and diet. You will need more calories than normal to put on muscle, and you'll also need to perform movements in the gym that will stimulate muscle growth (compound movements like I mentioned before).

If you are looking to continue making progress in your overall fitness, then you need to push yourself. I would certainly increase the movements that you feel are easy and keep the movements the same that are already hard. In general, you should feel fairly consistent levels of difficulty from movement to movement. Of course, the movement and the muscle will heavily dictate what is difficult for you. Go based on feel, not what's written in some book.

You might consider using a couple rounded push up bars instead of putting your hands directly on the floor. Not only does it help to better distribute the tension on your arm, but it also allows you to get more a stretch on your chest during the negative portion of the repetition. Give it a shot.

I like switching up my workout like this when I feel like I've reached a plateau. It might include doing a drop set, or it may just be choosing a lighter weight and performing 3 or 4 sets of 8 in rapid succession. Or, sometimes it means taking a week off from working that particular muscle group and starting fresh again, or doing the reverse (working it 2 or 3 times for a couple weeks). Start slow. Take 50% of your max lift and do that for a day. Next time, add 10 pounds. The next time, add 10 more. Don't focus on the weight. Focus on using good form. If you're doing the exercise right and you're allowing your muscle to recover, the weight will follow.

First and foremost, I catch my breath. Then, I will generally get back into position and practice my form using no weight at all, just performing the movement itself. This helps to mentally reinforce the movement that I'm doing at the targeted muscle group that I am trying to work. I NEVER text, check email on my phone or do anything that would distract me from the goal, which is staying fit.