Janie,
To answer your question, yes, you listen to an instructor and background music during each workout. The instructor guides you through the workout telling you when to increase/decrease speed and incline, and tells you what's coming up next, etc.
I personally like it better than doing my own thing on the treadmill because it makes the time go by waaaaaay faster for me.
In any case, if you're interested, I would suggest trying one out and seeing how you like it. They're relatively inexpensive, although they have increased their prices in the past months. But it's not like you have to sign up for monthly packages or anything, even though different packages are offered.
ETA: If you go on the iTrain website, you can check out the different workouts they offer along with a description of each and which levels they're geared to (i.e., walker, jogger, runner).
Hope this helps.
