As you may recall, I joined Hourglass here in Waterloo a few weeks ago. I’ve been working out regularly (twice per week) for the last three weeks, and things are going well. While the workouts challenge me (and I grumble through some most all of the moves), I feel great after the workouts, and I do think my energy levels have increased. Considering that it’s cold, miserable, and grey, this is amazing news!

Now, even though I’m not a regular gym-goer, I do try to stay somewhat active. I walk a lot, and I love it. This is how I get in most of my exercise. I also take on DIY projects around my home which means that I’m usually lifting or moving or hammering. Surely each of these tasks adds up to a whole bunch of muscles! Right?

But the Hourglass workouts are different from just my regular daily activity. These workouts make me lift weights and increase my cardio and focus on my core strength. It’s been a good couple of weeks, and I’ve tracked some of my thoughts about the workouts below:

Week 1:

Day 1: It’s Monday. And I worked out. It’s a miracle. To my surprise, I wasn’t dreading today’s workout. I was actually curious about what my Hourglass Workout instructor, Iman, was going to make us do. I’m happy to say that I survived. And I didn’t hate it. We did a bunch of different exercises and the time went by fairly quickly.

The workout started with a quick run around the gym and a bunch of burpees (ew…I hate burpees. But I did them). From there, we did a gazillion lunges, pulse lunches, squats, pulse squats, ski lunges, more lunges, more squats, a bunch of bicycle sit-ups, some planks, and a few other moves that I can’t remember. It was tough. My legs are feeling the workout. I’m worried about how my body will feel tomorrow. I’m satisfied with how I did during this first session. I sweated it out and I stuck it out for the full hour. Day 1 is done!

my instructor – Iman – and the Hourglass Workout founder – Lyzabeth – at the Hourglass Waterloo Grand Opening

Week 2:

Day 3: I have worked out on the days that I said I was going to work out, and I’m very proud of myself. The workouts are tough (no surprise there since I never exercise!), but Iman is very encouraging. She has watched my form, she encourages yells at me to push myself, and we do end up laughing quite a bit during the workouts. The atmosphere is certainly positive. On days 2 and 3, I used the bosu ball and kettle bell for the very first time. I’m waking up a whole heck of a lot of muscles in my core, and I don’t think my obliques have ever worked so hard!

Day 4: I got my butt out of bed at 5:30am today to make it to Iman’s 6am class. Yes, you read that right. 6am. Amazing. The workout was a good one; I followed a circuit of exercises that included the bosu ball, a kettle bell, weights, the weighted ball (don’t remember what those are called), a box step-up jump-up thing, and a crazy heavy rope set-up. I did a gazillion lunges, sit-ups, step-ups, jump-ups, jumping jacks, planks, TRX lunges, push-ups, and more (yes, more!). My legs were definitely going at a slower pace at the end of the hour, but I made it through. I felt amazing for the rest of the day!

these look like giant pillows, but don’t be fooled – they definitely test my balance and build by strength

Week 3:

Day 5: It’s Family Day (holiday here in Ontario) and ridiculously cold, but I slapped on my workout gear and headed out to meet my Hourglass team. We did a bunch of different moves, including the dreaded burpees and variations of the darn burpee that included pushups. Ugh! Burpee + pushups!? Iman had created a circuit for us, and it included a gazillion lunges, a bajillion ab crunches, and a bunch of things with the weighted ball. The time just flew tonight, and before I knew it, the hour class ended, and my abs and arms were feeling mighty fine.

Day 6: I was feeling a tad tired pre-workout, but I threw on my gear and went for it. I got a private training session today – bonus! I do not know why my workout mates decided to take the evening off, but it worked out for me. I did a circuit of a bunch of activities – 2 minute intervals, 40 second intervals, etc. It was varied and hard! Notice a pattern in my reflections? Working out is hard – but it’s doable! Today’s workout included: bicep curls (I used 8lbs weights today), tricep lifts, lunges with weights, step-ups, a gazillion ab crunches of various kinds, dead lifts, skipping rope, mountain climber, more lunges, push-ups, burpees (!), kettle bell swings, high knee running, and more (yes, more!). I’ve learned a bunch of new exercise vocabulary in the last three weeks. I think my favourite moves are dead lifts and (easy) crunches. The tough ab work drives me nuts during the workout, but I don’t actually mind them. Push-ups are my weakest move. Burpees might even be better than push-ups. Maybe. Anyway, it was a good evening workout, and I feel great!

there’s my booty on the left mid-push-up-burpee-rope-pulling; post-workout selfie on the right

I’ve been working out twice per week, and I have found that this works for me and my schedule. There’s a possibility to add a third workout to my routine, but it would take more effort on my part to squeeze it in.

Oh – and I’m not working out because I’m concerned about weight loss. I just want to feel stronger and more toned. I think my weight has actually stayed the same over the last few weeks, but I do feel that I’m getting stronger. I should really take note of my weight/inches/and all that, so that I can share a more detailed progress report in the weeks ahead. Yes? Okay. I’ll see what I can do!

Read the 5 reasons why I signed up for Hourglass. Follow my exercise adventures on Instagram with #WhiteCabanaGetsFit.
If you’re interested in the workout, learn more at Hourglass. Thanks again, Iman, for pushing me!