It just gets better!
I lost weight and gained muscle, and loved pumpkin bread and cappuccino. My motivation to join BRO was my dear friend, a runner and avid runner, who was diagnosed with cancer. She was unable to exercise due to chemotherapy. I decided that I could do anything if my friend could survive cancer and signed up to a month at Hard Exercise Works in Asheville, North Carolina.
I was an old, inept, and addicted Netflix marathons. I thought I was way out of my league when the gym opened. The only thing I knew was that my daughter had been a regular HEW user before she went to the United States Naval Academy for plebe summer. She loved it and was able to do military-style workouts.
The class started the day after Memorial Day weekend. Day 1 was terrifying for me. The walls were covered with steps, kettlebells and jump ropes. Weight balls, weight balls, and rowing machines were all visible. A pre-workout waiver was required hard exercise works. I also had to keep a food log of the three previous days.
It was a holiday so I was shocked when I began to document the horrible things I ate over the weekend. After reviewing the information, the staff offered nutritional counseling. This was very well received, despite my horror at the fact that anyone could have known how unhealthy I could be. Kelly wanted to measure me, which is a great way to gauge the effectiveness of the program. I refused because I had been involved in unhealthy holiday celebrations. Kelly was so kind and accommodating, and she offered to measure me later. This helped me to relax and increased my enthusiasm for the exercise.
My First class hard exercise works
The facility for Hard exercise works is bright, clean and open. The warm-up takes place outdoors on an asphalt track that runs behind the building and is marked at 100, 200. 300, 300, 400 meters. To accommodate large classes, the gym is divided into two levels. Four circuits are usually set up to allow everyone to complete a station at their own pace without waiting. The gym looks similar to a traditional one, but it has lots of light and mirrors on the walls.
My first class had over 20 students. The class was equally split between males, and females. The majority were between 20 and 40 years old, and varied from being super fit to being beginners.
Two men were over 60 years old. The class lasted approximately one hour. It consisted of four circuits: sit-ups; kettlebell swings (various weighing are used to accommodate different fitness levels); barbell deadlifts to curls (various weighing again); and squats using one arm and one weight.
