It took one class at H2O PowerHouse to prove I am not as fit as I thought

KARACHI: Tyres, sledgehammers, battle ropes, kettlebells, you name it, and it was there. The aptly titled 'warehouse' -- a plot converted into a workout space -- had a raw and gritty feel to it. The place looked intimidating, yet exciting.

And, boy, was I ready for the challenge.

Let's rewind: I was trying out a class for this new fitness programme called H2O Powerhouse, but  didn't think much of it at the time, because let's be real, numerous workout programmes have been sprouting all over Karachi and this sounded no different. I thought taking this class would add to my regular workout, but I was in for a surprise.

Oosman Yaqub and Hydris Wajiuddin, the two men behind the programme, welcomed us at the warehouse. Shortly after, Oosman started the warm up and Hydris made rounds, checking everyone's posture and form. With roughly 12 students, it was easier for the trainers to focus on everyone. If you got it wrong, you'd hear Hydris call out your name, come running and fix your pose.

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"We don't believe in having a class full of 400 people and two trainers; you have to give them personalised training. It's not about quantity, it's about quality," Hydris said, explaining the limited headcount. As opposed to other fitness programmes offered across the city, the duo has currently opted to cap their clientele at 20 to be able to provide individual attention to everyone.

After the five-minute warm up, we were paired up. Two rounds of burpees, squats, side planks with weights, coupled with a short sprint, and my legs already gave way.

The next drill saw the class divided into three groups, each had to go through two circuits of three stations: Weighted cardio with kettlebells, to elevate the heart rate (Oosman's station); Weight station with bars where compound movement comes into play to exhaust the muscles (Hydris' domain); and lastly, functional training with DIY body weight exercises through the use of tyres, sledgehammers, and battle ropes to push the heart rate to the max.

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"In one hour, we give your muscles as much shock as possible, which causes the body to react; that's why we start with Tabata, then switch to kettlebells, sledgehammer, and finally, body building -- you want the muscle to kill the fat out of your body," Hydris illustrated the idea behind the programme.

Girls were grouped together while the boys were divided into groups of two -- the ratio had to be roughly five students to each trainer. After two rounds of kettlebell swings, squats, push-ups, I was eagerly looking forward to the tyres and battle ropes.

The four month programme takes place three times a week, each class more intense then the last and integrated with new exercises to curb repetition.

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"We interact with our clients, we ask them what they want and we incorporate that," said Hydris. "We don't expect them to come, workout and leave."

DIY station, here I come! The chart said elevated mountain climbers, battle rope swings, burpees and sledgehammer overhead strikes. I grabbed the ropes, they were gentle to the touch, one whip, two whip and my arms started to feel heavy, Oosman rushed over, took hold of the ropes and showed me to whip without bending my arms. Yikes.

Next, I walked over to the sledgehammers and gripped onto one tightly, the other two girls grabbed themselves one each and away we went, hitting the massive, unyielding tyre full throttle, like three lumberjacks working laboriously. The movement from the waist up required hard work and control. You couldn't just swing it, which made the exercise all the more challenging.

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The two friends, who work 9-5 jobs, started this programme out of pure passion, with a simple wish to educate people. H2O is "not a quick fix," as the duo put it; it's about being fit, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and providing people with a sustainable fitness regime.

The programme is meant to equip people with knowledge behind working out and the relationship between the body, food and exercise. Through compound exercises and functional training, Oosman and Hydris focus on helping people achieve their personal goals.

"It's true, people want a quick fix," Oosman admits. "I spent a good 25 years of my life eating ras malai and gulab jamans, for me to [then] expect my body to randomly change in a month, impossible," reveals the trainer.

"We want to spread knowledge. If we wanted to make money, we would make a HIIT program; it'll be easier for us, it'll be quick money, everyone's happy, results are fast," he added in a matter-of-fact way.

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I finally made my way to the last and final leg of the circuit. Weights. Something most women dread out of pure misconception, I was ready to take head-on.

"The concept [among women] is that if they lift weights, they'll become bulky. I guarantee that if you lift weights, and gain muscle, the fat you burn, you'll never gain it back, because the muscle won't let it," said Oosman, dismissing the notion.

Here's why, he explained, "There's muscle memory and fat memory, both of which never go away. Last year, I was injured for a year. For eight months, I ate junk and only gained four kilos. After two months of exercise, I bounced right back, because of muscle memory. It's hard to get your head around it, it's not a short term goal, you have to think about the bigger picture."

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I was on chin ups. And honestly, I wasn't as bad as I thought I would've been considering I have zero upper arm strength. Once done, Hydris asked us to switch, it was time for bicep curls with bands. With each exercise, it kept getting harder and I could feel my muscles start to burn.

"In other classes, you'll do 40 minutes of cardio and weights and you're done," said Oosman.

"We focus on two muscle groups a day, we completely exhaust them; once the muscle is fatigued that's when the growth happens. How do you recover? Through your diet. So, whether you want to burn, or gain, or maintain, whatever your goal is, it's going to be through diet; the programme is just to get everyone on the same level," he explained.

I was done. Having completed the entire circuit, I was ready to throw in the towel and call it a day. But there was more to come.

Five minutes of jump squats, high knees and star jumps left my legs feeling like Jell-O. How will I ever carry myself home?

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"You do HIIT, you're dead tired, but your muscles are not fatigued. Not until your muscles are tired will they grow. We don't want shortcuts, we don't want to starve you and make you sweat it out for an hour. We want to fix your form, it's a future plan, it's not a quick solution," the trainers added.

At 8.40pm, we were done. After one hour of hardcore training and complete exhaustion, the drill was over.

"You need to understand your body. If you ask me for a meal plan I'll give you one, but it won't work for you. If I tell you to eat tikkas all day, you're going to hate it. Which is why our programme is different. I will make your diet plan according to you, you want to eat brown bread sandwiches, go ahead; you want to eat karhai gosht, eat it. I want you to understand that this is for you. We want you to enjoy it, not hate it," said Oosman.

One class and I was burnt out, but before I left, they asked me one very vital question, "Are you a risk taker?"

And as exhausted as I was, I'll be damned if I said no.