Now that New Year feels like a distant memory, have you fallen behind with your fitness resolutions? See if Deborah can re-ignite your enthusiasm or even get it going for the first time; she certainly had a fabulously motivating time at FitAgain. See what she has to say about it below:
When a friend from Dorset tagged me on a link to FitAgain’s first retreat I was keen to give it a go. I hadn’t been spending as much time on my fitness as I would have liked so this was a great opportunity to give myself a renewed focus. The retreat is time out of your busy life to unwind, get a kickstart or refocus into fitness and be indulged in nature at its best in a beautiful setting.
The fitness retreat is held at Monkton Wyld Court, Dorset over 4 days and 3 nights with a range of activities in a nurturing, informal and friendly environment. This is an opportunity to reconnect with yourself and come away with lifelong skills to support your physical and mental well-being.
The Retreat includes: Restorative Yoga, HIIT Sessions, Boxing Sessions, Bootcamp Exercise Classes, Expert Presentations, Mindfulness Session, Paddle Boarding lesson, Private Dining at River Cottage HQ, Massage and much much more…We even added in an early morning run/walk before the first Bootcamp of the day and all pre breakfast.
Being a Triathlete, horse rider, (once aerobics instructor) who enjoys being active and taking on new challenges there are not many things I haven’t tried. And yet I’d not tried boxing (other than childhood fights with my brother!) or proper boot camps outside so I was game to get stuck in. My face says it all. Even the rain didn’t stop us.
I loved the boxing and had great fun (and leant the proper techniques which are not really possible in the boxercise/bodycombat classes run in most gyms). You only have to see the photos for the evidence.
The days were full, varied and we worked hard. They were well planned with a mix of physical activity with educational and practical talks, time to set your own goals, personal rest time and healthy vegetarian and plant-based food mealtimes to keep you going.
We learnt so much and made good friends with others on the group. Some of us shared rooms so we quickly got to know each other and given the fun and laughter in our room you would not have thought we were four ladies of differing ages and places that had never met before!
One of the high points and a lovely touch during the retreat was the visit for dinner at River Cottage. Everything about this evening was an amazing experience: the tractor ride to the cottage, the surroundings, the cottage garden, the food, wines and service were first class.
Andrew and Lucy, the husband and wife team, that are FitAgain provided an excellent retreat. It was well organised, educational, inspiring, lots of variety and great fun. They are passionate about physical and mental health for people and very committed to what they do. They ensure you challenge yourself whilst having a good experience with their support, encouragement and friendly natures. I loved the fact Lucy had completed a Half Ironman the day before we arrived and still had her race number tattooed on her arm.
There was a lot more to these days away and I would go again. Dorset is a beautiful county and a relatively straightforward journey from London.
The next Dorset Fitness Retreat is a 3 night 4 day event taking place on the 12th-15th June 2020.
