Top 5 Reasons To Go On A Fitness Retreat

Our personal trainers have officially arrived at the beautiful Villa Lena for a July fitness retreat! If you’ve never heard of Villa Lena, you are in for a treat. Located in Tuscany, this hotel is a dream escape from your daily life. 

In honour of this retreat, we invite you to imagine a holiday where you are able to focus solely on your personal health and fitness goals in a beautiful destination surrounded by nature whilst being taught by the best fitness instructors from around the world. If this concept sounds intriguing to you, then a fitness retreat is the perfect place for you. Fitness retreats are an amazing way to focus on your well-being, and they create a healthy environment full of possibilities. 

If you’re looking to transform your 2018 in a healthy way, then a fitness retreat is for you.

There are countless benefits and reasons to go on a fitness retreat, but we’ve narrowed it down to a unique five. So, let’s escape!

Breathtaking Views

Surround yourself with nature, whether that be on the beach, or in the countryside. We encourage you to release your inner child as you breathe in air that is as fresh as a budding flower. Conquer the waves, fly through the trees and push your limits with a variety of activities such as hiking, kayaking, and even zip-lining. Experience the most beautiful sunsets whilst running along the beach and setting individual goals for yourself. These activities not only encourage you to embrace the outdoors, but they help build your confidence and get you outside of your comfort zone by not only working individually, but working with a team. Great for building on your social skills!

Always Inspired

“Fall in love with taking care of your body.” 

Inspiration surrounds you on a fitness retreat. Immerse yourself in workouts from around the globe, complimented with detoxing, cleansing and healthy food tips. You will have mind opening experiences with highly qualified personal trainers, fitness instructors and therapists. Enjoy a mix of individual sessions and group sessions, designed to inspire you and help you learn the best techniques to transfer energy in a healthy way, delivered from trainers who are truly passionate about their art. Set new goals and exceed your current ones, helping you understand your body and its needs.

Out of your Comfort Zone

Going on a fitness retreat is the perfect way to let go and embrace change, softly pushing you out of your comfort zone. A fitness retreat helps you change up your daily routine, whether that’s your normal fitness regime, the foods you usually eat, or your environment. Change can be intimidating at first but trying new things is healthy for your soul, and we can personally guarantee that you will be supported every step of the way!  

Relaxation

Not only will you be working out daily and pushing your body to new limits, but you will be able to treat yourself to luxury spa treatments and daily massages. This will help your body relax and recover, helping you reach your full potential. If you have any worries or concerns when it comes to your body, you will be able to address them and get them worked out, leaving you feeling revitalised. Daily relaxation not only helps prevent future athletic injuries but helps align your body and soul in perfect harmony!

Food Tailored to You

It’s all about healthy living when you go on your fitness retreat, even down to what you eat. Upon arrival, you will meet with a nutritionist to decide on the best meal plan which is tailored to your body. You are invited to participate in workshops that will teach you how to eat a plentiful, well balanced and healthy meal, all of which you can enjoy in the comfort of your own home upon your return. Learning about the right foods will benefit not only your body but help boost your mood and energy levels.

Like the sound of a fitness retreat? Experience one for yourself! If you are not sure where your first fitness retreat should be, we have got you covered. If you’re craving a break from city life in a location that is so idyllic you will never want to leave, then the following experience is a match made in heaven. As part of the TruBe community, we would like to reward you for all your hard work with 15% off your July stay at Villa Lena.

Located in the heart of Tuscany, Villa Lena is passionate about creating an environment where guests and artists from different backgrounds can come together to relax, create and be inspired. Enjoy 15% off your stay in July when you download the TruBe App and make sure to mention TruBe when completing your booking!

Your TruBe Team 

The Top 4 Benefits of Kickboxing

Trainer, Alessandra

When it comes to kickboxing, the benefits are countless. From increased flexibility to a boost in energy levels, kickboxing is a fun sport that’s worth the hard work. Whether you’re a pro or just starting out, kickboxing is a great way to change up your usual workout routine. Since we’re all about kickboxing this week at TruBe, we’re here to let you in on 4 of our favourite (and exclusive) benefits of kickboxing.

Kickboxing Improves Your VO2 max

What exactly is VO2 max? The technical definition for the maximum rate of oxygen consumption measured during incremental exercise, in short, kickboxing improves your overall fitness. Kickboxing is usually comprised of ‘rounds’ (2-3 minutes of intense hitting) often referred to as a HIIT workout (High Intensity Interval Training). When doing an interval workout, your heart is trained to be more efficient. This act helps to greatly improve your VO2 max, thus improving your fitness. For example, you won’t feel as tired after climbing a hill or even a long flight of stairs –something we’re all in need of!

A Boost in Confidence

You may not know that when you are taking it out on the bag, endorphins are being released into your body, this helps lift any negative mood you may have been in and helps you feel confident and energised. An increase in confidence is a huge benefit of kickboxing. Learning a form of self defence proves that you can hold your own, resulting in a confidence boost that will benefit you in your everyday life.

Tones Your Entire Body

Looking for a full body workout? Kickboxing is the sport for you. There’s no area of the body that kickboxing won’t tone. The Muscle, Ligaments, and Tendons Journal conducted a study  titled ‘The Effects of Five Weeks of Kickboxing Training of Physical Fitness’. The study showed that after only five weeks of training, the participants involved showed great improvements in speed, agility, upper-body muscle power, and flexibility. Kickboxing is a full-body workout, and if you’ve taken a training session before, you know that everything gets worked!

Builds Endurance

Kickboxing is a perfect workout to improve your endurance. By taking part in regular cardio exercise, your endurance is strengthened, as proved by the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

We hope these 4 benefits inspire you to start incorporating kickboxing into your daily workout routine. Need help or have any questions? Our kickboxing trainers are here for you anytime, and anywhere. Book your next kickboxing session with us here!

Fun fact about endurance: By building up your endurance with kickboxing, you can transfer it to any other workout whether that be swimming or running.

Keep those kicks coming!

Your TruBe Team

Traveler’s Guide to Boutique Fitness in NYC

Stay in shape and motivated even whilst traveling, with our traveler’s guide to boutique fitness in New York City.

Traveling to the Big Apple soon and want to keep up with your fitness regime? Or simply just interested in the hottest studios across the pond? Finding a boutique fitness studio while traveling can be difficult. With new studios popping up on every block and mixed reviews about each, it’s hard to decipher which studio you will most enjoy. We’ve selected our 3 favourite boutique fitness studios in NYC to make your decision easier and your workouts an experience you are sure to never forget.

Rumble

Never heard of this boxing gym? You’re about to drop everything you’re doing and book the next flight to NYC. Rumble is a group fitness boxing workout and a true experience. Not only is this a favourite gym amongst A-Listers such as Kendall Jenner (questionable) and Joe Jonas, but it’s a 45-minute full body workout. With the perfect combo of boxing and strength training, Rumble is a tumblr bloggers dream. The room is filled with neon lights, and the sets are projected onto the wall whilst the lively instructor is motivating you to keep sweating it out. You ready to Rumble?

y7

The second you step into the fab yoga studio that is y7, you’re greeted with Drake’s “Started from the Bottom Now You’re Here” lyrics painted onto the stairs. What better way to be inspired? With a combo of heat and strength, you’ll embrace the true yogi inside of you whilst listening to the latest hits in a 60 minute workout. The aesthetic of this studio is all black and white and the vibe is hip hop meshed with meditation. If you’re in the mood for something different than your usual yoga class, y7 is the studio for you.

Tone House 

In the mood to unleash the ultimate athlete in you? Tone House is ready for you. This boutique gym is known as one of the most challenging classes in NYC. This boot-camp style workout brings popularity to sport conditioning workouts and drastically improves your physical health. The instructors are sure to push you to limits you never thought possible. It’s tough but guaranteed to give you the results you’ve been craving.

We hope these boutique studios inspire you to keep up with your fitness regime while traveling abroad. From boxing to yoga to sport conditioning, there is sure to be a workout that is perfect for you.

Safe Travels!

Your TruBe Team

How I beat my Personal Best at the Royal Parks Half Marathon, by Tashi Skervin-Clarke

Tashi Skervin-Clarke at Royal Parks Half Marathon 2017

The Royal Parks Half Marathon is one of the major highlights in every runner’s race calendar. It’s a flat and fast course with a huge crowd turnout, which means that at the Royal Parks Half Marathon, you’re almost guaranteed to run a PB. I ran my first ever half marathon last year at the Royal Parks and got my PB at another race earlier this year but I felt like I still had more to give. So I turned to TruBe on a quest to run a sub 1:40 minute half marathon and achieve a new personal best.

When it comes to running, I am actually quite disciplined in the sense that I can do the miles that my body needs to do and I lift weights to ensure my body is strong, but what I struggle with is getting in all of the other sessions that will help me become a better runner. Like yoga and pretty much any form of stretching. This in turn has limited my mobility and I have the tightest hamstrings in the world! This flagged up in a running assessment that I recently did so I knew that if I was going to run a half marathon PB, something had got to change. I needed to improve my mobility and flexibility as this in turn would improve my running efficiency.

Tashi Skervin-Clarke training in studio

What I love about TruBe is that along with their yoga and Pilates workouts, they also have stretching sessions which can be booked too! This meant that I was able to dedicate entire sessions to stretching out the muscles I use the most during running and I also learned which stretches worked best too. Long gone are the days where I considered touching my toes as the only hamstring stretch I needed! I now regularly perform what has been dubbed The World’s Greatest stretch (because it is) before runs and I have also added moves such as bear crawls and walk outs to my pre-running routine. It might sound strange stretching before a run but these stretches help to improve your mobility and essentially wake your muscles up so that when you actually start running, your body is ready.

Tashi Skervin-Clarke weight training for Royal Parks Half Marathon

Believe it or not, I didn’t even increase my mileage in the lead up to the Royal Parks Half. I continued with my usual workouts and runs. And instead of clocking up the miles as a bid to run faster, I started focusing on using mobility to get my body in PB shape.

Before I knew it, race day arrived and I crossed the finish line in 1:38. A 2 minute PB and well under my goal of running a sub 1:40 half marathon.

If you’re looking to run your first half or full marathon or even a 10km, make sure you have a good stretch and mobility routine in place. It’s something I completely overlooked and if you don’t know how to stretch or improve your mobility, book a session on TruBe to find out how. Your session will be completely tailored to your needs and you’ll walk away with exercises that you can do on a daily basis to help improve your running.

Download the TruBe app and take a look at the website.

NEW! Running, Stretching and Pre & Postnatal Workouts

TruBe are excited to reveal that we have added THREE new services which are now live on our website and app! We now offer running and stretching workouts as well as pre and postnatal workouts.

Running:

couple running

One of the most popular types of exercise, running is a great way to improve your  and cardiovascular fitness whilst burning a high amount of calories. Whether you are training for your very first 5k, have an upcoming marathon or just want to start jogging, TruBe running sessions will help get you there. Our trainers will be with you every step of the way whilst you run, motivating you and helping you to improve your endurance and technique. Additionally our trainers provide guidance and tips on how to avoid ‘the wall’ during a marathon race, and prepare you mentally and emotionally.

Stretching:

Two people stretching

Stretching helps to improve flexibility and range of motion. Our expert TruBe fitness trainers will show you a variety of different types of stretching to target specific muscle groups. If you have an injury or are looking to improve your mobility, stretching can aid the process allowing you increase your range of movement and improve any restrictions. Your TruBe stretching session will cover both dynamic and static stretches, and develop a personal stretching program that complements your exercise goals in the comfort of your own home or private space.

Pre & Postnatal:

Pregnancy workout

There are multiple benefits of keeping healthy, mentally and physically, during pregnancy and as a mother. Our TruBe expert trainers will provide a full body programme of exercises for pre and post pregnancy, and with our on-demand service, are able to workout alone in the comfort and security of your own environment. During your pregnancy, you stay toned, comfortable and active whilst post pregnancy working the body safely back to its full range of movement and strength again.

Book your session here!

Don’t forget we also offer a range of workout disciplines such as personal training, kickboxing, boxing, pilates and yoga. Search our network of expert trainers and send a request in seconds!

We’re excited about this new developments, and as always, we welcome your suggestions.