It’s the last morning on the Target fitness retreat and as I lie in bed (yeah we’ve actually been given a lie in today; a whole extra half hour!!) and think about the past few days, I feel a deep sense of pride of the mental hurdles I’ve overcome and the physical challenges I’ve put myself through. And more than anything I feel both inspired and motivated to keep this fitness journey going; to take what I have learnt home with me and to incorporate it into my daily life.
But before I go home, there’s still a bit of unfinished fitness business to complete, and although I’m not entirely sure what Meta Fit is, I’m pretty certain it’s going to be evil.
I’ll worry about in a bit though, because first up it’s juice time and Ellie has prepared a vibrant green matcha and strawberry juice for us and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that if it’s green, it’s healthy!
We’re all looking surprisingly fresh and ‘up for it’ as we sit around the table slurping our juice. Maybe it’s down to the half hour lie in, or it could be all the healthy food we’ve consumed, or maybe the vast amount of exercise we’ve done has sent our energy levels sky high, or…well it could just be that we know we’re going home! Either way, we’re all deffo looking healthier, our skin’s glowing, we’re holding ourselves better and we’re all looking as chilled out as if we’d just spent five days on a beach. I think I might be converted, this fitness retreat lark actually does work and dare I say it…
I think I even ENJOYED it!
Hmmm better not speak too soon, there’s still this Meta Fit session to get through, come on let’s go and get this over with…
Right, I’ll try and describe this the best I can, but honestly unless you’ve experienced it yourself, you’ll never truly know what it’s like.
It’s a bit like HIIT, a series of quick, explosive moves, followed by a very short rest period and this goes on for say 20-30 minutes. However, imagine doing HIIT after drinking 10 cups of coffee, 10 cans of Red Bull and eating 10 bags of Smarties and you’ll have a pretty good idea as to how much more ramped up and crazy chaotic it is. The program is delivered by the means of a set recording, in which the world’s most annoying man shouts orders at you over the world’s most annoying music, seriously it’s like a mixture of an 80s arcade game, cheesy happy hardcore rave and a collection of the worst mobiles ringtones ever invented. If I wasn’t so knackered from the Mountain Climbers, Burpees, Lunges, Sprints and Squats I would have had no qualms in grabbing the stereo and lobbing it into the nearest hot tub. But, that would require me being able to get myself up from this rather low squat (seriously am I ever going to be able to stand again?!) and also being able to raise my arms above my head, which if you’ve read Day 3, is fairly unlikely to happen.
I don’t think I’ve ever sweated so much in my life, seriously it was proper gross, and my already frail and feeble body was not liking me one little bit. Surely that’s it now, right…? Bit of brekkie, time to pack, then goodbyes and hometime.
Sounds good to me.
Seriously? You want to fit in another Ab Attack session…oh go on then, if you insist.
Feeling like my middle could split open with every single lift, I got through it as best I could. Well, OK I admit, I may have taken advantage of the fact the trainer couldn’t see me very well. Come on…it’s the last day, give me a break!
It’s breakfast time and as we gather round the table for the very last time, we are greeted with some gorgeous goody bags filled with lots of yummy treats, such as some Cocofina coconut oil, a Bounce energy ball and a Primal Pantry snack bar.
And whilst we’ve been sweating away half our body weight in the studio, Ellie has been making the BEST breakfast ever.
PANCAKES!!!
It’s like eating pudding for breakfast. So yum and so needed after a pretty vicious morning. I can’t believe the retreat has come to an end. We’ve been through so much together and I’ve learnt a great deal about how my body moves, what my strengths and weaknesses are, how I can take this experience home with me and move forward with both my fitness and my diet, and best of all I’ve met such an incredible group of people.
I get into my car filled with a whole range of different emotions: sad; to be leaving friends and such an amazing venue, joyous; to be going home to see my hubbie and kids, proud; of making it to the end and not giving up, and strong; both in the physical sense, but perhaps more importantly to me, mentally strong at having completed a challenge that was above and beyond my normal realms of comfort.
Would I go on a fitness retreat again…?
In a heartbeat! I seriously get why more and more people are choosing to incorporate fitness into their holiday plans and as the quality of these retreats continue to increase in terms of luxury, location, fitness and food, I can only predict that next year will be ‘the year of the fitness retreat’. If you fancy trying it yourself, and I cannot recommend it enough, then go check out the Target fitness retreats website, but hurry because the 2017 dates are getting booked up fast.
Oh and before I sign off, I kind of have a confession to make…
The evening I got home, I was exhausted, there wasn’t much food in the house and all I wanted to do was crash on the sofa and stuff my face.
I’ll leave it to you to decide what I did.
Did I..?
- Have nothing. Sometimes sleep is far more important than food.
- Dig around in the cupboards and find enough healthy scraps to put together a bit of a pick and mix nut/dried fruit nibble bowl.
- Order a dirty kebab?
Well…everything in moderation, right 😉
I hope you enjoyed reading my fitness retreat diary, I have tried to be as honest as I possibly can and would love to know your thoughts so please comment below.
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And if you run a fitness retreat and you would like me to come along and review it please send an email to becky@artofhealthylivingcom.kinsta.cloud
So pleased, having followed the Blog from your arrival, you made it through to see our Day 5 both physically and mentally.
You made the idea of an exercise and health based holiday sound not only exhausting in every sense of the word and on every possible level but also a huge amount of fun.
Ellie sounds a dream and an ‘every house’ must have and I haven’t even tasted her drinks and dishes!
And as for your return home meal….would have been rude not to, as you say everything in moderation x
Hehe thanks Dawn 🙂 It really was a great experience and I would recommend it to anyone and everyone. Perfect opportunity to try out lots of new exercise and discover where your strengths and weaknesses lie so that you can take that knowledge home and do something about it. It’s certainly helped re-motivate me to get my fitness regime going again! Glad you enjoyed reading about it x