Have you ever wondered what it is like to go on a fitness retreat? Maybe you’ve never even heard of a fitness retreat. If you love to travel, if you want some inspiration to make healthier choices, have fitness goals you haven’t been able to meet yet, or are just looking for a new adventure, a fitness retreat is perfect for you. As far as getaways go, a fitness retreat is the most fulfilling you can go on. Don’t believe us? Read on to learn about what a fitness retreat is like, day by day. Daily Mom managing editor, Elena, recently experienced a fitness retreat in Barbados with luxeFIT. This five day retreat was life changing and all the details of this retreat are shared right here. luxeFIT is a luxury fitness retreat company. They offer the best of the best when it comes to fitness travel. With features like exclusive accommodations, top trainers, a personal chef, and fun activities, luxeFIT retreats are simply wonderful.
Here is a play by play of a recent luxeFIT retreat held in beautiful Barbados.
Day One
Day one of this fitness retreat started early with the sunrise and our first introduction to the trainers that would be guiding us through our week. Everyone was starting to gather in the main courtyard of the Nelson Gay Villa and getting acquainted with one another. Our workout that morning was being held in the tropical backyard area of the villa with a long pool running through its center. At the end of the yard was the blue waters of the ocean, which was immediately at the end of the property.
The intensity of the first morning was very moderate as our trainers wanted to get a sense of everyone’s fitness level and also to assess how our bodies move. A series of skips, kicks, jogging, stretches, and other various calisthenics served as our proving grounds which would become the basis of our entire week. By doing this, the trainers could make sure to design the workouts to cater to the fitness level of the group. What fun would a fitness retreat be if you couldn’t walk away from it at the end of the week?
Breakfast was served by the amazing chef, Winton, along with our on-site butler, Billy. The villa was completely staffed with eight people at all times. All of your needs are fully attended to and it must be what being royalty feels like, even if it’s only for a week.
Our activity for the day was learning to surf at a local surf school on the beach about 10 minutes south of our villa. No matter your fitness level, anyone can learn to surf, and everyone had a blast! Lunch was on the beach.
After arriving back at the villa, and a short break for free time, it was time for the second workout of the day. This workout was very similar to the morning workout with the addition of some bodyweight resistance movements and establishing proper form. Right after our second workout was our daily yoga session on the lawn. With our yoga mats lined up in front of the pool, we eased our minds and bodies from the day’s activities. Our chefs cooked an amazing dinner, along with cocktails, and everyone spent the evening sharing stories and laughing.
Day Two
Day two of the luxeFIT retreat came again early and we all made our way to the pool area to begin our workout. The same warm-up was conducted as the previous morning, but this time we had a better understanding of how to complete the various movements. All of which tested the body’s movements in different ways, challenged our coordination, and raised our heart rates. Today, we introduced a lot of time under tension exercises and also resistance bands. Conducting these types of workouts make it possible to put the muscle under load and fit a lot of muscle work into a short period of time. Your normal hour workout has lots of breaks and periods of muscle contraction. If your muscles are under contraction for almost the entire hour, you can really see the benefits!
We had our breakfast and changed for our afternoon activities. A company was hired to bring all kinds of water toys right up to our villa on the beach. Everyone had a chance to go water skiing, wakeboarding, tubing, and cruising the coastline on the boat. After everyone had their fill of fun in the sun and water sports, it was time to workout. It was starting to settle in that we were actually at a fitness retreat and not a leisurely vacation. A relaxing yoga session followed as night began to fall on day two of our luxeFIT retreat. It was truly a grand experience as you felt in touch with the island of Barbados. Another amazing dinner was served by our wonderful chefs and we all ate with purpose to refuel our bodies from the day’s many activities.
Day Three
Day three of the luxeFIT retreat was met with another morning workout and fresh breakfast. What was different about this day was everyone was free to explore the island on their own.
Our group could choose to go horseback riding, visit Harrison’s Cave, Bathsheba, a rum factory, Animal Flower Cave, or go shopping downtown. We chose to visit Animal Flower Cave and Bathsheba.
Animal Flower Cave is located in the northernmost point of the island. Here the Atlantic Ocean has carved out spectacular caves you can explore and even swim in. The entire island is made up of coral, and the ocean creates amazing sculptures and caves throughout the coast. Bathsheba is on the east coast and looks like something out of the movie “Avatar”, resembling Pandora. The coral rock formations seem to just float out over the ocean as the waves crash around them.
After everyone returned from their various excursions we loaded up on a bus and drove to Bridgetown. This was our night to get a taste of the nightlife in Barbados with an entertaining dinner show at the Cockspur. An island show of music, circus acts, dancing, and interactive parodies carried on into the night ending day three of this luxeFIT retreat.
Day Four
Day four of the luxeFIT retreat is when the workouts began to become more intense as we all began to become more confident in our abilities. Everything we had learned throughout the week and all the tools provided were starting to be employed in the entirety of the workouts. Encompassing not only time under tension movements, resistance bands, calisthenics, and bodyweight lifts that we learned earlier in the week, but also TRX bands, complex partner movements, and even coconuts!
After breakfast we made our way to the beach where a skiff was waiting to take us to a large catamaran. Today, we had the wonderful opportunity to spend the day on a luxury catamaran stocked with a full bar, food, and gear for snorkeling. Our guides served us drinks and placed us on various dive locations to get the best views of the underwater world around Barbados. Schools of fish, turtles, and shipwrecks met us as we explored at our leisure.
After the snorkeling trip, the whole team was absolutely starving and how surprised were we to discover that the staff at the villa prepared a beautiful gazebo lunch for us.
And we even got a chance to play with a local puppy who randomly ran up to our villa from the beach during our pool time. He was cold and in need of hugs. Fitness, luxury, puppy and hugs. What more do you need for a perfect day?
Day Five
The last day of this luxeFIT retreat, day five, was the culmination of all we’ve learned throughout our workout experiences of the week. The group had really bonded over these times and it was sad to know this would be our last workout together. To celebrate our week together, we journeyed into Bridgetown to a harbor bar called the Boat Yard.
Here we enjoyed drinks, played volleyball, and enjoyed the warm waters of the beach. The night carried on around a bonfire on the beach where we laughed, drank, enjoyed good food, and each other’s company. We all took turns reflecting on the week discussing what was fun, what was challenging, what we learned, and coming to the agreement we would all do another fitness retreat again!
If you want even more information on a fitness retreat, we’ve got lots of details right here: Get Fit in Luxury with LuxeFIT.
Photo Credits: Elena Ollick
