15 non-traditional tips to get your bod burkini ready!

Published April 30th, 2015 - 05:10 GMT

Your New Year’s resolutions are long forgotten, growing mold with other “best laid plans”. Blame the harsh winter which gave you a month’s worth of excuses to avoid the gym. But wake up now and see you’re just weeks away from beach season. (And don’t forget the cruel reality of a month of iftar feasts looming in June/July!). How best to get your body beach-worthy?

The fitness industry has made it’s mark in the Middle East; there’s not a city in MENA that doesn’t boast gyms, fitness centers, dietician clinics, grassroots sports clubs and performance enhancement pros. MidEast awareness about health and fitness is on the rise, critically at this time given our region’s ballooning obesity levels and diabetes. Punishing climates, sedentary lifestyles, and cultural constraints can curtail our recreation options, but there are a growing number of alternatives for people who want to keep fit.

Hear that little voice in the back of your head, nagging you to do the right thing? Cut out the sugar, eat more fruit and veg, put down the smokes, and move your body! Maybe even hire someone to be that voice, a personal trainer to motivate and shame you into action.

But worry not. We’re here to explain the top trends in the fitness industry. If you have a mind toward getting beach-ready by summer, and want a body to match, then check out our guide to the latest fitness trends and pick one that works best for you. See you on the corniche!

View as a slider

View as a list

Straddling a 15-foot pole while doing upside-down splits is more than risqué - it’s a red-hot workout that builds strength, flexibility and coordination. “Polefitness” instructor Francesca Carlson at Optimal Fitness in Dubai - the Middle East’s first pole-dancing class - suggests doing it with like-minded people, to tone up and laugh!

Burn up the dance floor and loads of calories too with belly dancing! What better way to tighten the abs than to twist the torso in the traditional belly dance? Shake around those hips to tunes from the region’s top artists in pretty much one of the most entertaining fitness classes around.

MMA (for “mixed martial arts”) combines elements from combat sports like wrestling, boxing, Muay Thai, jiu-jitsu, and karate. It’s a high-intensity workout that improves strength, agility and endurance. Summon up your inner Ghazi (warrior) and try MMA. It’s a perfect antidote to a stressful day!

Body Weight Training aims to improve endurance and strength by increasing workout intensity and the amount of repetitions. Exercises can be done almost anywhere using your own body to provide weight-training resistance. Given the obesity explosion across the Gulf, we’ve got a lot of “equipment” to work with!

Check out community-based workouts like local walking, running or cycling clubs. Join a dog-walking club to start easy! All are a great way to mix the social and physical sides of exercise, plus working out as a team is great motivator. Why exercise alone when you can do it with a group?

Bored with standard gym classes? Mix things up a little by taking combo classes that challenge your body but keep your head in the game. Think Aqua Zumba (a mixture of Zumba and aqua aerobics), Yogalates (Yoga and Pilates) or a fusion spinning class, which mixes spinning with free weights or resistance bands.

An ancient workout is booming across the Cradle of Civilization. Yoga is trending hot in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon. More than just a way to increase flexibility, it teaches physical, mental, and spiritual discipline. That’s why it’s also being used widely with refugees as a means to restore balance and de-stress traumatized minds.

HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) is an intense workout over a short time. A surge of activity followed by periods of rest in 30 minute sessions helps you to burn fat, lose weight and rev up your metabolism. Fitness centers like Curves and CrossFit incorporate this in their training programs, but you can practice it on your own at home too.

Boot camps give your standard exercise regime a kick-start, but beware - they are not for the faint-hearted! Often held outdoors in a park or along a waterfront corniche (to distract participants from the looming physical agony!) they deliver fast and dependable results - which is why they are so popular with brides-to-be.

Strength Training is a series of self-explanatory exercises that will ultimately, if done correctly or under supervision, increase anaerobic endurance, build strength, and grow your skeletal muscles. It increases your overall metabolism and helps prevent osteoporosis too! Definitely incorporate these into your workout routine.

Long in tooth, but young at heart? Exercise can have a huge positive impact as you age, and physical activity is essential to your health and quality of life. Check with your doctor, and check into specialized workout routines and techniques created for older athletes. You can still rock a swimsuit if you jump on an age-appropriate fitness program.

You’re so special! If you have the spare cash to go with your “spare tire”, consider training with a certified fitness professional who will customize exercises bespoke to your unique body. There’s even benefit for working with a trainer just as a beginning step to put you on the right track, safely, for effective results.

Low on cash or time? Google “30 day online fitness challenges” and exercise at home - at a trainer-designed pace - for free! There are challenges specific to abs, beach bodies, squats, planks, push-ups and even one designed to get you into your favorite little black dress! (We will assume that is meant for the ladies.)

Only the best for us! CrossFit is forging its elite fitness into the region. Enthusiasts from Morocco to the Emirates have caught this conditioning bug. The community-driven culture of the more than 100 gyms (or “boxes” in CrossFit lingo) in the Middle East is a perfect match for here where tribe is everything. Burn, habibi, burn!

You can’t out-train a bad diet! Proper nutrition is vital to health and reaching weight loss goals. The “Start Living Right” mobile app from Lebanese fitness pro Maya Nasser is a 1-stop shop for articles, recipes, fat loss and calorie calculators, quizzes, workout programs and animated exercise illustrations. Download it free from iTunes.

Straddling a 15-foot pole while doing upside-down splits is more than risqué - it’s a red-hot workout that builds strength, flexibility and coordination. “Polefitness” instructor Francesca Carlson at Optimal Fitness in Dubai - the Middle East’s first pole-dancing class - suggests doing it with like-minded people, to tone up and laugh!

Burn up the dance floor and loads of calories too with belly dancing! What better way to tighten the abs than to twist the torso in the traditional belly dance? Shake around those hips to tunes from the region’s top artists in pretty much one of the most entertaining fitness classes around.

MMA (for “mixed martial arts”) combines elements from combat sports like wrestling, boxing, Muay Thai, jiu-jitsu, and karate. It’s a high-intensity workout that improves strength, agility and endurance. Summon up your inner Ghazi (warrior) and try MMA. It’s a perfect antidote to a stressful day!

Body Weight Training aims to improve endurance and strength by increasing workout intensity and the amount of repetitions. Exercises can be done almost anywhere using your own body to provide weight-training resistance. Given the obesity explosion across the Gulf, we’ve got a lot of “equipment” to work with!

Check out community-based workouts like local walking, running or cycling clubs. Join a dog-walking club to start easy! All are a great way to mix the social and physical sides of exercise, plus working out as a team is great motivator. Why exercise alone when you can do it with a group?

Bored with standard gym classes? Mix things up a little by taking combo classes that challenge your body but keep your head in the game. Think Aqua Zumba (a mixture of Zumba and aqua aerobics), Yogalates (Yoga and Pilates) or a fusion spinning class, which mixes spinning with free weights or resistance bands.

An ancient workout is booming across the Cradle of Civilization. Yoga is trending hot in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon. More than just a way to increase flexibility, it teaches physical, mental, and spiritual discipline. That’s why it’s also being used widely with refugees as a means to restore balance and de-stress traumatized minds.

HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) is an intense workout over a short time. A surge of activity followed by periods of rest in 30 minute sessions helps you to burn fat, lose weight and rev up your metabolism. Fitness centers like Curves and CrossFit incorporate this in their training programs, but you can practice it on your own at home too.

Boot camps give your standard exercise regime a kick-start, but beware - they are not for the faint-hearted! Often held outdoors in a park or along a waterfront corniche (to distract participants from the looming physical agony!) they deliver fast and dependable results - which is why they are so popular with brides-to-be.

Strength Training is a series of self-explanatory exercises that will ultimately, if done correctly or under supervision, increase anaerobic endurance, build strength, and grow your skeletal muscles. It increases your overall metabolism and helps prevent osteoporosis too! Definitely incorporate these into your workout routine.

Long in tooth, but young at heart? Exercise can have a huge positive impact as you age, and physical activity is essential to your health and quality of life. Check with your doctor, and check into specialized workout routines and techniques created for older athletes. You can still rock a swimsuit if you jump on an age-appropriate fitness program.

You’re so special! If you have the spare cash to go with your “spare tire”, consider training with a certified fitness professional who will customize exercises bespoke to your unique body. There’s even benefit for working with a trainer just as a beginning step to put you on the right track, safely, for effective results.

Low on cash or time? Google “30 day online fitness challenges” and exercise at home - at a trainer-designed pace - for free! There are challenges specific to abs, beach bodies, squats, planks, push-ups and even one designed to get you into your favorite little black dress! (We will assume that is meant for the ladies.)

Only the best for us! CrossFit is forging its elite fitness into the region. Enthusiasts from Morocco to the Emirates have caught this conditioning bug. The community-driven culture of the more than 100 gyms (or “boxes” in CrossFit lingo) in the Middle East is a perfect match for here where tribe is everything. Burn, habibi, burn!

You can’t out-train a bad diet! Proper nutrition is vital to health and reaching weight loss goals. The “Start Living Right” mobile app from Lebanese fitness pro Maya Nasser is a 1-stop shop for articles, recipes, fat loss and calorie calculators, quizzes, workout programs and animated exercise illustrations. Download it free from iTunes.

15 non-traditional tips to get your bod burkini ready!

Burn up the dance floor and loads of calories too with belly dancing! What better way to tighten the abs than to twist the torso in the traditional belly dance? Shake around those hips to tunes from the region’s top artists in pretty much one of the most entertaining fitness classes around.

Check out community-based workouts like local walking, running or cycling clubs. Join a dog-walking club to start easy! All are a great way to mix the social and physical sides of exercise, plus working out as a team is great motivator. Why exercise alone when you can do it with a group?

You may also like

Subscribe

Jimmy Kimmel returns as ABC ends suspension after political controversy

Putin offers arms control extension but warns west against all-out escalation

İbrahim Çelikkol marries Natali Yarcan after three-year relationship

Iranian lawmakers urge development of nuclear bomb

23 killed in deadly airstrike in Pakistan’s border region