FitFarms Weight loss Fitness Retreat Spain

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IMG-0473We are gearing up for another week at FitFarms Spain weight loss retreat in the Olive hills of Andalucia. The team caught flights from London Gatwick this time at midday and landed at 4pm Spain time. We then jumped into the mini bus and made our way through the Olive hills to Iznajar a pretty town perched on top of a hill.
FitFarms has a great relationship with the villa manager and he kindly let us stay on site for free so we can make preparations before the course starts on Saturday. Fitness Balls, Kettlebells, resistance bands, yoga mats, boxing gloves, fitness and nutrition testing make up some of the equipment which we store at the Spanish FitFarms weight loss retreat.
The week is action packed with beach workouts, lake walks, trip to Sierra Nevada mountain rage for a gorge walk, Granada sight seeing and not forgetting a jammed full class style programme ranging for yoga to boxing. It’s going to be hot though and I mean hot, over 30 degrees on some days but don’t worry we have a cunning exercise programme!
One of FitFarms’ main strength has always been having a fantastic team because we thoroughly believe that this is what makes the course. We’ve just finished a course in Derbyshire where we had many returning guests and one of the returners said “this may be the best team yet”. The lady in question has been 11 times to FitFarms starting from 2009 so she has seen a lot of different teams. I think the strength of this team is the variety of different exercises they can deliver and also their personalities complement each other.
Wishing all our guests a safe flight and don’t forget to pack the sun cream, drink lots of water and become prepared to have a great time at FitFarms Spain in the glorious sunshine.

FitFarms Derbyshire weight loss fitness retreat

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IMG-0299FitFarms Derbyshire weight loss fitness retreat May course report. The course started on 14th May just outside the pretty town of Matlock.

The FitFarms weight loss retreat accommodation is situated around a natural lake just minutes away from Darwin Forest.
The majority of the guests arrive on Friday night either by car or collected from the local Matlock train station. Once settled into their rooms the welcome talk starts at 6.15pm.
The talk is designed to relax people and make sure everyone is comfortable with the programme that they will be following.
Dinner was salmon, cherry tomatoes in a basil sauce and the vegetarian was similar but the salmon was changed for tofu.
The first weight loss retreat and exercise session is on its way and the guests are really enjoying the first session.
Guests finish the session puffed but with great enthusiasm. They make there way back to the herbal tea station, lemon and ginger seem to be a popular one on this week and then
off to bed for a well deserved good nights sleep. Sleep is a real important health factor and it’s a great way to become stress free, repair yourself and helps with anxiety. Aiming between
7 and 9 hrs per night is the optimum amount of sleep.
Many people who come to FitFarms become very concerned with the exercise programme concerned that they won’t be able to keep up and start to feel that last at school feeling.
The FitFarms weight loss and fitness camp programme is designed to avoid these feelings. Alternatives are always given and although the exercise is challenging it is also a lot of fun.
Do not forget to check the FitFarms website for future Derbyshire courses. We are based in Matlock and provide free transfers from Matlock train station.

 

Weight Loss Fitness Camp Derbyshire

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Nov 14The morning of FitFarms weight loss Fitness Camp Derbyshire and holistic boot camp and we are setting off early to set up site before the customers arrive. Journals, water bottles and pens are all packed and there’s a 2.5hr drive ahead via Birmingham to collect Lorna a new member of the fitness team.
When we arrive at Derbyshire fitness retreat we will do a check of the rooms and put journals and water bottles out ready for the customers. The weather is gradually getting warmer so keeping hydrated during a fitness course is essential.
Food orders will come in around 2pm so it’s important to check we have all the correct food types and no items are missing. We send out health and nutrition questionnaire before the start of the course so we know if we have any vegetarians, vegans or food allergies. I know on this week there is  one vegan and one vegetarian. I always think it makes the cooking more interesting because you need to be a little more creative during the week when there are special food requirements.
The fitness equipment also is taken out and put on the floor of the indoor area all ready for the first fitness class. We have the health and fitness assessments in the morning so we will will also do a double check that we have everything. We’ve started calculating mass muscle, bone density, basal metabolic rate, metabolic age and body water content to give our customers some more valuable information on their health.
The first customers usually arrive by train at 4.30pm and then the car arrivals come between 5 and 5.30pm.
It’s going to be another fun week and everyone is looking forward to good weather fun and fitness !

FitFarms Spain Review On The Retreat

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downloadFitFarms Spain in Andalucia the South of Spain is proving to be FitFarms’ most popular course. High up in the olive hills with the nearest civilization being the magnificent hill top white washed Spanish village of Iznajar. The province is Cordoba but FitFarms Spain is right on the borders between Cordoba and Granada. Iznajar commands a position 359 meters above sea level and looks down onto the regions largest man made lake which circles over 20 kilometers. Do not worry though we don’t attempt this circular walk on the FitFarms Spain holiday retreat. However on one of the days we drive down to a spectacular viaduct and we walk along a track next to the lake which has breathtaking views. On the other side of the lake to the viaduct is a huge beach where we conduct our beach workouts and for some guests water sports which is not for everyone but in typical FitFarms style we will always find an exercise alternative. Granada the ancient medieval city dating back to Palaeolitrhic times (1000 B.C)  is the FitFarms Spain highlight. It’s approximately an hour from the villa but with a healthy packed lunch it’s worth the distance. Before we go to Granada though there is the pretty waterfall gorge walk in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Nearly all guests say it’s one of the best walks they have been on. It’s challenging but there’s different routes so your fitness can be at any level and it’s really worth the puff because the view points are quite amazing. Once the walk has completed we all tuck into the healthy packed lunch next to a stream down in the village of Monchel before we make are journey into Granada. Once in Granada we park up and everyone gets two hours of sightseeing before the trip back to the FitFarms Spain Villa.

Scotland Weight Loss Boot Camp

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scotlandThe Scotland FitFarms weight loss boot camp has proven to be extremely popular due to the fantastic Victorian property and tailor made exercise programme.

Scotland have quite a few non military boot camps and military boot camps dotted around the country but there is not a holistic non boot camp for Scottish people to choose. We have many Scottish customers at our Derbyshire fitness and weight loss camp which is based in Matlock so it just seemed like a natural progression to open our FitFarms residential programmes in Scotland.

FitFarms Scotland is only 40 miles from the historic city of Edinburgh and one hour and forty five minutes from Glasgow. We operate a service where we collect guests from Edinburgh train station on the Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday and return at the end of the course.

The FitFarms Scotland retreat programme is very different than the boot camp style companies that are currently running in Scotland. The FitFarms approach is holistic covering nutriton, exercise and life coaching. Customers can join us from anything between 2 and 7 nights and when the residential programme has been completed we provide a post course programme to make sure customers stay on track after the weight loss retreat has completed.

Some of the exercises you can expect to participate in whilst at the retreat are hiking, boxercise, yoga, pilates, circuit training and HIIT to name but a few. One of the most exciting attractions being down by the Scottish and English borders is the magnificent countryside so expect some stunning, challenging but always manageable hikes.

When the weather isn’t so great we have an extremely quirky indoor fitness area which is a situated in a ball room with a wooden sprung floor.

The new dates will be advertised on the FitFarms website soon where you can book online or just call up and book directly over the phone.

FitFarms Spain Weight loss and Fitness Boot camp

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Boxing at FitFarmsFitFarms Spain

Today we are flying out to FitFarms Spain in Andalucia. We managed to get a PM flight so we all met at London Luton airport at 2.30pm in time to board the 4.30m flight to Malaga.
FitFarms Spain is extremely popular with returning customers and on this weight loss and fitness camp we have 4 returning guests looking to improve their fitness levels and tone up in the Spanish sunshine.
There always seems to be a bit more of a holiday atmosphere on the Spanish FitFarms courses which is mainly due to the glorious weather and having a pool to relax around and have a dip in the fitness retreats downtime.
The weather is peaking at 26 degrees on this course and we have planned to do Jens (sports therapist and exercise coach) aqua aerobics session to some hearty 80’s and 90’s tunes which has always been a favourite with past attenddes on the weight loss retreats. Another highlight of the week is the walk in the Nevada mountain range which is close to the medieval town of Granada.
The walk is a Spanish national walk and thousands of walkers come to this place every year. It starts in a very pretty village called Monchel where we park up and start undulating climb to the mountain range. Once on the mountain range we walk past waterfalls and over wooden bridges. The mountainous scenery is spectacular and it gives our customers chance to take some photos and even a few selfies with the waterfalls as a backdrop.
When everyone is back from the walk we have a packed lunch and then we take some timeout to view the medieval city of Granada.

 

London Boot Camp Simple Circuit

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stop giving upstop giving up1When I was down on the FitFarms London Boot Camp I devised a simple but effective lower and upper body circuit for the FitFarms Guests.

Here at FitFarms we have many guests who join us and the London holistic weight loss and fitness boot camp which is popular due to being close to the capital. FitFarms provides a free service where we collect customers from the local train station. However this is soon to be changed to a more central collection point being London’s Heathrow Airport Terminal 4.

London Boot Camp Circuit

A simple circuit involving lower body, upper body and core.

Perform 20 of each exercise in the first circuit, then 18 in the next dropping by 2 each circuit, allow a short rest between circuits if needed.

1.Squats – Muscle areas are quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, abdominal muscles, lower back and glutes.

2.Tricep dips using a chair great for building up triceps and shoulders

3.Dead bugs the main goal of the dead bug is to strengthen the core while minimizing the pressure on the lower back

4.Treadmills on the floor for a great all round lower body workout

5. Glute bridge concentrates on the glutes but also targets the hamstrings and abs

6.Round the world Lunges concentrating on the thighs and strengthening the hips

7.Press ups increasing functional upper body strength

8.Bird dog strengthening the core muscles and stabilizes the spine especially the lumbar area

9.Jacks great for raising the heart rate

Weight loss and fitness occupational activity

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received_2059320577730609A few weeks ago I was given a literature review about musculoskeletal injuries in three specific construction trades (my partner works in the industry & thought I would find it interesting -he knows me well!) I found it enlightening & can’t say I was surprised at anything in it considering the manual activities, work load & repetition involved.

Following that one I found another article about how manual jobs don’t produce the same health benefits as leisure time activity. It notes that occupational activity is of no cardiorespiratory benefit as it does not reach the high intensity or the duration is too long. Heart rate is also suggested to increase during as well following long duration of occupational activity over a 24 hour period, contrary to with leisure activity; also as occupational activity often involves static working postures or heavy lifting the muscle contraction involved increases blood pressure which it also suggests may remain increased subsequently after.

Occupational activity is suggested to cause fatigue & exhaustion with potential to elevate risk of cardiovascular disease due to poor recovery times such as from long weekly hours worked; & lack of control over occupational tasks such as schedule, speed & environment are also put forward as contributory to detrimental effects.

Lastly it suggests that inflammation increases & remains elevated with occupational activity which over long periods of time & combined with inadequate recovery is noted as responsible for prolonged inflammation. It sounds quite generic as will vary by occupation (there’s definitely high intensity in mine -benefit, but equally there’s fatigue -risk) but I think nicely hi lights the importance of including leisure activity even if your occupation involves physical demands.

Holistic Weight Loss Boot Camp Recipes

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Creamy-Chicken-White-Bean-Chili-6-of-8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first recipe is Jen’s healthy chicken soup which she kindly shared with FitFarms whilst on the Summer holistic boot camp in London

To serve 4 people

Ingredients

2 teaspoons coconut oil

4 pints of water

8 carrots

3 leeks

3 large onions

1 stick of celery

3 chicken breasts cut into strips.

1 inch of ginger

1 whole chili without the seeds or if you like really hot food include the seeds

2 tablespoons of double cream or half a tin of coconut milk. If you would like it really rich and creamy you can add both.

Small shake of rock salt

 

Method

Chop the celery, carrots and leeks into cubes and put into a pan of boiling water (4 pints). Cook for 30 minutes until all the ingredients are soft.

Put the coconut oil, onions, ginger and chili into a saucepan and fry for 5 minutes on a medium heat. Then add to the other ingredients in the pan.

Mix in the coconut milk or the cream or both for a fuller flavour.

Using a hand blender blend together.

Add the chicken strips and carry on cooking for 20 minutes at a medium heat. Cut one strip in half before serving to make sure the chicken is cooked through. It should be very hot and white in the centre.

Poor into a bowl and add salt and coriander.

 

Chocolate Truffles

To serve 20 mini truffles

Ingredients

100 ml coconut oil

1 avocado

1 banana

2 teaspoons of Chia Seeds

50 grams of dark chocolate (over 70% cocoa)

 

Method

Put the coconut oil into a pan and melt.

Place a glass bowl over a pan of boiling water and melt and then add to the coconut oil.

Chop the avocado and banana and add to the pan with the chia seeds.

Blend all the ingredients together and pour into an ice cube tray.

Place in a freezer for 2 hrs. Take out and pop the truffles by pushing on the bottom of the ice cube tray.

 

 

 

Weight Loss and Fitness Boot Camp Balti

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balti

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Having had a discussion on the last weight loss and fitness boot camp in Norfolk about Indian takeaways, I ventured that I was given a new slow cooker for Christmas & had been making vegetable balti that comes out that tasty takeaways are no longer even thought about! Ok so that may be a slight exaggeration but I did promise to pass the recipe on & as I seem to have already deviated off my usual rails this week I’m staying on that train & throwing a food recipe on the tracks!

 

Vegetable Balti

 

1 Onion

2 Garlic cloves (chopped)

3 tbsp balti paste

2 tomato puree

1 tin tomatoes

300ml vegetable stock

Butternut squash

Cauliflower florets

Courgette

Carrot

Fine beans

 

If you would like some more wonderful cooking recipes Stephen suggests Jamie Oliver Healthy Recipes

 

I have put no quantities for the veg as I tend to see what I have & fill the pot from there, I don’t like wasting food so similarly I’ve added other veg if it needs using (I currently have one on the go with broccoli in it). If you’ve the time & inclination pan fry the onion & garlic first, then add the puree, paste & tomatoes & add to the slow cooker, though it works fine if you just throw everything in! Last note: ideally make it up the day before you want it & switch it on to low the next day for about 6 hours (or about 4 hours on high). Bon appetite!  Oh and a quick announcement – If you live in the London area and looking for the London FitFarms holistic weight loss boot camp we will soon be collecting from London Heathrow and taking you straight to the fabulous Norfolk Retreat which is close to Holkham beach.

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