GIVE BODY AND MIND A BALEARIC BOOST
IT’S A NEW YEAR – AND A STAY IN MALLORCA COULD START YOU ON THE PATH TO A NEW YOU, SAYS ABI JACKSON
IT’S 11am at a secluded villa in Sencelles, Mallorca. The sun is shining, palms are softly rustling in the breeze and from somewhere in the distance, the faint cry of a peacock is carried on the hot Mediterranean air.
Then, bang on cue, the Baywatch theme tune starts blasting from a speaker.
I begin doing squats, as one of my team-mates starts running laps and the other dances on the grass.
“Good work teams, keep moving,” head trainer Rick Parcell yells above the music. “Don’t forget to high-five your team-mates!”
I’m at The Body Camp’s new Mallorca retreat, tackling an outdoor workout known as the ‘Baywatch Challenge’.
The squats are the first of 20 tasks, with each set interspersed with running and dancing (the moves can be as questionable as you like, as long as you keep moving), and already my legs are burning.
To be fair, it is the third workout of the day. We’ve already ticked off sunrise yoga before breakfast, followed by a gruelling ‘Gladiator’ session (an hour of high-octane HIIT – high-intensity interval training).
This is the last of four actionpacked days, which have somehow seen me do more burpees than I’ve previously managed in my entire 37 years. Yet we crunch and press-up our way through all 20 tasks, with energy left over for a celebratory leap into the pool.
That’s the thing about The Body Camp. However daunted you feel by the size of the activity list when you arrive, and doubtful you’ll be able to complete even half of it, by the end your stay you’ll have smashed it – and the buzz will outdo any aches and exhaustion a hundredfold.
Since launching in Ibiza three years ago, The Body Camp has quickly established itself as a leader in the field of fitness and wellness retreat travel. Mallorca is the brand’s second exclusive location and is billed as a slightly more relaxed ‘Essentials’ version of Ibiza’s intense ‘Life Transformation’ programme.
Instead of Ibiza’s mandatory ‘All In’ full-day itineraries, here, it’s ‘All In’ for the mornings, then afternoon activities are optional, meaning guests have the choice to top up their fitness even more, or take time out to lounge by the pool, or read or snooze in one of the villa’s peaceful hammocks.
The doors officially opened last summer, and I was one of the first guests to try it out. As a retreat virgin, I had no idea what to expect.
It’s instantly clear why The Body Camp bosses insist they’re not a boot camp, though. Yes, you’ll be put through your paces, but it’s all tailored to be fun (Body Camp doesn’t have a gym, it has a ‘Disco Gym’).
The stylish yet cosy villa surrounded by peaceful grounds – just a 30-minute transfer from Palma Airport – has been gorgeously kitted out, and all guests get en suite bathrooms and heavenly comfortable beds (well, no one can ‘transform’ without decent sleep!).
Neither is it a weight-loss camp. You’re welcome to take your own ‘before and after’ measurements if you want, but it’s not something the team pushes as that’s not really what it’s about.
Mindfulness and positive self-talk are all in the mix too, so expect to flex your mental muscles as much as your quads and abs.
The Body Camp offers a chance to escape day-to-day stresses and give your lifestyle and self-care regime a bit of a boot up the backside, while soaking up some sun and having an awesome time.
Most guests come for the full week-long experience, although shorter stays are also an option.
After getting settled, Rick talks us through the programme. We’re each given a ‘Life Transformation Planner’, where we can plot our goals, values and progress – and write notes.
As well as the multiple daily workouts, the menu is 100% plant-based. While dietary requirements will be catered for, everybody is generally expected to eat the same things at set times. There’s strictly no booze, and while there’s an endless supply of fruitinfused water and herbal teas, coffee is limited to breakfast time. Portion sizes come in three options (regular, slightly more calorie-reduced, or ‘bulk up’ with more generous servings). The idea of restricted food and caffeine is what concerns me most but at no point do I feel deprived. In fact, chef Ben Whale and his team blow us away with their creations. We tuck into a filling sun-dried tomato and walnut ragu, fuel up with stacks of steaming blueberry pancakes, and a chocolatey nut and cacao protein shake – one of the post-workout treats – is so thick and creamy that I can’t finish it.
This is fitness with a big dose of fun. The programmes start with warm-up jogs around the grounds and drills on the villa’s custom-built training lawn. Rick and fellow fitness coach Anthony Richmond are clear about the rules: it’s not a race and it really doesn’t matter whether you can do a full press-up or only manage a few on your knees. So long as everyone supports each other and embraces the
‘opportunity’ (at Body Camp, a workout is a gift, not a chore!), you’re winning.
You’ll be dancing (100% sober) a lot, sometimes well before 10am but Rick and Anthony’s comedy act capers make it impossible not to get on board. A few hours in, I’m having so much fun it’s impossible to tell whether it’s the exercise or laughing so hard that’s caused the stitch. Although I’m with a group who were 99% total strangers just a day ago, we’re now whooping and exchanging congratulatory hugs like old friends.
Not all the exercise takes place on site. One of The Body Camp highlights is a hike. We trek 12km along a coastal path, stopping at a dreamy secluded bay in Santanyi for a picnic lunch and quick dip in the sea. The next day, we explore the scenery for a few hours with an afternoon bike ride. Guests can also borrow the bikes for longer rides if they want; Mallorca has some fantastic long open roads to get those legs working.
The inside gets some work too. In terms of the mindbased exercises, we start each morning with a quick boogie in the villa (Body Camp doesn’t have alarm clocks; instead music starts blaring shortly before 7am), taking turns to read out a series of positive mantras to set the tone for the day. Rick also leads us on a mindfulness and positive-thinking session, and we do an hour-long breathwork workshop with Sapphire Brown, who guides us through the circular breathing technique as we lie on our backs in the yoga studio. It feels like an emotional purge (tears are totally normal and Sapphire tells us to just go with whatever we’re feeling), and I cry like a baby yet afterwards feel incredibly energised.
Everybody’s experience at a retreat is slightly different, and that’s really the idea. After a few days, my muscles are noticeably more defined and the whole group is glowing from within.
Despite the 890,000 burpees, I feel rested and relaxed. People say The Body Camp is life-changing – and it’s easy to see why.
One of the stylish and cosy bedrooms