Fitness retreat that will have you jumping for joy
SHORTLY before 4pm on a Saturday and I’m sipping a smoothie. By the pool, of course, beneath blazing sunshine.
But, hold on. Today, I have already run four miles, stretched through two yoga classes and done so many burpees I lost count at 50. And I’ve never felt better.
Around me are 18 women, all shapes and ages, with one goal — to get motivated and get fit — in the heavenly flower-filled grounds of Finca Monasterio, a converted 18thcentury monastery in south-east Spain, on a five-day fitness retreat.
Our hosts are the best in the business. There’s Peter, or P Mac, a hunky PT an Instagram sensation who’s trained everyone from your 70-year-old neighbour to singer Dua Lipa, and Estelle McCluskie — the most inspiring yoga instructor you could hope to meet.
Our day starts at 6.30am with that run. It’s amazing how far you can go when you swap people-clogged pavements for empty country roads lined with fields of lavender. It’s followed by a 30-minute hot HIIT session by the pool — a blur of lunges and press-ups — before a day of yoga , ab and glute classes.
Each evening we have a big group meal at a communal table. Food is sensational — huge platters of couscous or chickpea salads, barbecued chicken and watermelon to follow. And despite all the exercise, I never feel deprived.
Nor do my new friends. While we came here as strangers, we leave as a group of women who’ve encouraged each other, laughed together and, believe it or not, relaxed. I feel revived and inspired.