Slick wooden floors, trendy lightening and chic furniture that wouldn’t look out of place in a minimalist interiors store in Sweden, it’s fair to say BARE Fitness isn’t your usual gym.
In fact, BARE Fitness even goes as far as to say it’s not a gym. Instead it is more of a health and wellness destination. Sign up with them and they you don’t just get a fitness programme but a diet plan, too. After all as founder Dylan Eiffe says: “It’s 30 per cent exercise and 70 per cent food.”
What is it?
Uber-stylish, it’s almost easy to forget that when you enter BARE Fitness that you are about to have one of the most grueling workouts of your life. And that’s the thing, don’t be fooled by the good looking trainers, who often join in your workouts, these guys (and girls) look great because they workout hard.
The BARE Fitness team #Fitspo
But as well as putting you through your paces in a series of high-energy workouts from CrossFit to cycle and weight training classes, the team are focused on getting your nutrition right with attentive diet programmes that get you thinking about what you eat and how you eat it.
It’s a 360-degree approach to wellness.
Trainers TJ and Dylan
Benefits
Don’t let its on-trend interiors fool you, this is not a pretentious place. The atmosphere is one of the friendliest in any fitness venue we’ve visited – it feels more like a community. It feels like working out with pals. You can’t do a move? No worries, they will adapt it for you. Can’t eat certain foods? No problem, they will adapt a workout plan for you.
A blackboard in the reception area announces the before and after weights and body fat percentage loses of members – rather than being intimidating it’s incredibly encouraging. A weekly food factoid or recipe also goes on the board along with an inspirational quote.
The most popular classes by far are CrossFit. No two classes are the same and each workout focuses on strengthening your body from head-to-toe. The circuits are intense and hard hitting, which only means faster results – losing weight, getting stronger and getting toned.
Checkout some of the circuits:
Verdict
As someone who usually smashes out workouts in order to get in shape, it was incredibly interesting to find out why I often struggle to do so – my diet. Dylan and his team advise you to record your food intake on My Fitness Pal so that you can understand what you consume. “Anyone who doesn’t know how many calories they consume is being naive,” said Dylan.
While I wasn’t keen on the idea of counting calories, it was the biggest eye opener ever. Turns out my healthy diet wasn’t so healthy. Did you know there is over 200 calories in a tablespoon of olive oil? I didn’t either, so my smothering it over my lunch and dinners saw my daily calorie count at nearly 3,000! Just a few small tweaks and my body fat dropped, I felt healthier, stronger and energised (thanks to the intense CrossFit workouts).
Details
Monthly membership is Dhs800 and includes a diet plan and unlimited classes. (There’s an initial Dhs400 setup fee).
Location
BARE Fitness, Retail 2. Clover Bay Tower, Al Abraj Street, Dubai
