If you want
more proof of the diversity of holiday options in Africa, try this: dune
running, boxercise and interval training with Kenya's Marion Jones. Stephanie
Debere pushes a sweat and explores the Watamu coast on a Wild Fitness course.
RUN!" came the cry, pushed out in between hard breaths. Through a
tangle of tropical vegetation I snatched blurred glimpses of my companions'
grimacing faces, before focusing again on the dusty track, booby-trapped with
protruding roots. I sprinted as hard as possible, then burst into the clearing
where the others were and sank to my knees, amid general groans of relief and
pain.
Despite the urgency, I wasn't fleeing wild animals or angry
people. Rather, the time it took one of us to sprint a short course dictated
the time everyone else had to do their particular exercise before moving on to
the next one. This was circuit training Kenyan-style, among the vanilla
creepers and pepper plants of a spice and palm nursery: press-ups, lunges,
burpees, weights, triceps dips, crab-like galloping - with a cunning element of
friendly peer pressure thrown in, to make sure we sprinted rather than jogged.
All part of a normal afternoon on a Wild Fitness course.
From Baraka
House, a luxurious Arabic-style villa overlooking Watamu Beach (one of the
world's top ten and part of a UN biosphere reserve), young Kenyan-born
entrepreneur Tara Wood runs courses offering "functional fitness". Open to
anyone from confirmed couch potatoes to aspiring athletes, the courses run for
two or six weeks and aim to give a natural, animal-like health, based on the
movements that have ensured our survival as a species: squat, lunge, push,
pull, bend, twist, walk and run.
Gym machines, explained course leader
Steve Bacot - an ex-army fitness instructor with an encyclopaedic knowledge and
contagious enthusiasm - work muscle groups in isolation, with little
correlation to real life activities or sport. The course aims to improve the
balance and coordination needed for complex muscle sequences in daily living.
It improves the central nervous system and "core stability" (the strength of
the tube of muscle supporting our spines). "Deep muscles like this are often
neglected in workouts that favour visible surface muscles," explained Steve.
"You should work out for functionality, not for your six-pack."
Daunting
stuff. However the best way to describe the course is as a lot more fun than it
sounds. There was laughter throughout and staff never forget that this is a
holiday, not boot camp. "We analyse the requirements of your lifestyle.
Training should be a combination of what you need, enjoy and can sustain," says
Tara.
Each morning we woke at six and reached for electronic heart-rate
monitors before even sitting up in bed, to record our pulses - a simple measure
of fitness (generally, the lower, the better). After meeting downstairs, we
tackled our "wobble boards" (circular discs of wood a foot in diameter, with a
tennis ball-sized wooden knob on one side; the ball touches the ground, you try
to balance on the disc). This woke up our central nervous systems, improving
our coordination and preparing us for the session ahead.
My favourite
morning workout was boxercise on Baraka's flat roof, overlooking an expanse of
palms and breaking waves under the rising sun. But no time for gazing: after
warming up, we bound our fists, donned boxing gloves and started punching the
pads held by our instructors. My younger brother might dispute this, but I've
never thrown hard punches before, and as well as being an effective workout, it
was enormous fun.
Knowledge is (physical) power, and after abundant
breakfasts of fruits, cereals and breads, we sprawled on fat cushions beneath a
thatched rooftop shelter, digesting surprisingly compelling talks that took a
scientific approach to training, nutrition and well-being.
In the midday
heat we headed for the dojo, a thatched open-sided pagoda by the beach, washed
over by the sounds of breaking waves and monkeys and birds in the trees. Tara's
mother, Checkie, a masseuse and relaxation expert, led us in meditation and
creativity exercises designed to promote what she appealingly calls "juicy
living". The unimpeded flow of creative impulses and energy is an essential
component of health, she explained, and any scepticism we may have had withered
under her assured calm. Later she carefully worked our largely novice group up
to demanding yoga sessions, outstretching us in every direction as we grappled
with the Plough, Dog and Cobra poses.
After lunch we separated for down
time, or for individual sessions on balance and posture, feedback chats
(courses are adjusted accordingly) or a sublime full-body massage from Checkie.
Late afternoon exercises often accompanied an outing. At Che-Shale, we had a
huge sandy bay to ourselves for beach footy and volleyball. The truly committed
did masochistic sprints up the shifting sand dunes.
Courses are
personally tailored to be as gentle or demanding as you choose. There's no
pressure, just encouragement and motivation to help you towards or beyond your
goals. This filtered down to make the atmosphere supportive rather than
competitive among our group of seven twenty- and thirty-somethings (though Wild
Fitness is suitable for all ages). "I would recommend it to anyone, whatever
their fitness," enthused Lisa, a database expert, glowing with satisfaction
after having completed (contrary to her expectations) a 4km swim across a
mangrove-lined creek.
My concerns that we'd feel insulated here proved
misplaced: thanks to Tara's insider knowledge and imagination, we really got to
know this exquisite area. We took a dhow cruise, visited a snake farm and the
medieval Swahili Gedi Ruins (a superb distraction before an 8km forest run),
watched turtles laying their eggs on the beach at midnight and lunched
African-style at a tree reserve established by locals. External activities
available include diving, game fishing and windsurfing.
Tara led us
round the relaxed local bars, and we shimmied one night with Giriana tribal
dancers by firelight on the beach. Despite our exercise programme we still
couldn't shake our hips half as fast as they could, though this might have been
due to the enormous barbecued grouper which we'd eaten
beforehand.
Nutrition is an important component of Wild Fitness, but
luckily "diet" meant eating the right things, rather than eating not much.
Based on fresh local seafood, tropical fruit and vegetables, meals incorporated
spicy East African flavours and soon had the group requesting the recipes.
Freshly baked bread and corn cakes accompanied every meal, and fruit loaves
kept us going mid-afternoon until substantial three-course dinners. Wine and
beer consumption was pretty feeble - due more to communal exhaustion than
piety.
As the course progressed, it was rewarding to watch our
heart-rates lower and to feel fitter. Still, I couldn't keep up with Hellen
Kiprotich, an international sprinter known as Kenya's Marion Jones, when she
joined us for interval training in a clearing in the mangrove swamps one
morning. Our karate session was also led by a Kenyan team veteran, amid great
hilarity as we attempted Bruce Lee-style chops to commands shouted in a
wonderful Afro-Japanese accent.
On days like these you wonder how you
could ever not exercise: what could be more fun, more rewarding? But Tara's
team understands how hard it is to incorporate fitness into pressurised daily
lifestyles. They aim to give you skills and knowledge that can be adapted to
your circumstances, offering an email support service and "top-up" weekends in
Britain.
If ever proof were needed that sub-Saharan Africa offers
world-class tourism products beyond the safari sphere, it lies here. Wild
Fitness allows you to shed inhibitions, try new activities and stretch both
body and mind. You learn to punch and kick and laugh a lot. And to make
yourself go just that little bit faster when your course-mates scream at you to
"RUN!"
Stephanie Debere flew to Kenya courtesy of Kenya
Airways.
