I hope that the title of this post will catch your attention and you will read it from the beginning to end because in this post, beyond my own experiences I am going to write some information that you can use to make your life better.
Let me give you a bit of a background to this holiday first. I have been regularly exercising since I was 18; yes exercising, going to the gym, dancing etc. People would say that I was always doing something, moving and therefore I have always been fit, and I was happy with my level of fitness. I could have looked better, ‘one should always put up their limits high enough and never settle lower.’ I could have had a more stable body instead of gaining weight and then losing it just because I was running more or doing more cardio but overall I was ok with myself. During my travels I became a bit more chunky than before and I was determined once I settled back into the London life that I would lose the excess fat. I started working for Gamesys and with this joined the gym where they offer corporate membership called The Third Space. I remember when I walked into it the first time I saw this super fit guy (even his name has the word FIT in, he’s called Fitz Gaynes) shouting at people on the glass floor. It looked like he was training an army and people were still smiling. I promised myself that I would go into one of his classes and either die or come out stronger. So on the next occasion I went with my good friend Zara to his Legs Bums and Tums class. I wish I had a bit of an introduction or warning before, but sadly on that one occasion when I went to his class for the first time he did not ask if there was any ‘fresh blood’, so I was believed to be one of his’regulars’. If you have done legs bums and tums class before you would expect something like this:
Instead, we did about 300 squats in different combinations on a 45 minutes class that started with a 10 minutes dance routine. I remembered Fitz even on the 3rd day after I did the class as coming down the stairs had become a bit of a nightmare! That was it, I knew I was working hard and would get results. I returned to the class the week after and after and I found myself becoming more and more curious to see what other classes he was teaching. I tried his spin class, which is equally not the classic spin class that is normally taught. The bike is just a tool that we use to do strength training to the heart. Finally after a few months I tried one of his late Tuesday night classes, the LST weights class. This is when the whole logic behind his teaching started to come altogether, back to the simple logic, sit, stand, push and pull. That’s all you need to do. I’ll tell you more about this through this post but if you want to check out his site and learn a bit more here it is: https://fitzlifestyletraining.com
So this January an opportunity arose to go on an LST holiday through him to Turkey. I had pretty much booked all of my holidays for the year with the wedding and honeymoon approaching so first I thought that I couldn’t go, although I really wanted to. So another proof that if you really want something, make it happen. I booked it.
I knew some people from the classes but mostly just by face however deep down I also knew that I loved meeting new people so knew we would get on:) Fitz flew out a couple of days before to prepare everything for us and the group flew on Sunday the 20th March.
The place we went to is called Ali Bey Manavgat and it’s in Antalya, about 1 hour and 20 mins away from the airport.
It was so nice to arrive in the summer, Fitz welcomed us, everyone checked in, unpacked and we met at the bar then went for the first dinner with champagne at the table. This was a great bonding night. The food was lovely, everyone was chatty, already loved it. The timetable of the week was the following:
I couldn’t wait to get out there early in the morning and look around, greet the sea and look into the horizon as the sun rises. I took my camera and went to explore, then to breakfast.
Everyone went to breakfast at similar times, earlyish so that the food could go down a bit by 10am when the training starts. We had a little welcome session at the Fitness First gym, got a Fitz T-shirt and a notebook, and the fun started with an hour of weights class. I took my tripod with me so that I could record most classes, as well as my GoPro and DSLR camera.
After the weights class we had a heart strength training (spin) class. Watch this space to get a taste:
Straight after this class we went to the pool for a Q &A session, which taught me the following.
Conclusions:
- High intensity interval training has nothing to do with endurance. Once it’s low intensity it becomes endurance training.
- Diets don’t work, once you stop it the fat comes back (yo-yo) DIET: Delay Internal Extreme Termination
- Detox? Save your money and drink water
- Want to look good? Change your lifestyle. Long term results require long term lifestyle changes.
After the Q & As everyone was starving and looking forward to dinner time!
Considering that we were in an all-inclusive hotel the nights were pretty short. Simply because our focus was on our training as opposed to drinking or partying. Saying that I probably stayed out the most with my partner in crime Cat, not sure why she did not get the ‘raver’ title along with me!
The next day we played an ‘exciting’ card game called Lucky Dip!
It was a body conditioning class. You combine the following in this card game:
Alternate Leg Thrusts, Star Jumps, Press Ups, Crunches and Squats.
The numbers go from 2 to 20 in each section and you never know what’s the next card. Could be the joker which is 20 reps of each, that’s a 100, without any break. Good luck! 🙂
Ok, this game is a hell! And Fitz represents the devil!
After Lucky Dip we had another seminar by the beach and listened to Fitz’s words of wisdom.
Every afternoon there was a bit of time to relax and enjoy the sun and a bit of reflection…
We still had an LST combo and active recovery left for the afternoon. It was a tough day and Wednesday did not look any easier. However Wednesday was my favourite day for several reasons.
We started with the LST Heart/ running hour. This was a challenge for most of us.
Here is a taster:
Food was well needed. When your body is working on 85-95% intensity you need fuel!
An LST weights class and another Q&A was left for the day..
The Q& A was about food this time and what’s right and what to avoid. There is no ‘sample’ or pattern that you can copy. Everyone is different, everyone’s body and metabolism is different and everyone is on a different fitness level. This group worked so well together despite the different age/fitness capabilities. Susie shared some great experience about her food habits but she is miles away from any of our fitness levels and she is a WBFF Pro Diva Fitness Model but everything she said could be applied to anyone.
Susie has been training with Fitz for 6 years and achieved some incredible results over the years. Truly inspirational and supports the logic behind Fitz’s LST theory. She is a perfect example of the statement that Fitz says to all of us when we are about to give up and collapse: ‘What the mind don’t do, the body won’t do’. This girl has it all, control, mind power and beauty:
Some of us stayed out for a bit after dinner, but most of the people went to sleep. Great evening!
On Thursday we started with weights/strength training at 10, then a seminar about why short dumbbells are more ‘lifestyle’ than long bars for weights training. And finished off with a heart strength training.
I think by this day most people were tired by default, but in the evening everyone was up for a game of Cards Against Humanity which contributed to the stories we left Turkey with. Again, what a group! 🙂
Some of you might think, I don’t need to go to the gym, I play football, it’s enough. No! It’s not enough. Sport is a choice, lifestyle training is essential for everyone. Once your training is in place you can specialise in any sports because you will have the strength to do them! Remember when you get old you will regret not having built up those muscles at young age. Never too late to start! One of our group, Sakino, was 67, and kept up the pace all week and even set and example to the group on how to ‘plank’. Get down to the gym and pick up those weights!
Friday we did an LBT class in the morning and LST combo in the afternoon.
Watch this cruelty on these guys here:
Fitz set a challenge for us for the week. A little dance routine! Now this made my week at the very beginning cause I absolutely love his music choices and the dance choreography that he teaches on the Thursday classes in London. Every day we had 30 minutes of dancing, and what have we achieved by the end? This:
And while learning it we had the best time!
On Friday we had our Gala dinner where we gave Fitz and Susie a little present for all the hard work they put in making this holiday happen and with that we are all officially the LST Pioneers!
On Saturday we had an LST celebration or so called TRI class. Running, conditioning, weights. 3 groups of people.
Fitz then said something of everyone’s achievements, apparently my motto on this trip was, Train Hard, Party Hard, Sleep None! 😛
After lunch we put on our uniforms, the ‘FITz LST t-shirt’ and performed our dance in 2 different places which then resulted in the fab video that Ben put together above.
This holiday was like a drug for me. It was hard to get back to reality and I am still getting energy from it 2 weeks later. I made some really good friends as well and it would have been my biggest regret if I didn’t go.
So people reading this blog and wanting to get involved, there is another holiday coming up in October and there are still some spaces left. Let me know if you are interested in going. You will not regret it 😉
alizroundtheworld 