It's not as relaxing as a beach break, admittedly, but a get-fit holiday can work wonders. Orla Rappletries out a boot camp in the Algarve
IT WAS WHEN I received an e-mail with a list of items to bring to the Algarve that I realised what I had let myself in for. Hiking boots, runners, four sets of yoga clothes, raingear, tracksuits - this was not going to be a gentle activity holiday with an opt-out clause. This was boot camp.
The camp is one of a number of holistic breaks offered by Free-range Holidays. The company is run by Leo Molloy, a 39-year-old American who used to manage a number of high-profile bars in Dublin.
During a year out, travelling, he was inspired by the lifestyle he experienced abroad and by the yoga lessons he took up, and now his company offers, among other holidays, yoga-and- gourmet-vegetarian-food and yoga-and-surfing breaks.
Its boot camp doesn't promise dramatic weight loss. Instead it aims to kick-start a healthier lifestyle. Molloy promises you'll have brighter eyes and more energy, with any weight loss an added bonus.
The five-night break, which includes four days of exercise, is held at Romantik Natur, a complex nestled on cliffs between Burgau and Praia da Luz.
The boot camp is not reserved for women, but on this occasion all 14 of us taking part are female, ranging in age from our late 20s to our late 40s.
As soon as we arrive from Faro Airport, after a 90km coach transfer, Molloy throws us straight into boot-camp mode. First the camp's trainers assess our blood pressure and check our fitness, in part by seeing how many sit-ups and press-ups we can do in a minute. (I manage just 10 of each.) Then they bring us over towards the cliffs to meet our yoga instructor and learn the basic poses that will become part and parcel of our break.
Molloy, a vegetarian, creates all the meals served at boot camp. Mostly vegan, they provide 1,600 calories per day. On day one we are warned that sneaking in extra food is prohibited and that the rooms are checked to make sure we aren't cheating.
By 6pm we are sitting on the veranda of the complex restaurant, awaiting our first meal: kedgeree and salad, washed down with filtered water and followed by rooibos tea. No seconds, no dessert but no empty stomachs, either.
Half the women at the camp have travelled alone, so there are no feelings of being left out, and the camaraderie begins almost as soon as we meet. We range from the ultrafit to those, like myself, who have tried every diet book on the shelf and want a kick-start with lasting results.
Day two and the hard work begins. Breakfast, at 7am sharp, is probably the biggest meal of the day: hot water with lemon, home-made granola, natural yogurt, a boiled egg and more filtered water and rooibos tea.
Then it is off for a 2½ hour hike through the cliffs of the Algarve, the stunning scenery helping to take our minds off the hills and the uneven ground. After the hike we take a quick shower, then start a 90-minute yoga session.
Lunch, at 1pm, is a bowl of soup (no bread) or a huge salad.
Our next exercise session is at 3pm, so we have time to lie by one of the two pools or just relax in the airy bedrooms or on their patios.
The hardest part of the day is the two-hour session with the trainers, who take our group of 14 on to the sweltering tennis courts and show us what a real workout is all about. We move between circuits, power training, strength training, core training and a cardiovascular workout called cardio kick. It is made all the harder by the heat, which at one point reaches 26 degrees.
All this averages out at about six hours of exercise a day, and by the end of day one I am texting friends to declare that I have arrived in hell and badly want a bag of chips. Surprisingly, however, day two comes and goes and everything, even the two-hour sessions of weights and crunches with our trainers, seems easier.
A full-body massage is part of the deal, and it is a welcome break from all the exercise and moaning about exercise. (You can book extra sessions with the masseuse, and Molloy tries to make sure you get as many massages as you want.)
As the days go by the feeling of solidarity continues for us 14 boot-campers. Early nights, to get ready for our 6.30am starts, are soon replaced by chats into the night over more cups of rooibos tea.
The stunning scenery and outdoor living also make it easy to forget all the exercise at the end of the day, and our free time in the evenings and during the hottest hours of the day make this break a good balance of sun holiday and boot camp.
If you can, try to stay a few extra days at Romantik Natur after your camp. The rooms are reasonably priced, and the complex is beautifully laid out, a 40-minute cliff walk from the holiday town of Praia da Luz.
All the hard work is worth it when weigh-out day arrives and I learn that, after four days of intensive exercise, I have lost almost 1½kg (over three pounds) and 5 per cent of my body fat. I have also lost five centimetres (two inches) from my chest and my waist.
More important, perhaps, is the way I feel. After I get home I add 20 minutes to my daily exercise routine, and I feel fit and ready for anything. My skin feels smoother, my clothes feel looser and, as Molloy promised, my eyes are brighter and I feel happier in myself.
At €1,100 for five days, boot camp is not cheap, particularly as flights are not included and as, if you want to a room to yourself, the single supplement is €200. But everything else is provided, from transfers to food. The only cash I spent was €45 for an extra massage.
Hard work and exhausting but inspiring and empowering is not a common description of a holiday, but it sums up camp.
A week later and, though I can still only do 10 press-ups and 10 sit-ups, I am now walking and cycling every day, I have lost a further 1½ and I am sure I am on track to a healthier lifestyle. Boot camp gave me the incentive and the outlook I needed.
• Orla Rapple was a guest of Free-range Holidays ( www.freerangeholidays.com).
• Romantik Natur's website is www.romantur.com
Go there
Ryanair ( www.ryanair.com) flies to Faro from Dublin and Shannon. Aer Lingus ( www.aerlingus.com) flies from Cork, Belfast and Dublin. Aer Arann ( www.aerarann.com) flies from Galway and Waterford.
Fitness camps around the world
Ireland
ThinkFit Boot Camp
Situated on Kippure Estate, near the Sally Gap in the Wicklow Mountains, this Sunday-to-Saturday programme promises to help you lose a dress size or up to four and a half kilograms (10 pounds). ThinkFit was designed by Karl Henry, a fitness coach who contributed to RTÉ's Operation Transformation. It costs €1,650 for a six-night stay, including two massages, a fitness assessment and evening lectures with nutritional and fitness experts. 01-6787845,
www.thinkfitbootcamp.com.
England
FitFarms
These women-only weight-loss retreats, in Devon and Staffordshire, aim to give participants a structured environment in which to learn how to lead healthier lifestyles. Nutritionists work with each person to find where problems lie and to develop solutions. A typical day includes circuit training and hiking as well as dance classes and t'ai chi. The package includes a post-course support system and eight-week exercise programme to return home with. Prices start at £799 (just over €1,000) for seven days. Travel is not included.
www.fitfarms.co.uk.
France
Camp Biche
Based in Lauzerte, 90 minutes north of Toulouse, this bills itself as a luxury boot camp, as in addition to its challenging fitness timetable it provides spa amenities and pampering in a 13th-century chateau (above). Its week-long courses are based on the beliefs that eating should bring pleasure and that exercise creates bliss. So they include hikes, yoga, Pilates and traditional French food. A seven-night stay costs $4,450 (about €2,850), including transfers, a private room, meals, six massages and a laundry service but excluding flights. 00-33-5-65212971,
www.campbiche.com.
Mexico
Amansala Bikini Bootcamp
If your bank balance and holiday quota can handle it, why not try firming up on the remote beaches of Tulum? At this self-proclaimed bohemian-chic resort you stay in cabanas along the beach. The cardiovascular activity includes jungle and beach power walks, body sculpting and power ab sessions, as well as excursions to Mayan ruins and snorkelling in water holes in the nearby jungle. Prices start at $1,954 (about €1,240) for a shared room, excluding flights.
www.amansala.com.