The Rise of Fitness | Moffly Media

above: A yoga session overlooking the Aegean Sea at helios’ Mykonos retreat.

Train to Change

Liz Pitassi recently got out of a nine-year relationship. and his travel sickness was back. She was at CrossFit and saw Lauren Fisher, a professional CrossFit athlete, writing about a fitness retreat she hosted in Bali—with a price tag of $2,600.

He called his older brother, Ryan, hoping to give him some reason to spend that kind of money on a gym. He said: “I didn’t grow up in a financially stable family, so from the time I was able to work, I did everything I had to do to make sure I was healthy, and financial independence. By the time he was 32, he had paid for college, bought two houses and had a health savings account—in fact, he had written a check that the only one bigger than $1,000 before that, and that was his.

Ryan let him finish before his voice reached another line. He said: “I have three questions. “One, do you really want to go?”

“Yes,” he said.

“Two, can you do it?”

“Yes.”

“Three, what are you waiting for?”

So he signed up.

That week, he joined sweaty workouts at CrossFit Wanderlust, but also learned to surf, hung out on the beach with Balinese dogs, rented a scooter around the island and woke up at 3:00 AM to go up to the Mountain. Batur and watch the sunrise over the volcano.

When asked what part of the retreat had the most impact, he replied, “Just go.”

MICHELI FINE
he has attended more than 15 gyms as a speaker, sponsor and attendee with the idea that one of the most unique things from these types of events is what happens between workouts.

“You get two types of people at these events—those who are successful in searching the internet or putting in something they’ve been putting off, like their exercise or doing something challenging,” Miceli says. . “The other side of that number is people who are spending their last $2,000 and are at the end of their rope—trying to connect, to grow, to heal something.”

One of the most influential meetings Miceli has attended is the Action Cultivates Excellence (ACE) Conference, a weekend dedicated to redefining masculinity. Between health and fitness activities, Miceli experienced something she had never experienced before.

He said: “I found the level of emotional growth that happens among a group of men when they don’t feel the need to be men. “When there were only men in the room, these young men were they shared things they wouldn’t normally say out loud. It was a big influence for me, too.”

KATY INGULLI
is the Director of Health and Fitness at Round Hill Club in Greenwich. When she’s not away, she’s in places like the Maldives and Tuscany teaching yoga for Helios Retreats.

At these retreats, there’s usually an exercise class at 8 a.m., yoga at 9 a.m. and a big brunch at 10 a.m. The afternoon is spent just hanging out or doing more sightseeing—like camel riding in Morocco or wine tasting and picnicking. . the hills of Tuscany. In the afternoon there is usually another gym class, another yoga class, dinner and then a chance to relax, maybe watch a movie on the beach or hang out at the hotel pool.

“It’s a chance to get away, put down the phone and enjoy the whole day you’ve planned—not in a structured way,” says Ingulli.

From his point of view, people sign up for these types of exercises to mark a new beginning – a commitment to a healthy lifestyle, a divorce or even a way to travel alone without being alone.

Ingulli says: “They are very happy at the end because they have made new friends, but they have spent a lot of time working, being outside, getting fresh air.” “I had a group of people who came back from other orphanages.”

Retreats are changing. In fact, the exercise aspects seem to take a back seat to other influences that people like Miceli and Ingulli have. “The connections you make at that time have always made me a friend, a customer, a vendor, a business colleague—something that has always made me happy,” says Miceli. lasting more than a week or just a weekend.”

If the price level is a problem, Miceli encourages you to reassess your thinking by taking a step back. He encourages those around him to try to make it work, for good reason, if everything about the retreat is in line with what they want. “A good retreat can fill your cup in a way that other things can’t,” he says.