Emirates Towers Vertical Marathon: Fitness O2 Results

Yesterday was D-Day: the Vertical Marathon at Emirates Towers, Rose and Chris our trainers were participating.

The weather was gorgeous, not warm, not cold, just beautiful weather: it made it really worthwhile waking up early morning!

The wait was not too long, or at least did not seem long, what with all the anticipation.  Off our trainers went... and barely 15 minutes later, they were back.  There was an excellent breakfast waiting for all the runners, after which the scores were announced:

Chris came in 9th out of 137 and Rose came in 10th out of 99!  Congratulations to both, we are very proud of you!

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Our Fuel System: 5 Easy Habits for Burning Extra Gas

Posted by Chris Williams

Personal Trainer at Fitness O2

In my last blog post (Think Like a Car) I said a 1-hour workout can burn between 250-600 calories and that 1 pound of bodyweight is approximately 3500 calories. 

If your goal is to lose weight then you need to create a caloric deficit, meaning calories you burn must be greater then the calories you are consuming.

If you don’t have an hour a day to spend in the gym, then maybe you have 5 minutes here and there to burn a few extra calories.

1. Park and Walk

When going somewhere park a few hundred meters away and walk.  This will get you moving for a few minutes and you won’t have to worry about finding that golden parking spot.  This one is especially effective at large shopping malls like Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates or even Ibn Battuta.

2. Use the Stairs

 

A great calorie burner, walking up and down the stairs is a great way to build both leg and cardiovascular strength.  

If you live or work an a high floor then start with just 5 or 6 flights and build up from there.  You should be able to walk 10 floors in under 5 minutes.  

If you are actually into this, you may want to consider joining us at the Emirates Towers Vertical Marathon this Friday :).

3. Exercise During the Commercials

When watching TV during the commercials get up and do some front lunges, jumping jacks or squats over your couch during the break. 2 minutes of effort is not easy and commercial break time adds up fast!

4. Wash your Car

 

Here in Dubai we have to wash our cars all the time.  Washing the car once a week or even more frequently will have you sweating, you only need a good rag or two.

5. Take Walking Breaks at Work

 

This is probably the behavior that can give you the best result.  If like most people you work in an office, plan to walk on your breaks rather then just sitting or standing.  Especially if you can walk at lunch.  Strap on 2kg or 3kg ankle weights for a little extra challenge.  Find a route around your office building.  Include some stairs!

In the next article we will take a look at some simple eating tips and again focus on habits that can help reduce caloric intake  a little at a time.

 

Pictures via:
macieklew's photostream, under the Creative Commons Licence.
Poco a poco under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license.
Briho under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Ildar Sagdejev (Specious) under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license
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Fitness Bootcamp: 3 Common Questions

We get a lot of questions about our Bootcamp courses, we thought of writing the answers and sharing them on our blog.  Here are the 3 most common questions we get:

1. Bootcamp is Military: Will I Get Yelled at?

Ok, now the word bootcamp does have a military connotation, but at Fitness O2, our motto is "Making Fitness Fun".  You will not be yelled at, that's for sure :).  Our trainers and your fellow bootcampers will be pushing and motivating you to give it as much as possible.  Bootcamps are fun because they are unpredictable, and every session is different.  The use of props like cones, tag ropes, tires, and others makes the sessions more like a game than a military camp.

2. I Have a Gym in My Building: Why Should I Go to a Bootcamp

Exercising alone in a gym, or running on a treadmill, or around the block is one thing, but exercising in a group, being motivated and pushed by the trainer and fellow bootcampers is a totally different thing.  Yes some of us are self-motivated, but group exercise allows you to:

1. Have fun while you are getting fit
2. Create a sense of competition between you and your team mates
3. Enjoy outdoor locations such as Safa Park, JBR Beach and others
4. Not think about what exercises you need to do, the workouts are carefully planned and designed to get the most out of you
5. Develop new friendships

3. I Have Never Done a Bootcamp: Isn't It Too Difficult?

That's a very good question: if you've never done a bootcamp and you have not exercised in a while, you probably want to look at some beginner and milder options of exercising to get you going.  You can start with walking, little jogs here and there, or you can join a bootcamp specifically designed for beginners, like Fitness O2's Bootcamp 101 course.  It is less intense than our standard Renegade Bootcamp and is a good place to start your journey to fitness.

Have questions or comments about this article, leave us a comment below.

Picture via Denelson83 licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

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Emirates Towers Vertical Marathon

Medecins Sans Frontieres are organizing their annual Vertical Marathon in Emirates Towers.  Guess what? the Fitness O2 team will be participating, both Chris and Rose will be taking on this challenge!

We'd like to call on all bootcampers to participate and join our team, it'll be loads of fun and a good way to see how fit you are at climbing stairs ;-).

To participate just visit the MSF Vertical Marathon page and register yourself.

Picture via The Pageman under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic.

Fitness O2 Charity Bootcamp to Help Ethiopian Kids

Martina, one of our bootcampers at Safa Park (Dubai), is running a half marathon in Hawassa, Ethiopia, to raise money and awareness for the Save the Children EVERY ONE campaign.

The 1 hour session will be held at Safa Park, on Saturday April 9th, 2011.  The meeting is at Gate 2 (which is located on Wasel Road), make sure to be there at 4:45pm sharp.

Fitness O2 won't charge for this session, but participants are asked to donate money for the campaign, what you donate is totally up to you, as a guideline, the 1 hour bootcamp session is usually 100 Dhs.  All proceeds will go to the campaign.

If you are interested, make sure you contact us on 04 395 1930, or email us.  Seats are limited, so make sure you contact us asap.  You'd have fun and help the children at the same time.

See you Saturday.