Fitness fans up for challenge

Emirates fitness enthusiasts have been encouraged to prove their dedication to the sport by competing in the annual Fitness Challenge at the JW Marriott Dubai Hotel this summer.

The event, in its 14th year, will take place on August 1 in the hotel's Town Square Garden, with Danny Cordero, the recreation manager of the hotel's Griffin's Health Club, keen to put a maximum of 50 participants through a gruelling eight-discipline programme.

"We have so many fitness enthusiasts in Dubai – most of them working extremely hard – and the Fitness Challenge offers them the perfect platform to test themselves and compete against other individuals," says Cordero.

"But the main goal is to test their own capacity, their strength and their fitness levels so they can gauge how well they train. The Fitness Challenge also encourages the attainment of personal bests and motivates the contestants to develop their complete fitness.

"The competition is not only for bodybuilders or endurance athletes," adds Cordero. "It encompasses everything so it's a more rounded event."

The Fitness Challenge is widely regarded among the Dubai fitness community as the principal arena to test their talents and usually attracts entrants from Britain, Europe, India and the Philipines. The 50 potential contestants will consist of 30 males and 20 females, all cycling, rowing, running and lifting their way through the competition.

"It's a very multicultural event," says Cordero, who successfully organised his first Challenge last year. "And we plan to expand the event and have an invitational for the whole Middle East in the future. We are in the process of speaking to sponsors to see if we can broaden the scope of the competition.

"We continue to be successful in attracting people by incorporating more exercises to focus on both power and agility, which involves plyometric movement.

"Last year, the emphasis was more on muscular endurance and cardiovascular endurance. Now those participating will have a more complete challenge."


Contact

Registration for the Fitness Challenge is open until July 25 at Dh160 for Mefit PRO members and Dh200 for non-members. For more information, contact Griffin's Health Club at 04607755, or call Danny Cordero directly on 0509287830

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