body wellness at nu beginnings

Losing weight and Bootcamp, I wonder what comes to mind, maybe a jungle and a vision of a military figure shouting at the top of his voice at you to finish that last set of press ups, while you’re drenched in mud and on the verge of collapsing. Well let’s lay that thought to rest as we can take a breath of fresh air and can finally rescue our weight loss nightmares with what we might call a boutique boot camp.

Nu- Beginnings is the first holistic style boot camp which is proving to be one of the best methods of losing weight in relaxed and natural surroundings. What more could you ask for, a tranquil escape and guaranteed weight loss.  With TV personalities and celebrities coming here like Alexandra Burke, it sounds like this little hidden gem is becoming well known asset for healthy escapism. With plenty of holistic, nutritive and fitness talks, this was an enlightening eye opener for learning to embrace a  healthier  lifestyle.

I set off for a week to the picturesque town of Ilfracoombe located in North Devon countryside. I was greeted by David, the manager of Nu- Beginnings who drove me to the mansion at the top of a hillside Victorian mansion. 

Upon Arrival 

My room was a luxurious haven stocked up with Elemis products perfect for an evening soak and a complimentary scenic view of the Atlantic coast to wake up to.  I was greeted by all the staff and then taken straightaway to the gym to get my fitness analysis done. This comprised of my height, weight, blood pressure, static and increased heart rates. The purpose of this was for the personal trainers to get an idea how much they can push you.  The personal trainers Kieran and Shane were a couple of great characters who reminded me of a pair of good and bad cops. Dinner was served in the dining hall, and then at 7pm we ended the evening with a relaxation class, to prepare mentally for the day ahead.

 

Typical Activities

A typical day would include a range of high intensity exercises to low intensity exercises in the gym using basic equipment such as the cross trainer, bikes, treadmill and rower. Hiking across the countryside was a regular activity for most of the days. On one of the days we covered up to seven miles and sometimes the climbs would be steep and require leg muscles to work but most of the time it was easy pace walking. Resistance training, stability and balance classes such as Yoga and Pilates usually took place first thing in the morning. Boxercise and circuits really got my heart pumping. Shayne pushed me so hard with throwing the powerful punches, and the adrenalin boosting tracks had taken its cause when I nearly knocked him out.  However, I found myself really de-stressed at the end of the sessions and charged with doses of dopamine going through my brain, a feeling I hadn’t had in ages.

 

We had a range of lectures on eating habits, nutrition and fitness.  We were put on the Holford’s Low GL diet, which means (Glycaemic Load). Basically we were given food that released sugars into our blood stream slowly, meaning our blood sugar levels wont peak and crash, but stay on a steady frequency and this meant that we had better and sustained energy levels throughout the day. We had breakfast, lunch and dinner with two snacks in between. We could have unlimited use of herbal teas and water at hand to sip throughout the day, which took the edge away from any hunger pangs. But at one point, I wasn’t really hungry and didn’t want to eat anymore. It actually felt like we were being over fed. Dinner was at 6.30pm consisting of a high protein and vegetables and minimal carbohydrates. We were told to put our knife and fork down between each bite and concentrate on our current mouthful. We were also asked to chew our food thoroughly and slowly as this sent a message to the brain that we were satisfied and therefore will want to eat less.  Something that not many of us pay attention to, we just go for the next bite immediately. They also ordered us to leave a few bites on our plate. Such a basic things, but it was definitely food for thought.

Relax and Renew

I didn’t know what a deep tissue massage felt like and how beneficial it was for releasing the lactic acid out of my overworked and stiff muscles. Usually my muscles would be stiff resulting in pain but with the correct method of warming and stretching my muscles with the massage after, I never got a chance to feel intense pain. Maybe a bit stiff but nothing that would stop me from doing any activity. I also had realignment problem in my right leg, which was diagnosed during my sports massage and thankfully corrected. It’s taught me to pay more attention to my body, not just the obvious stuff. I was sceptical of the hypnotherapy session, but it was really relaxing and the therapist put you in a sleep like trance and addressed your subconscious mind with positive visualisation techniques to address a particular need and puts you in control of your impulsive habits. I have never really felt massages to be strong and invigorating enough for me, but now I found the one, I am swearing by sports and deep tissue massage, as this is the only type that addresses my personal needs.