Getting Fit @ NuYu

I HAVE BECOME quite the gym buff lately. Make no mistake, I am the larger one out of all The Pink Tarha ladies, but that's all the more reason I have started a lifestyle change more than six weeks ago. And while my personal weight loss journey won't be the highlight of what you'll be reading today, the reason I mentioned it is because my NuYu experience came at the perfect time.

First off, NuYu is a fun and dynamic new fitness studio led by impressively passionate individuals who are keen in making a difference in the lives of women in Saudi Arabia by encouraging them to be active and healthy in a fun environment at an amazingly affordable price. I was fortunate enough to meet the "mothership" of NuYu composed of its Owner, HRH Princess Sara Al Saud, Ms. Susan Cass, General Manager and Ms. Kate Fearon, Consulting Manager along with Ms. Yasmin and fitness trainers, Ellie, Dominique and Keriyah. In our conversations, I noticed how enthusiastic they were about their vision and they shared how fitness has changed their own lives. I was inspired.

And inspired is just one of the feelings you'd encounter as you walk through the halls of NuYu. You will be welcomed with a brief, security check in the entrance but with very accommodating receptionists (Shoutout to one of our loyal readers, Amantullah who was as ecstatic as I am to meet her!). Their lounge area is inviting and plain cozy, something you'd feel if you were coming home to your own, chic apartment. The hallway leading up to the studios has a "cinema" feel to them and rightly so, their changing rooms look like a prep-room for a theater production - complete with the big light bulbs, mirrors and all. (Pardon me, it was hard to take personal photos for The Pink Tarha since it was an area filled with abaya-less women, so I will be showing you official photos provided by NuYu instead.)

The cozy and chic lobby.

The Spin Room, fashioned after New York's Radio City Music Hall. 

This is where you get your sexy back! 

On my day at Nuyu, I had the opportunity to try out their latest training program called the Private Group Training.

It's the latest fitness trend that's treading the line between a one-on-one class and a group class. The difference being is that in a one-on-one class, it's pretty much self-motivation and you can easily fall off the wagon without a proper support group; meanwhile a group class usually runs the risk of being too generic and not necessarily addressing the specific needs of every student in the class. What PGT is trying to achieve in a class of 6 to 8 people (maximum) is to offer every participant the opportunity to benefit from effective and personal training whilst giving its participants  the feeling of teamwork and solidarity that can only come from a sense of belonging. 

PGT is essentially a six-week program that is result-focused and notably affordable since there are 6 to 8 of you sharing the services of a dedicated trainer. My one-day PGT experience began first with an InBody Assessment which will let me know what I am starting with. The InBody Assessment is done with a simple-looking machine that I can only later on describe to be magical. It's important to have the assessment done prior to starting your PGT so that you can be well aware of your current state and from there, plot the goal you need to reach in six weeks' time. 

Now nothing can be more scarier than the truth, but it can also set you free. After reading my InBody Assessment, I had a better sense of how hard I needed to work to lose all the "bad weight" I've put on through the years. The assessment will print your details on your body's composition (Skeletal Muscle Mass, Body Fat Mass, Total Body Water), an obesity diagnosis (Body Mass Index, Percent Body Fat, Waist-Hip Ratio), reading of your Segmental Fat and Segmental Lean Mass and an Exercise Planner that suggests several activities for you to work on. 

Dominique facilitated our InBody Assessment and explained to us what we needed to do and how PGT was going to help us achieve that. And so, off we went to get a taste of NuShape (one of the aspects of the PGT) with fitness trainer, Ellie. This is where the sweat starts. 

One of their workout studios.

NuShape was NoJoke. I had just started to learn planking a few days back and after my NuShape session, I have officially become a planking addict. The NuShape session was comprised of warm-ups,  a circuit training of weight lifting and core strengthening exercises. Think repetitions of weight-lifting machines, squats, planking and more planking! Hahaha! I was compelled to do more than six 30-second plankings after having just learned how to do 15-second ones days ago. But that's how workouts are I suppose, it's about pushing yourself to doing more than you think you can. 

Ellie was great. I started to see what they mean about the attention PGT can offer to its participants. She was equally watching and guiding each of us in our moves and positions. My fellow blogger Daniyah, who was also a participant in the event, was very encouraging to me all throughout the session and I started to get a glimpse of that team spirit that PGT takes pride in. Feels good, so far! 

After the 30-minute NuShape session, it was time for the NuVibe session which was headed by fitness trainer, Keriyah. NuVibe is conducted using the Power Plate -- a state-of-the-art exercise equipment with a vibrating platform initially developed by NASA. It may look intimidating at first, but the results that a Power Plate delivers are astounding. Think of doing 30 squats on a regular floor -- if you do the same number of squats while on the Power Plate, you double that amount while exerting the same effort. It maximizes your time in the gym with favorable outcomes. 

The Power Plate Studio.

The Power Plate, for me, had me a little disoriented. I suppose as a first timer on it, it was only natural to feel a bit dizzy while doing the exercises on a vibrating platform. But Keriyah was very accommodating and she always asked me if I could still manage. I did my best, but I was ready to give up at that point, truth be told. A NuVibe session can also go for 30 minutes and you'd definitely need an instructor to constantly guide you. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to finish the entire session as I had a driver waiting overtime for me already. I bid Keriyah and Daniyah goodbye and thanked them for an awesome, sweaty time. 

You would think that I was ready to collapse at this point, but after a couple of minutes recovering and hydrating, I actually felt really good. Yay for happy hormones thanks to exercising! I really thought all the planking and power plate-ing was enough to make me slash my wrists, but funny enough, it made me want it more! 

If this got you thinking about considering PGT or merely changing your lifestyle into a healthier one, please do go and check out NuYu personally or at their website here. All of your questions regarding price and schedules can be accommodated by their wonderful team of people. Right now, they only have that one branch in Exit 8 but by 2014, two more new branches are set to open in the city. I am excited! 

Cheers to all the gym gals out there! You all rock! xoxo

-Eyecandy

NuYu
King Abdulaziz Road,
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
T: +966-11-810-4111

W: http://www.nuyu-ksa.com

Email: community@nuyu-ksa.com

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