Les Mills Group Fitness Classes Reach 4 Million People Weekly

24th November: If you belong to the fitness conscious crowd or to the crowd that makes money out of fitness and wellbeing, then earmark November to pump some iron into your regimens. Catch up with the latest and the coolest international trends, straight from the hottest and most happening trainers,  as Les Mills International fitness experts converge in Dubai from 27 - 29th November.

Dubai International Exhibition Centre will witness searing action as Sportex gears to rock Dubai to its fittest, with the largest ever and the most happening international delegation of the ever popular Les Mills International. While the international team of trainers is being specially flown in to upgrade the skills of 164 Les Mills instructors currently in the Middle East, the real challenge and excitement stems from the fact that fitness enthusiasts will get a first hand chance to sweat it out with the team and handle latest equipment.

According to the organisers the decision to rope in Les Mills International was largely influenced by the ever growing popularity of the Les Mills Group Fitness Programme. As per recent reports the popular Les Mills Group Fitness Programmes (BodyPump, RPM, BodyCombat, BodyBalance, BodyJam, BodyStep and BodyAttack) are being attended by 4 million people worldwide each week across 63 countries and 10 thousand licensed clubs.

The presence of around 200 high profile fitness experts from all around the world would be one of the highlights of the Middle East Fitness Summit-06, being hosted by Sportex in conjunction with Mefitpro. "As Les Mills follow an integrated approach towards fitness, so what we have on hand for Mefit-06 are experts who can discuss a wide range of fitness aspects as well as the nuances of each aspect. Therefore, people can very much look forward to discuss issues like nutrition, individual exercise regimens, fitness queries, latest trends, injuries, precautions, injury management and lots more", says Mr. Sharif Rehman - Managing Director - International Expo Consults LLC

The Fitness Summit- Mefit-06 is a highly relevant initiative as it comes at a time when the entire Middle East region is battling the epidemic of lifestyle diseases and other related issues.

According to a May 2006 Unicef report, more than 15 per cent of children in the UAE between 6-16 are obese and malnourished at the same time. The Emirates National Diabetes Study (Endcad) conducted earlier concluded that 74 per cent of the random group studied was either overweight or obese.

"The whole idea of Mefit-06 is to demystify fitness as something that can only be achieved through personal trainers, rigorous excising and self punishing diets. The fitness summit aims to raise awareness about simple things and small lifestyle changes that can lead to healthy living", confirmed Mr. Sharif.  

In addition to creating awareness on fitness and lifestyle, the summit is an exclusive event that brings the latest international fitness trends to the region exclusively for the fitness professionals.  The summit is an incredible opportunity for the fitness professionals to update their knowledge, skills and also get familiar with the emerging approaches.

Since the presenting team would be represented by fitness experts from across the world, they bring with them an understanding of different cultures and the various relevant cultural and contextual interventions. Such exposure makes them more receptive to a wider audience and motivates to focus on an integrated fitness approach. This aspect is very important when you are looking at a demography that is as diverse as of this country. And, this becomes a prerequisite when you talk of Dubai.

Locally in the Middle East there are currently 34 licensed clubs and 164 trained instructors and that's a number that is set to increase, says Les Mills Manager for Middle East Fitness Professionals (MEFITPRO) Rania Boucher.  "We are getting daily requests from fitness professionals wanting to become Les Mills instructors not only in Dubai but also throughout the region.  Currently our classes are in the UAE, Sultanate of Oman, Qatar, Jordan, Kuwait, Egypt and Iran and soon to be available  in Bahrain and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. " Around 600 fitness instructors from across the entire Middle East will be trained

The programmes started at a club in New Zealand called Les Mills World of Fitness in 1991 and were made available to the international market from 1996. Middle East had to wait four more years till the concept was finally introduced in 2000.

Commenting on the popularity of the programme Rania said, "Fitness managers and club owners have been incredibly receptive at taking onboard this new revolution in the fitness industry. The Les Mills system is so effective and popular amongst all ages and cultures because it puts so much time and money into the research and development of its programmes.  Each prechoreographed routine is tried and tested and overseen by physiotherapists and sports scientists so that the end result is an effective and safe workout."

Les Mills identifies elite instructors and vigorously trains them through a "boot camp" and constant assessment procedures to ensure that the end result meets the criteria and the vision for Les Mills International.

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© Press Release 2006