Scotland

country:	Scotland
location:	Scottish Highlands
departures:	2008: 25 Sep
price:	From £1350 - £1700 (5 days) excluding flights. Price depends on choice of shared or private room. Price includes transfers from Inverness

Fitness holidays here

Scottish Highlands holidays here

Scotland holidays here

the amazing things you'll be doing

Take an animal out of its environment and it will suffer mentally, physically and spiritually. Put an animal back into its natural environment and it will heal and thrive.

This is the basis of our approach and the inspiration for our fitness holidays. We help you re-discover your natural physical potential and get lean, strong, pain-free and buzzing with raw energy – just as you are designed to be.
Our holidays are the best way to put your animal into the wild, providing all the stimuli needed to gain vigour and vitality: a beautiful chilled out and natural habitat, expert coaching and ideal nutrition. The power of our holidays is in creating the perfect healing conditions, 24 hrs a day, for the length of your stay - you will be amazed at the results you will achieve.

Accommodation: Our courses in Scotland are run from a traditional lodge in the remote and stunning Scottish Highlands – considered one of Europe’s last great areas of wilderness and renowned for its stalking and salmon fishing. On an elevated plateau the lodge has panoramic views over some of Scotland's most northerly ancient Caledonian pine forest.

The dramatic landscape of glens, hill lochs and high tops provides the perfect playground for wild activities – you’ll run past wild deer, splash through mountain streams and maybe even spot one of the resident golden eagles while hiking through the heather. With 23,000 majestic acres solely for our group to roam, your spirit will be refreshed as much as your body is invigorated.

Food: Food is local, organic, unrefined, unprocessed and delicious! You will be served the “Hunter Gatherer” or “Primate” (Vegetarian) Menu including fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, eggs, seafood and meat, and cutting out grains, pulses and sugar.

Course description: This course is an introduction to our approach to wellbeing and also a great refresher course for people who have been on one of our holidays before. The schedule is packed with workshops, core movement classes and adventurous training. The course includes the following:

A 15 minute individual assessment with our trainers looking at your movement patterns and to discuss your goals.
An information CD to take away with information on workouts you will learn on the course
2-3 training sessions per day
3 workshops covering movement, metabolism & nutrition
1 massage
2 group sessions of stretching/flexibility
All food, transport and accommodation

day-by-day itinerary

Day 1:	Arrive in the Scottish Highlands and breathe in the mountain air! An introductory talk covering the core concepts of our approach and explaining how you will be training for maximum physical and health benefits. Foam rolling session followed by an introduction to kettle bells in the lodge grounds. After lunch, a personalized assessment by one of our experts looking at any postural imbalances and your movement patterns. Discussion of your goals for the course. An intense speed skills running session, learning useful techniques for improving your training back home and ending with an invigorating swim in the nearby river. Dinner altogether in the dining room with views over the Caledonian pine forest.
Day 2:	Early morning foam roller session, to loosen up any tight muscles. Boxing session with the grandeur of the glen as a backdrop. After breakfast a long trek to a hidden loch led by local guides who know every path on the land and every stag and deer by name. Then a quick dip in the deep (no monsters we promise). Movement workshop, followed by an introduction to “bare-foot” running. Flexibility workshop, to stretch out muscles and help loosen key joints. “Primal skills” circuits - pushing, lunging, twisting, throwing – designed to get you sweating! After dinner a talk about the wildlife and conversation activities on the Alladale estate.
Day 3:	A 4 or 7km run from the lodge via an historic church with magnificent scenery on the way. Metabolism workshop, learning the best ways to maintain energy and get lean. After lunch, an option to help out the re-generation project by planting trees on the estate. Kettle bells session combined with exercises to improve your speed, agility and quickness. Relax in the sauna before dinner. Workshop on effective training - intensity vs. over training.
Day 4:	A hill sprint and interval training session through the native forest to fire up your metabolism. Morning hip & shoulder workshop, continuing previous learning on the best way to stretch out muscles and open up joints. Eating workshop, understanding what our bodies have evolved to eat. You will find these foods as part of our Menu. Deep tissue massage to ease any tension or aching muscles. Optional pony riding or mountain biking in the surrounding glens. Longer boxing session to perfect technique and get an intense workout before dinner.
Day 5:	Early morning mini-triathlon - amaze yourself with your new-found energy. Flexibility workshop. After lunch a final talk with discussion and an opportunity to quiz our incredibly knowledgeable coaches about ways to apply what you have learned when returning home. Leave in afternoon ready to face the urban zoo with renewed vitality!

this holiday is suitable for all levels of fitness

This operator caters for groups of all fitness levels - from those who have not exercised for years to athletes training for a specific event. All levels and ages are encouraged to apply. Those who are fit will be pushed hard, while beginners will be put through a more gradual progression. Some people have never run before and have always hated running, while others are tri-athletes. On the rare occasions that they feel someone is too unfit to benefit from the course they can help with pre-course personal training in London.

how this holiday makes a difference

The Highlands are considered one of Europe's last great areas of wilderness, yet much of the flora and fauna that once thrived here has been driven to extinction by the activities of man. By staying at Alladale, where the course is run, you will be contributing to the Alladale Wilderness Reserve, whose purpose is to restore a remote area of the Highlands to its former natural glory. As well as its conservation efforts, Alladale also has responsible policies regarding energy use, local food sourcing and the local community.

Alladale Wilderness Reserve:
The Alladale Wilderness reserve oversees many projects including:

Working with the Wildlife and Conservation Research Unit of Oxford University to design and conduct unique research at Alladale. The first project is to consider the impacts and potential uses of wild pig populations in preparing ground for the regeneration of forests (Scotland has undergone 5,000 years of deforestation that has seen a reduction of the Caledonian Pine Forest from its former extent of 1.6 million ha to just 16,000 ha today; this represents a staggering 99% loss).
Creating a 500 acre enclosure containing 4 primary habitats to secure red deer, wild boar, roe deer and European elk ("Moose").
Collaborating with neighbouring estates to re-introduce the red squirrel.
Establishing suitable “lek” sites to assist breeding of Black Grouse.
Building nest sites to encourage nesting of Osprey.
Reforesting the landscape with native species such as Birch, Rowan and Willow. They have already planted over 100,000 saplings and are working with Carbon Managers to support the planting of the next 20,000 trees.

Alladale has it's own hydro turbine with plans to satisfy over 80% of their fuel and energy requirements throughout the year. The food served on the courses includes only the freshest local organic ingredients in season. Scotland's natural larder offers an extensive choice of flavoursome and fresh produce, including game from the high tops, organic meats from the lowlands, fish from the lochs and rivers and seafood from the coast. Alladale employs many people from the local area in Scotland. The ambitious plans for the reserve means it could employ up to 100 people - far more than most of the neighbouring estates (one nearby estate of 40,000 acres employs only one person).

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'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left).

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