Dubai: More than 15 Gulf News employees gathered for a workout on the company’s premises on Sunday as part of the 30-day Dubai Fitness Challenge.
Dwynn Ronald Trazo, senior infographic artist at Gulf News, led the workout.
“We have gone back to the basics of exercise and have started with the fundamentals such as body weight, push-ups, sits-ups, mountain climbers and squats, before progressing further — that was the recipe for today,” Trazo, who is a cross-trainer, said.
Aiming to lead the workout during every weekday for a month, Trazo hopes to encourage participants to instill exercise in their daily lives.
“The main aim out of this challenge is to hopefully be able to kick start a fitness routine that makes exercise a habit and a part of their lifestyle in the long term. People don’t realize that if you’re fit, you’re twice as productive,” he added.
He pointed out that while Dubai is already considered a sports hub, “this challenge only cements its status”.
Meanwhile, participants at the workout, said they were happy to feel active after a long day at the office.
Cecelia Alave, who work in the sales department, described the session as “uplifting”.
“I usually do a lot of walking, almost an hour to an hour and half every day, but I wanted to learn the proper way to exercise and get fit,” she said.
Alave said she aims to take on the challenge by joining the workout every day for 30 days.
Shakeel Shaikh, who also works in sales, said the challenge is the perfect way for him to get back into shape after having stopped exercising for two months. “Today’s sessions felt awesome. I can feel the muscles starting to contract and it’s a great feeling to get back into it,” he said. Like many other participants, Shaikh plans to continue taking part in the 30-day challenge.
Meanwhile, Ces Jyrwa, senior secretary for magazines, said the workout is an additional session to her weekly exercise routine. “I usually go for cross-fit training and I work out in between, But this session has been great,” she said.
The 30-day Dubai Fitness Challenge was launched by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, with a month-long free workout classes and activities on Friday.
The Dubai Fitness Challenge aims to motivate residents to take up physical activity and transforming Dubai into the most active city in the world. It also seeks to inspire Dubai’s citizens, residents and visitors to boost their physical activity by committing to a minimum of 30 minutes of daily activity for 30 days through a wide range of fitness activities, sports or exercise.
The challenge will run until November 18 and is being hailed as the emirate’s only multi-activity, city-wide fitness movement to date.
