The annual Dubai Active Show and Dubai Muscle Show will again return to the Dubai World Trade Centre from December 5 to 7, bringing together some of the biggest fitness personalities, brands and competitions under one roof. Held side-by-side, fans will get access to both events on all three days. Here is our ultimate guide:
THE FITNESS STARS
Kayla Itsines
At 28 years old, Kayla Itsines is no overnight sensation. She is the founder of BBG (Bikini Body Guide) and is recognised as the most influential personal trainers in the world. Itsines broke world records in 2015, becoming the first personal trainer to train more than 30,000 women in person. In 2018, she was named one of Time Magazine’s top 25 Most Influential People on the internet celebrating her success as a personal trainer through transforming the health and fitness industry to help women all over the world conquer their workout fears and create long lasting healthy habits.
Kelsey Wells
At the age of 30, Kelsey Wells has become one of the most sought-after personal trainers to provide health, fitness and motivational advice to women around the world, including her more than 2.5 million Instagram followers. She rose to fame in 2016 after her inspiring ‘Screw the Scale’ transformation photo went viral with a message for women to ignore the figure on the scale and focus on self-love and inner strength. PWR, short for Power, is a style of workout that encourages women to lift weights without intimidation.
Phil Heath
A seven-time Mr Olympia winner having placed first in the competition every year from 2011—2017. His latest win tied him with the legendary, Arnold Schwarzenegger for the third all-time number of wins.
Ronnie Coleman
He has eight Mr Olympia wins and held the record for the most wins as an IFBB professional with 26 titles. In 2011, he launched Ronnie Coleman Signature Series, a company that provides sports nutrition and wellness products for bodybuilders and other athletes.
Kai Greene
American IFBB professional bodybuilder, who has won three Arnold Classic titles in 2009, 2010 and 2016. Arguably the most inspirational person in bodybuilding and fitness, Greene has gone through an extraordinary rise, starting out as an orphan living between foster homes and institutional facilities, transforming his life through bodybuilding to become one of the top athletes in the world and more recently turning to acting, which has included a role in the Netflix series, ‘Stranger Things’.
Angelica Teixeira
This body builder is the 2017 and 2018 Ms Olympia and four-time Arnold Classic winner from Brazil.
Sadik Hadzovic
He is an American IFBB professional Physique competitor and won his first ever Arnold Classic in 2015.
THE TALKS
A Conversation with Matt Prior — My Road from International Cricketer to Fitness Businessman
Cricketer-turned entrepreneur Matt Prior will be the keynote speaker at the Middle East Fitness Business Summit. Following his retirement in 2015 due to injury, Prior refused to sit still and focused instead on his other sporting passion, cycling. He formed One Pro Cycling team in late 2015 which enjoyed a successful debut season racing at UCI Continental level before becoming the first British team to progress to Professional Continental level in 2016. The One Pro brand continues to expand with the launch of One Pro Nutrition and One Pro Sports Events.
Prior will speak at 10.30am on December 5.
Staying fit and healthy in pregnancy and beyond
A panel discussion focusing on fitness during pregnancy will feature the very best in the industry: Caley Jack, Les Mills master trainer who specialises in pre and post-natal health; and Heidi Jones, a health coach who works with families and post-natal women. The panel will also feature Carly Neave, a travel and wellness blogger who announced her own pregnancy earlier this year.
The panel discussion will take place at 12.30pm on December 5.
THE EVENTS
MUMMY MORNING
The event will offer an educational guide to wellness and fitness for parents, babies and toddlers and will include classes, workshops, baby yoga classes and the chance to network with like-minded people. Malaak Mama & Baby Care will kick start the Mummy Morning event with a workshop focused on the topic of baby weaning, led by registered dietitian Jordana Ventzke. The workshop, ‘A Healthy Start to Eating,’ will allow parents to gather information and practical tips as well as an opportunity to ask questions and share any concerns with other mothers. The talk will take place at 10.30am on December 5.
There will also be a mum and baby yoga session at 11.30am. Parents are encouraged to bring along their little ones to take part in a sequence of yoga poses. At midday, there is a Carry Baby Fit class for all mothers and their babies. Located in the Dubai Active Functional Studio, Carry Baby Fit allows you to work out while carrying your baby, providing the rehabilitation tools to strengthen your body for yourself as well as continue to strengthen that bond between parent and baby.
GRIT AND BODY COMBAT CLASS WITH CALEY JACK
On December 6, Les Mills Global Brand Ambassador, Masterclass Presenter and National Educational Trainer Caley Jack will kick off festivities in the Dubai Active Arena with a 30-minute GRIT class at 1pm followed by 30 minutes of Sh’bam at 5pm. Then on December 7, Jack will teach the latest release of Body Combat, a high-energy martial arts-inspired workout that is totally non-contact.
FITNESS CLASSES
There will be a range of fitness classes starting on December 5, with F45 Training (3pm), a global fitness community specialising in high-intensity group workouts that are fast, fun, and results-driven. On December 6, start your day with Dance Motion with Jenny (11am), Workout with Kelsey Wells (12pm), Live BBG session with Kayla Itsines (2pm), Shadowbox & Sculpt with Sydney (4pm) and Yoga with Ricardo (6pm). The cycling studio will also host a range of classes starting at 11am. The functional studio will also conduct classes starting Thursday, with everything from yoga to circuit classes on offer.
INSTRUCTOR COURSES
A number of training courses will be on offer, for those looking to be personal trainers or instructors. Some of the courses that will be taught include Mashup, Zumba and Strong by Zumba. Additional cost may apply.
BODYBUILDING COMPETITION
The Gulf Classic Bodybuilding competition will kick off on December 5, at 10am, with competitors from around the world vying for titles in various categories. There will also be a Women’s Fitness Show on Friday and Saturday, starting at 11am on both days.
MIDDLE EAST’S STRONGEST MAN AND WOMAN
Athletes, both male and female, will battle it out to find out who is the strongest beast in the Middle East. Split over four categories, the athletes will battle it out over five classic strongman events including maximum dead lifts and yoke carrying. The competition will take place on Friday and Saturday, starting at 10am on both days.
MEET AND GREETS
Apart from the fitness stars above, fans will get to meet some of their biggest heroes and athletes. Names confirmed so far include 2019 Mr Olympia Brandon Curry, athlete Big Ramy, two-time Ms Bikini Olympia winner Angelica Teixeira, athlete Larry Wheels, four-time Mr Olympia winner Jeremy Buendia, Mr Olympia finalists Hadi Choopan and Roelly Winklaar, athlete Ryan Terry, MMA legend Rodrigo Nogueira, body builder Ed Nunn, athletes Nathan Deasha, Leonetta Tarcsa, Sadik Hadzovic, Amirali Akbari, Timea Trajtelova, Khalid Al Kazem, Mohzen Ghahremani, Andrei Deiu, India Paulino, Zac Aynsley, Essa Obaid, Henri Pierre, Guy Cisternino and Johnnie Jackson.
TICKET DETAILS
Tickets will give you access to both the Dubai Active Show and Dubai Muscle Show. One-day entry tickets start at Dh80 and are available online.
