Fit to lead

Dubai Women's College seeks funds to start pioneering course in personal training


There is growing worldwide interest in physical fitness. This positive trend is also visible in the UAE. Not only has there been a rapid increase in the number of fitness centres in the country, but fitness and sports are also being emphasised in the curriculum of academic institutions.

Recently, three students from the Dubai Women's College (DWC) became the first UAE national women to compete in an open (mixed gender) cross-country relay race organised by the Dubai Road Runners at the Emirates Golf Club. The students are now training to compete in the Dubai Marathon next month.

Encouraged by the enthusiasm of the students, the DWC plans to introduce a personal trainers course, to be conducted on the college premises. "Having personal trainers from their own cultural background will encourage other UAE women to take an interest in fitness leading to better health for the entire family," hopes Claire Riley, sports and fitness co-ordinator at the DWC.

Many students are interested in doing the course to be conducted by Dubai based company Sport One Trading. However funds are required to upgrade the gymnasium for this purpose. "National Central Cooling Company Tabreed has kindly offered to provide half the funds we need, but we still need to raise Dhs 40,000 before we can get started," says Maureen Franks, who teaches English at the college and is actively involved in the project.

Things were different when Claire joined the DWC three years ago. "I was appointed as a sports and fitness coordinator, but the college gym was still under construction and fitness classes were not part of the time table," she recalls. Determined to create awareness among the students, Claire began by visiting the classrooms and talking to the girls about the importance of physical fitness.

"I would push aside the tables and get the girls to do some aerobics right there in the classrooms," smiles Claire. The response was mixed. "Some students were enthusiastic while others were shy and hesitant to join in," remembers Claire.

Slowly and patiently Claire won them over. Once the college gym was ready, she coaxed them to come down and try the equipment. "I educated them about the right clothes and shoes to be worn in the gym and formulated simple fitness programmes to initiate them gradually into this new activity," she says.

Claire was happy when last year, the college made it compulsory for some first year classes to come to the gym once a week. "Initially the girls were reluctant, but now they look forward to the class. The compulsory gym hour has been extended to other classes this year and many of the students now use the gym regularly, after college hours," says Claire with justifiable pride.

"The students are not here just to get a Diploma. The college believes that education must be holistic and a life long learning process that helps to develop every aspect of their personality including fitness and health," emphasises Maureen.

Both teachers were thrilled when three students from the college decided to participate in the race organised by Dubai Road Runners. "Noora Abbas Alawi, Suad Abdallah and Rabab Ali trained diligently. I expected them to do well in the race and they did not let me down," beams Claire.

With an increase in the number of fitness enthusiasts, Claire decided to train some of the students to assist her in the gym. "Maureen took this idea further and suggested we arrange a personal trainers course for the students," says Claire. The search for a good course and qualified trainers led Maureen to Greg Boucher, business director of Personal Training Company, a division of Sport One Trading.

The Dubai-based company offers a comprehensive 12-week course for fitness instructors and personal trainers leading to international certificates granted by the 'American Council On Exercise'. Greg has restructured the course to suit the college schedules.

"Besides practical training in the gym, trainers must have in depth knowledge of anatomy, physiology, kinesiology, biomechanics, fitness testing and sports medicine. The course we have designed for the DWC will deal in more detail with topics like osteoporosis, exercise during pregnancy and other subjects of special concern to women," highlights Greg.

Heading a company that has pioneered fitness training and recruitment services in the GCC area, Greg is aware of the acute shortage of qualified trainers here. "The GCC region has a high incidence of obesity, heart disease, osteoporosis and high cholesterol, that can be effectively prevented by regular and correct exercise. Fitness awareness and the consequent increase in the number of fitness centres in the area has created a huge demand for trained instructors," notes Greg.

"Many women-only fitness clubs catering specially to Arab women have opened recently in the UAE but we cannot find enough Arabic speaking women instructors for these establishments. It is also difficult to find personal trainers for national women who prefer to exercise at home. The course at the DWC will be an important first step towards filling the void in this field," he adds.

Dany Safi, managing director of National Cooling Company Tabreed agrees. "We want to be associated with this pioneering effort because as a responsible national company with over 50,000 UAE shareholders, Tabreed is committed to fully support the personal development and training of the next generation of UAE citizens," he emphasises.

"We have come this far and we will continue our efforts to get some sponsors to help us get this programme off the ground," reiterates Maureen.

A pioneering spirit

Noora Abbas Alawi is one of the three pioneering sportswomen from the Dubai Women's College (DWC), who participated in the cross-country predictor relay, organised in October by Dubai Road Runners. She is in the second year of a Business Administration course. "I love sports and have been playing volley ball, basket ball and other games right from my school days. I enjoy going to the gym and have also taken salsa and line dancing lessons at college. We study all day and I feel that it is important to exercise and go outdoors to relax and have some fun," says Noora.

Her family has always supported her interest. "My main motivation has come from my mother. She encouraged me to play on my school team and was very happy when I was selected to captain the team. Sometimes when I am feeling lazy, she is the one who pushes me to go to the gym. In fact she often comes along with me," acknowledges Noora. "And it was my brother who encouraged me to compete in the cross-country race," she adds.

Claire Riley set up a training programme for Noora, Suad Abdallah and Rabab Ali and they worked out enthusiastically on the treadmill. "Both our teachers, Claire and Maureen, believed in us and motivated us to do our best. Our predicted time was one hour, 30 minutes, but we finished in one hour, 20.12 minutes," recalls Noora, reliving the thrill of participating in her first public sporting event.

Noora has now started training for the Dubai Marathon. She is also looking forward to doing the course in personal training.

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