Wednesday, January 18, 2012

La Bonne Vie! – The Year’s Fitness Retreat Dates Announced


This year’s fitness retreat will be May 26 to June 2. Join us and kick start your summer with a week of fitness, culture, and world-class outdoor sports in a postcard-like setting. It’s going to be fantastic and, as usual, is extremely affordable.

Check out Alisa and Bruce’s site, Raison d’Art, for detailed info:

Fitness Week with Steve Edwards

our urban hub: st. antonin noble val

My version of fitness camp might not be what you’re envisioning if you look at my athlete/trainer profile. While I train hard, recreate at a higher standard than most, and occasionally compete in a national or world-level event, the main reason I do it all is that I believe in enjoying life to its fullest and I just happen to find this stuff fun. So when we say this is a fitness camp in France, particular emphasis should be placed on the France part of that. The main goal of these camps is to have a unique cultural experience. It’s not fat camp. It’s life camp. And hence the reason last year’s retreat theme was ‘la bonne vie’, or the good life.

meals are decidedly french (relaxed)


with nothing but fresh foods that we procure locally

This isn’t to say you won’t get much exercise. We’ll earn our meals for sure. Those who choose to participate in all the activities will get 4-6 hours of exercise daily, not counting sight-seeing, shopping, wine-induced night swims and such. Each workout and activity will have various levels to allow you to choose your own personal intensity setting. The emphasis will be on education. Our retreat is only a week but the goal is for you to take away knowledge that you’ll put to use for the rest of your life.

"That was a lifesaving exercise for me. Whatever werid muscle it's designed to stretch had been bothering me for over a year and hasn't hurt since:) Thank you Steve!"
- Michelle Beronja Wilkins

kayaking in the aveyron gorge

We’ve capped of people so that there will be ample one on one time for any personal issues to get addressed in as much depth as you’d like. You’ll have the option of a pre and post camp fitness assessment we’re you’ll get a good idea of both your strengths and weaknesses so you can leave with a fitness plan in mind.


escalade Saint Antonin Noble Val by iaki
climbing in the aveyron gorge

Since I’m an outdoor athlete you’ll have this option too. How much you participate is voluntary but, since we’ll be surrounded by world class climbing, cycling, kayaking, and hiking terrain, there will be a daily outdoor sports component. We’re professional guides, so no experience is necessary. You’ll be missing out if you don’t take part.

the riding tends to be picturesque

But mainly it’s about fun. You can live hard and play hard. In fact, when I’m balancing both is when I’m the most relaxed. "A sante!", to heath, as they say in France, which will be our theme. We’ll challenge ourselves, learning something new, and then reward ourselves with the amenities of rural France. La bonne vie!

the castle village of najac also has epic mtn bike riding

"I feel better than I have in years. It's been, by far, the best I've ever eaten in my life."
- Dave Talsky, Mammoth Lakes, Ca.


Sample itinerary:

7am - wake up yoga
7:30 - 8:30 aerobic ruke (run/ hike to get your metabolism going)
8:30 - 8:45 eye opener workout (optional - high intensity interval session)
9:00-9:30 breakfast
11:00- 1:00 pm daily activity (run, adventure ruke, bike, kayak, climb)
1:00 - 2:00 lunch
3:00 - 5:30 Free time (sight see, shop, chill...)
5:30 - 6:30 evening workout (progressive difficulty, drop out when you feel like it)
7:00 -8:00 dinner
8:00 post dinnner training digestion session (sunset hike, mobility training)
8:30 apres social

For more pics here’s last year’s announcement:

Train with Steve Edwards in Southern France

8 comments:

bob banks said...

Is lingerie yoga chick from yesterdays post invited?

pckaufma said...

This looks, and sounds, like a fantastic experience.

I gotta do this sometime in the next 10 years. Gotta plan a mini-one for this summer...

Anonymous said...

hey steve, this is unrelated but awhile ago you posted an article that suggested climbers do X2 phase 2 before X2 phase 1, well I didn't follow the advice and now I'm doing X2 strength phase and climbing 3x a week. I'm working hard to listen to my body, but I'm wondering if you think its too ambitious to climb 4 or even 5x a week without missing any of the phase 2 workouts (I've been climbing for only less than a year).

Steve Edwards said...

I would absolutely recommend not doing hard climbing while you're doing a lot of hypertroph is happening. Your muscles are in a broken down state so you're then forcing excessive strain on the connective tissues. This can lead to chronic tendonitis problems. Can't stress this enough. I've seen people get away with it but your margin for error in this scenario is very small.

TheThinker said...

What a fun adventurous life you have! I have a question, which I won't be able to get answered by you anywhere. Would supplementation with apple cider vinegar be helpful for a bodybuilder since the consumption of complex carbs and high protein puts the body in an acidic state which would keep the body in an alkaline state?

Anonymous said...

Hey Steve,
In one of the P90X2 videos tony says by putting your foot beside your opposite ankle during one legged squats it takes the shearing forces off your knee and exerts your gluts more. I know you do all the science behind the programs so just wondering if you could send me an article to back that, a link, or just point me in the right direction to find one. Cheers

Steve Edwards said...

Hassan,

In theory, yes it would however it's not going magically balance out your pH issues from an imbalanced diet. This is a fairly common practice for bodybuilders to help them more easily get all the calories they need. You might know or have heard of more of these "tricks" than me around you gym. Mostly you need to try them and see how they affect you personally.

On the one-leg squats, you don't need to read any science just try them both ways. Trailed the opposing leg doesn't necessarily lead to shear forces (so there is nothing wrong with that movement unless you do it wrong) but keeping your feet close together eliminates the possibility of creating a shear force because you'll fall over if you do. It also forced more of the movement into your glute, which you can also feel as you do it. It's biomechanics distilled to a very simple level.

TheThinker said...

My diet isn't really imbalanced as per say, I'm definitely not the healthiest (185-190 at 5-6) but I do keep everything in check, I still climb for fun. I still supplement with Shakeology, various beachbody supplements from fish oil, to immune boost. Eat at least 2 cups of vegetables daily, with many fruits. But a diet high in complex carbs and proteins will always increase PH levels. Anything else I can do that might help to prevent imbalances, also anything that might actually boost my appetite?