Tag Archives: lifestyle
Circuit Factory: On the circuit to fitness
On the circuit to fitness Nivriti Butalia / 8 June 2013 ‘Cooler than Cavalli’, ‘The Challenge’, ‘Male Breast Awareness programme’, ‘Time to Speak the Truth’, ‘Social life? Please. I work out’ are all headers on the website of Circuit Factory, a large gym equipment-packed tin-roofed warehouse in Al Quoz Industrial Area, where there exist equal measures of dust and sweat. The tagline of The Circuit Factory, at least on their Facebook page and website, is ‘Most Powerful Weight Loss System In The Sandpit Babes’ (sic). Fitness enthusiasts work out at Circuit Factory in Al Quoz. — Supplied photo You could call it a gymnasium. But that might be similar to calling the Burj Khalifa a skyscraper — there is the risk of underestimation as scales aren’t quite gauged. Owned by the Al Tayer group, and with 3,000 members, Circuit Factory is a towel-toting community of fitness enthusiasts, who by their mere attendance are committed to pushing their bodies to the outer reaches of its comfort zone, and then tipping over. They have a mission, part of which is “to transform people’s lives by proving that great health and a great body is neither complicated nor inaccessible”. Upon showing up, a trainer very quickly writes your name on a sheet of paper and you’re made to sign a disclaimer that states you have no medical issues, and which presumably absolves the guys at the warehouse of any responsibility. Broken bones, stiffened mus cles, shattered nerves – all at your own risk. Perhaps the piece of paper should be more than perfunctorily glanced at. But the tempo is bustling. All around you people in various kinds of gym-gear are making a bee line for one end of the tin shed. Everyone is assembling. There must be two dozen people at a start line for what seems like a race start. Trainers are shouting. There is a nervous chaos – unless that’s what they call adrenalin. It’s a run alright — a kilometre and a half outside, cutting past other warehouses and stretches of dusty roads, traversing the less-frequented roads. There are fellow circuit trainers, much more athletic, all whizzing past. The sound and fury of rubber-soled footsteps pervades your ears. Trainers yell ‘Go! Go! Go!’ amid other shorthand codes of encouragement. You feel any minute now Nicholas Cage is going to swoop down from a loud hovering chopper, dangle down a rope ladder, ask for your hand and rescue you or that is, at least, the prayer. The run is only the first bit. And apparently there are variations in every class. Once you finish running the seemingly interminable stretch of dust-road, it’s back into the warehouse for more muscle-torture. Hamid, the trainer, says after the day’s training: “The first day is the hardest.” He also provides the assurance, the careful distinction, that no, it doesn’t get easier, it gets better. You tell Hamid the purpose of your attendance is a battle against belly fat. He tosses you a circuit-factory aphorism: weightloss is 80 per cent food, 20 per cent exercise. The run is succeeded by a circuit — repetitions of squats and strides and jumps and thrusts. ‘Burpees’( squat thrusts) seems to be a favourite. By the second repetition, it’s heartening to see most fellow trainees dissolve into puddles of sweat. People’s sizes vary. The fat and the marginally fat trot –if not alongside, at least somewhere in the orbit of the gazelle-like Adonis figures who seem to be not just surviving, but doing so with a stoic, sculpted grace. People you both dislike and yearn to be. Circuit Training is not everyone’s cup of tea, but the results show. The trainers assure you that if you keep at it, you’ll become one of them in no time – a top of the class figure, soaked-in-sweat with calves of steel. For more info see: circuitfactory.ae/classes.php nivriti@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
UN rights body adopts review report on UAE
UN rights body adopts review report on UAE (Wam) / 8 June 2013 The UN Human Rights Council successfully adopted the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) report on the United Arab Emirates in Geneva on Friday, marking the conclusion of the UAE’s participation in the current cycle of the UPR. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Anwar Mohammed Gargash announced his country fully accepted 100 recommendations, partially accepted or noted 61 recommendations and rejected 19 recommendations made by UN member states during the UPR session in January 2013. Among the accepted recommendations is the decision by the UAE to establish a national human rights institution. Dr Anwar mohammed Gargash and the UAE delegation at the Geneva meeting. — Wam Dr Gargash noted with satisfaction that the council had recognised the significant progress achieved by the UAE in enhancing human rights protection and had applauded the UAE’s national process in compiling the human rights report. Dr Gargash thanked all those present for their valuable contributions and was pleased to note the encouraging remarks made in the majority of interventions as the UAE progresses on its path to peace and prosperity. In his statement to the Human Rights Council’s concluding session to adopt the UAE’s report, Dr Gargash emphasised the UAE’s commitment to the UPR process as a tool to support and enhance national capacity building and improve human rights amongst nations. “Our domestic and international efforts stem from our national values and cultural heritage, which enshrine justice, tolerance, equality, and international responsibility. Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is an essential component of our principles, and we are proud of the progress we have made in improving the quality of life of our citizens,” he declared In addition to these values underpinning the UAE’s progress on human rights, he especially noted the continued solid improvement of the labour environment in the legislative and executive field and committed that the UAE will continue on this path of progressively enhancing labour conditions. Additionally, he emphasised the empowerment of women as a major objective in building a modern and progressive society with confidence in the future. In December 2012, the UAE’s Cabinet issued a decree to promote the participation of women on the boards of government agencies and companies, making the UAE the second country in the world with mandatory female presence in board rooms, and the first in the Arab region. The UAE will also serve on the Executive Board of UN Women until 2015. Furthermore, Dr Gargash emphasised that cultural and religious tolerance continues to be a hallmark of the UAE’s agenda and that this is an essential component in building a fair and attractive society. Dr Gargash subsequently stressed that the UAE will continue to protect its public security and stability in full compliance with the applicable legal standards of the country. He said: “Any violations of national laws will be investigated and dealt with in accordance with the laws of our country, and measures provided for by the law will be taken in case of violations.” Dr Gargash also highlighted the pioneering role of the UAE in combating human trafficking in the region, as he announced that the UAE became a formal member of the Bali Process in April 2013. Moreover, he discussed the UAE’s efforts to build institutional capacity within government departments to promote human rights, and to create improved legal protection for the expatriate labour force. In a bid to improve the protection of human rights across the world, once every four years the Human Rights Council holds a public review of each of the 193 member states of the UN to examine where they are doing well and where they can improve. This was the second such review process for the UAE since the UPR was instituted in 2006. With the adoption of thel UPR report, the UAE’s Standing Committee on the Universal Periodic Review will now strive to implement across the government the recommendations that have been accepted and continue to improve its protection and promotion of human rights. Continue reading
UAE favours Arab states’ right to safe water
UAE favours Arab states’ right to safe water (Wam) / 7 June 2013 The United Arab Emirates has stressed on the right of Arab states to access safe and clean water as a human right. Speaking at the conclusion of the Fifth meeting of the Arab Water Ministers Council, the UAE’s Minister for Environment and Water, Rashid Ahmed bin Fahad, emphasised on this issue. Egypt and Sudan are able to resolve the crisis arising from plans by Ethiopia to build the Renaissance dam across the Blue Nile, said Bin Fahad, in a press conference at the League of Arab States’ headquarters following a pan-Arab ministerial meeting. “Patience and diplomatic relations are the way to solving this issue. The Nile Basin countries are able to do that through agreements and relevant legal frameworks,” he said. The UAE minister said as water was currently the most outstanding issue now, the need was to have cooperation between Arab states and a long-term action to address complexity of the issue and its overlapping with food, environment and energy security. Continue reading
