When I heard about Dream Body 23 minutes exercise  for the first time I thought it is the usual marketing concept and I was reluctant to call and visit. Few weeks later I read some members’ testimonials of their experiences with dream body center that encouraged me to call and book an appointment for trial.

Following my first trial I was convinced of the 23 minutes concept and decided to be a member at dream body. I Joined on 26 July 2011 and managed to exercise during fasting hours in Ramadhan. After a month I was amazed with the result of my first measurements, I managed to reduce 5KG and 2″ from my waist with a total of more than 8″ reduction from the total body. managing to eat healthy during Ramadhan was a grate support to have such result.

The measurement after the first month was an incentive to continue my exercises and with just 23 minutes workout I can’t find and excuse not to spare time to be fit. Today after two months of joining dream body it can’t be better than loosing 8KG and a total of more than 14″ from my whole body.

Today I have my body shaped in the way that I dreamed off. What I am certain  off is that I will continue to exercise at dream body to maintain what I have achieved in a very short time with the help of dream body team.

On a final note I just want to say thank you to dream body team and to the founder for their existence and bringing this concept of workout to help people realize the objective of being fit and healthy.

Abdulelah Abdulla

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Want results too? Visit our website today or call us on 17 613352 today.

Talk to you soon.

I thought I you might find this interesting.  The chart above shows the number of hours I trained per week in 2010.  There are few noteworthy points to share about the chart, and my workout philosophy in general:

Only trained more than 4 hours once

You’ll notice that I only exceeded the 4-hour mark once.  The notion that you need to spend hours and hours in the gym to get fit is really outdated.  I train between 3 to 5 times per week, ranging in time from 15 minutes to a maximum of 60 minutes (which is rare) per workout.

You only really need to spend hours and hours training if you’re a pro athlete with specific goals in mind.  Even some bodybuilders have embraced the idea of short but very intense workouts, separated by long periods of rest in between.

Workout routine

You’ll notice that in the first half of the year leading up to August, I was much more consistent in my training.  It pretty much fell apart after the passing of my father, and has been inconsistent since then.

Before August my routine consisted mainly of martial arts (once to twice a week), yoga (twice a week), and weight training (once a week), with the occasional rope skipping or other activity. Once in a blue moon I’d jump into the DBC circuit, but most workouts were done in the compound, I have a home gym and dojo there.

After August I had a hard time being consistent.  I eventually got completely exhausted and stopped training for a while, and took a short break to India.  I’m now slowly starting to find my groove again, as it were.

Tracking

I like to track my workouts to see how I’m doing over the weeks and months, I suggest you do the same.  If you’re intention is to lose weight (i.e. fat), then don’t just measure your weight; measure your waist, thighs, arms, bust, and hips as well.  I kept track by using a basic spreadsheet (from which the above chart was taken), but this year I’m excited about using DailyBurn.com, which can track lots of different metrics.

Sick days

At the end of 2009, I resolved not to get sick at all in 2010.  Ha! that didn’t last long.  I think due to mainly stress, I got sick 10 days in 2010.  I hope to do better next year inshallah.  I’ll keep you posted.

Should you use a home gym or join a place?

I’m the type of person who prefers to train alone in the home gym.  I’m fairly self-motivated and don’t really need someone to push me or motivate me – except when it comes to running, which I don’t really enjoy much.  But I think the opposite is true for most people.  I know lots of people who have home gyms that have never been used.  If you’re one of those then I suggest you join a place.  You already know which places I recommend.

The Cardio and resistance training thing

Remember, whatever exercise you decide to do, you must do a mixture of both resistance training and cardio training.  See a more in-depth explanation here.  A great way to get both in a short period of time is to do interval or circuit training (which the DBC concept is based on).  You do one round of cardio, then one round of resistance, then one round of cardio, etc.  I’ll write you a sample workout that you can do at home on a separate blog post.

Final thoughts

Look, if you’re not exercising, then you’re doing yourself a huge disservice.  It’s like having a great car and never driving it; just like the car was meant to be driven, your body was meant to be active.  God did not design you to sit at a desk all day.  You already know the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle, right?  Time to take action and do something!

That’s all for today.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and talk to you soon.

The Daily Tribune article from a few days ago

I mentioned a press release yesterday I sent out about a week ago, about the obesity crisis in Bahrain. In the release I was referring to Russel Ash’s new book, The Top Ten of Everything 2011 in which he mentions that Bahrain now has the fattest women in the world.

Bizarrely, when the Daily Tribune got hold of the press release, they turned it into an article, where they supposedly “spoke to a few experts in the Kingdom to find out what their opinion is with Bahrain being in the top 10 obese countries and what we could do to reduce this pandemic…”  Well, let me tell you, I never spoke to anyone there.  And I don’t endorse what they say in the article.  I find it sad that they manipulate a press release like that.

Here’s the article, I’ll then share some more thoughts with you:

With nearly half of the population being over weight, it leaves them at a greater risk of developing chronic disease such as high cholesterol, hypertension and diabetes. Latest figures have also shown that 60 per cent of Bahraini population aged 20 and above are overweight or obese. With 40 per cent of those aged 20 and above already having high cholesterol because of their eating habits.
DT spoke to a few experts in the Kingdom to find out what their opinion is with Bahrain being in the top 10 obese countries and what we could do to reduce this pandemic; this is what they had to say:
DT: Why does Bahrain have this obesity problem?
Julie, Dietitian, Health Watcher: “I would say, it mostly has to do with the weather and the food that is consumed. Due to the weather people tend to do less and physical activities are limited mainly to getting into their cars and going shopping. The weight gain puts them at a high risk of inheriting diseases. The food consumed is also very heavy because of the extreme use of unhealthy oils and a lot of
butter and margarine.”
Suhail Algosaibi, founder of the Zen-Do Bahrain Kickboxing Club:
“These figures are deplorable! Not only will such high obesity rates lead to chronic illnesses in these women, it will also cost the country billions of dinars over the coming decades just to treat all these women. Not to mention all the obese men, teenagers and children,”
DT: What they can do to avoid it? Julie, Dietitian, Health Watcher:
“Instead of having two heavy meals a day, they should just have one heavy meal,
which is lunch. Also, they should try and implement a habit of eating salads before their lunch, and also have a lot of vegetable and some physical activities.”
Suhail Algosaibi, founder of the Zen-Do Bahrain Kickboxing Club:
Mr Algosaibi had announced that he will be offering a three-month free membership at the DreamBody Centre for 10 obese women to help turn around their weight, and their life.
DT: Take some responsibility for your health by cutting down on how much you eat and start exercising. You will be pleased you did once you start to see the results.

Did you know, it takes more energy to digest protein than it does to digest fat?Tired of not knowing what kinds of foods to eat? Not sure how much fat, calories and sodium you should be consuming everyday? All the tips you need are here….

Eggs
Eggs are super high in protein and can help you burn that unwanted belly fat.
If you’re still worried about your cholesterol intake from eating too many eggs, you can remove the yolk and still benefit from the high protein contained in eggs.
Low fat dairy products
According to an article on Obesity Research, women who ate low-fat dairy products, such as non-fat yogurt and low- fat milk, three to four times a day, lost 70 percent more fat than low-dairy dieters.
If you are a regular consumer of milk and other dairy products watch your proportions and perhaps switch over to the low or no fat varieties.
Beans
While beans are often associated with the gastrointestinal disturbances they may cause, they are also very good
sources of protein, fibre and iron. Limit baked beans, which contain sugar, and refried beans, which contain saturated
fat.
Oatmeal
Oatmeal is loaded with soluble fibre which helps reduce blood cholesterol by flushing those bad digestive acids out of your system.
The best kind of oatmeal to eat is unsweetened and unflavoured, if you must sweeten your bowl of oatmeal use fruit or honey.  Oatmeal is also beneficial in fighting colon cancer and heart disease.
Olive oil
Certain fats are good for you and your body needs them. Olive oil is one of those “good fats”. It is rich in monounsaturated fat, a type of fat that researchers are finding provide outstanding health benefits.
Whole grains
Your body needs carbohydrates. Processed carbohydrates such as white
breads, bagels, pastas, and white rice are bad for you as they have all been processed.
The key is to eat “whole grain” foods because they haven’t been processed and contain the fiber and minerals your body needs.
Meat and fish
Turkey and beef are great for building
muscle and boosting the immune system. Be careful as basted turkeys are usually injected with fatty substances while beef
contains saturated fat. Salmon and tuna are also good sources
of protein.

- Overall, the advice the article contains is not bad, with one or two exceptions, which I’ll get to in a minute.  But like I said, no one spoke to me.  And I don’t like the fact that the article does not have the writer’s name attached to it.  Are they anticipating problems, and therefore not mentioning writers’ names?

- My press release was DreamBody Centre centric, not Zen-Do centric, but they only mentioned me as the founder of the Zen-Do Bahrain Kickboxing Club.  How annoying!

- With all my respect to “Julie” from Health Watchers.  Having one meal a day is terrible weight loss advice.  Anyone with basic health and fitness knowledge knows that.  Having one big meal a day slows your metabolism (rate of energy burn) down and makes it harder to lose weight.  Not to mention that it makes you tired and lethargic.  You should have several small meals a day instead, to boost your metabolism.  Shame on you Julie.

- If they mention that I’m offering 3 months free membership, why don’t they tell people how to get in touch??  By the way, you can email our GM at Mark.S[at]DreamBodyCentre.com. We’ve already had people apply, so better get on with it.

- Eggs are a good source of protein, but I would not have them more than twice a week.  Personally, I stopped eating eggs all together but that has to do more with my choice of not consuming animal products.  Try to find organic, free-range eggs rather than the mass-produced variety.  But I’ve never heard that egg protein can “burn unwanted belly fat”, that’s simply not true.

- I think the dairy advice is a disaster.  Please please discard what they say about dairy.  For a more informed and educated view on dairy, click here.

- Beans only cause “gastrointestinal disturbances” if you don’t eat them on a regular basis.  If you make them a regular part of your diet, you should feel very few disturbances indeed.

I could go on, but I’ll stop here.  I guess this article serves as a double example of bad journalism and poor health advice.  Shame on you Tribune!

Talk to you soon.

I’m sure you must of heard about this in the newspapers.  Bahrain now has the fattest women in the world, how sad is that??  Here’s a press release I wrote on the topic:

Fitness Expert Declares War on Women’s Obesity

A local fitness expert has declared war on the women’s obesity crisis in Bahrain.  He has done this in response to recent findings published in a book that reveals that Bahrain has the fattest women in the world, with 42.2 % of the population having an average Body Mass Index (BMI) of more than 25.  The book is entitled The Top 10 of Everything 2011, by British author Russell Ash.
Suhail Algosaibi, founder of the Zen-Do Bahrain Kickboxing Club, Bahrain’s first ever kickboxing school, and The DreamBody Centre, a 23-minutre fitness and weight loss centre, insists that these figures are unacceptable.  “These figures are deplorable!  Not only will such high obesity rates lead to chronic illnesses in these women, it will also cost the country billions of dinars over the coming decades just to treat all these women.  Not to mention all the obese men, teenagers and children,” said Mr. Algosaibi.

In response to this threat Mr Algosaibi has announced that he is offering a three-month free membership at the DreamBody Centre for 10 obese women to help turn around their weight, and their life.  “We are doing this free of charge.  Even if we help just one person lose weight and change their life, then I’m satisfied,” he said.  “I’d like to invite people to apply for the free membership by emailing our General Manager at Mark.S[at]DreamBodyCentre.com.  Just explain in the email why you should be chosen.  We will choose the 10 most deserving candidates,” added Mr. Algosaibi.
The deadline for submissions for the free membership is Thursday the 23rd of September 2010.  The DreamBody Centre is a 23-minute weight loss and fitness centre utilising specialised hydraulic training equipment.  It was first launched in Bahrain in December 2007.

Yup, this is true.  I really am giving away 3 months free.  We already have one or two applicants, and we’re willing to take more.  Get in touch today!

Thanks for reading.

At the press conference that was held this morning. From left Mark Salvador, Suhail, Simon Bromyard and Saba Saleem

We just finished a press conference this morning where we announced the winner of our first ever DreamBody Competition!  I’m very proud to announce that 37-year-old structural engineer Simon Bromyard has won!

Presenting Simon with his cheque for BD 1,001

Simon worked really hard on getting his DreamBody.  He attended 5, 6, 7 up to 11 times per week.  He lost over 11 kg and 4.5 inches off his waist.  Well done guy.  Here are his before and after photos:

Simon Broyard before and after the DreamBody Competition

What a remarkable difference, right?  Simon received a cheque for BD 1,001, which he said he’d give to his wife   (Good like trying to cash the giant cardboard cheque)

Here’s an interview that was conducted with Simon the day before yesterday:

I have to say it was not an easy decision.  The judging committee sat for a long time trying to make sure the right candidate is chosen.  It came down to Simon and former GDN journalist Mohammed Al-Garf.  Though they both worked hard and got very good results, we went for Simon, due to his superhuman effort in attending the DBC.

I want to publicly thank Mohammed for the amazing transformation that he achieved, and I hope he will have the chance to win future a competition.  Well done guy and congrats on your amazing results.

I also want to acknowledge all the participants who worked hard to win this competition.  Well done everyone and congrats on your results.  Well done once again Simon and alf mabrook!  The next competition is starting in September.  Make sure to be part of it!

Talk soon.

I’m here in good old Rochester, Minnesota.  I’m staying at the surprisingly excellent Double Tree hotel.  A four star hotel that has very good rooms, decent food, great service, and very important for me, a decent gym.  I’ve been going to the gym nearly every morning.  Due to the 9-hour-difference-induced jet lag, I’m usually up between 4 and 5 am, and shortly thereafter I go to the gym in the basement (where a couple of months ago I met Naked Man)
I’ve noticed a lady that goes to the gym as well.  She looks like she is in her twenties, and she’s quite overweight.  I’ve not spoken to her, and don’t really know anything about her.  But I think it’s fair to assume she want to lose some weight.  And I doubt very much that she will lose much of it.  Let me just quickly add that I am not in any way judging her, I’m just making some observations.

When she comes in I noticed she goes on the treadmill right away, and does about 20 minutes or so, and leaves.  What’s impressive is that she can run quite a bit of the distance.  So it’s obvious that her fitness is improving, and good for her.

The reason I say that she won’t lose weight is because she’s only doing cardio training.  If you don’t know what that means, cardio stands for “cardiovascular”, and cardiovascular, in layman’s terms means the heart and blood vessels.  It refers to activities like running, jogging, cycling, aerobics, dancing etc.  Activities that raise your heart beat and make you pant.  Does that make sense?

Anyway, from having seen her for a few days, it seems like all she does is the running.  Running is probably one of the best ways to increase your fitness, but not the best way to lose weight.

And of course when I say “lose weight” I mean “burn excess fat”.  The more relevant exercise for burning fat is resistance training.  This means exercises where you push, pull, or lift against something that offers your muscles resistance.  Examples of this are weight training, calisthenics (body weight exercises like push ups, pull ups and crunches), Yoga and Pilates.

The best way to burn excess fat (lose weight) is by having more muscle mass in your body.  Muscle requires a lot more energy (i.e. calories) to sustain itself than fat does.  When you do resistance training, you build more muscle, and in the long term, burn more fat.

The problem with cardio is that it only burns energy during the workout, and for a brief period afterwards.  After that, the effects are gone.  But with resistance training, the effect is more long term.  What often happens with overweight people that do lots of cardio, is that they often lose some weight, but their body shape does not change much.  If they were an apple shape before, then they become a smaller apple shape.  Whereas with resistance training, you actually change the shape of your body over the long term.  Get my point?

I’ve noticed that many women somehow think that cardio training is more for women, and that resistance training is more for men.  This is a very false assumption, and if you’re a cardio-lady reading this, please change your mindset about this.  You’ll notice great results.

Want REALLY good results from your exercise programme? Do both cardio and resistance training.  Want super, dooper, great results? Do resistance and cardio training, AND eat well.  That’s really the secret to a long, happy, healthy – and slim – life.  It’s really that simple.

So my friend, make sure to have a good mix of both types of exercises.

Talk to you soon.

PS If you’re based in Bahrain, check out The DreamBody Centre where we offer exactly what I’m talking about.   You might also consider joining our amazing DreamBody Competition, where I’m giving away my car!

Take care.

Here’s the third interview with radio DJ Krazy Kevin.  You’ll hear us talk about the “24 reasons” you should exercise.  Poor guy had a soar throat but did the whole segment with the usual enthusiasm.

Here’s what else you’ll learn:

- What to do before you start exercising
- The reason you need to ask yourself “why”
- What the bare minimum is you should do
- How to motivate yourself and get over your own excuses

By the way, we usually talk live on Sundays right after the 4:00 pm news on 96.5 FM, in case you don’t want to wait a few days until it goes on the blog.  You can hear the previous two interviews by clicking here.

Hope you like it!

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

I had my second interview this week with radio DJ Krazy Kevin (see the first interview here).  We talked about “Seven Weight Loss Secrets.” To be honest there are more than just seven secrets; at the DreamBody Centre we give out a free weight loss book that has 23 steps to help you lose weight.  But if I had to choose the most important seven, then these would be it.

Speaking of the DreamBody Centre, you can also download a free report entitled Body Fat Secrets Exposed, which you might find of interest.  Here’s the interview, hope you like it!

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

The funny feeling started yesterday morning.  I set the alarm to ring at 4 am.  I was planning to hit the punching bag for a few rounds in the home gym, and then go off to work.  When the alarm rang I felt really odd, very tired and week.  So I just shut it and went back to sleep.  I woke up around 7 am.

I spent the whole morning in Riffa Views (see the relevant post here)  And as the day progressed I kept on feeling worse and worse.  I was planning to teach at Zen-Do all day, but I just didn’t have the energy.  I could hardly focus during the meetings with my GM and Marketing and Operations Manager.

After the meetings ended I went home, probably around 4 p.m. or so.  I went to bed and slept.  But I had an uncomfortable sleep.  As the day progressed I got worse and worse, eventually spending virtually the whole night vomiting.  It was really painful – torturous actually.  My poor wife stayed up all night taking care of me.  To say I got a nasty stomach bug would be an understatement!

Staring the Insanity Monster in The Face
I’ve never spoken about this publicly.  This happens to me every few years.  I actually lose my mind for a brief time.  It happens when I have fever and/or when I’m dehydrated (which I can get quite quickly).  I start to become delirious, and start rambling like a buffoon.  I might start to cry, then laugh, then sing, then speak in German, then hum, and on and on.

It started happening last night around 7 p.m., and lasted most of the night.  Interspersed with violent vomiting.  It’s a strange feeling when it happens.  I know I’m doing it, but I can’t control myself when it happens.  I lose all impulse control.  I know that it’s not appropriate to burst into song, or to start making incoherent noises, but I have no self-control at all.  Is this what it’s like to be crazy?  Trust me, it’s a horrible feeling.

In The BDF Hospital
I had an incident about 4 or 5 years ago, and my wife called an ambulance.  They rushed me to the BDF hospital.  All the while I was making incoherent conversation with the paramedics.  When I arrived there I was taken care of by what was probably the meanest nurse in the history of mean nurses.  I remember reading the words “clinical madness” on their report.  They gave me some drugs and an IV drip.  I only stayed there for a few hours and then went home.

It Doesn’t Last Long
These periods of madness don’t last very long, usually just one night or less.  I remember when I told my father about this a few years ago he started laughing.  He told me of a Saudi prince he knows that goes through something similar.  Apparently he becomes Robin Hood and starts talking in old English, can you imagine?

Anyway, as I write this I’m feeling much better.  I think I’ll be back to work and my usual routine from tomorrow.

Thanks for listening…

Dear friend,

Do you suffer from back ache and/or posture problems?  If so then you should definitely attend this exclusive workshop.  This unique workshop will be conducted by Roberta Trzebinski, a six-language-speaking Pilates and Yoga expert.

The focus of the workshop is to bring awareness to our posture in a static and in a dynamic way. Roberta will review different “postural scenarios” and muscular weaknesses to help you discover how an incorrect posture can negatively affect your body – and lifestyle.  Roberta is qualified in Aromatherapy, Reflexology, Kinesiology and Body Movement. For the past 6 years she has been studying, practising and teaching pilates to become a STOTT PILATES Certified Instructor Trainer.

Roberta will  use muscle testing techniques, and discuss how exercise done in a more controlled and mindful way can improve the way we work and play.
The goal of the workshop is to ultimately help you live a better quality of life.  This is done by increasing your body awareness toward movement in general and specific to sports and daily activities.

You will learn a wealth of information, and question and answer time will be allowed throughout the duration of the workshop as it is going to be very interactive.  Here are the event details:

What: ‘Secrets to a Healthy Spine And a Better Posture’ Workshop

When: Saturday 16th of January, 6:00 – 8:00 pm

Where: Zen-Do Bahrain in Hamala

Considering the wealth of information you’ll receive, the price of the event is really cheap.  Here are the prices:

Non Zen-Do /  DBC member:  BD 20
Zen-Do and DBC members:  BD 10
Zen-Do Black Belt Club Members:  BD 5

Special Bonus!  First 10 registrants will get a 15% discount on a private session with Roberta!
Call 17 611 909 now to reserve your space!

Call 17 611 909 now to reserve your space!

Or walk into either DreamBody Centre or Zen-Do and register.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Dedicated to yours and your family’s well-being,

Suhail Algosaibi

PS  This workshop is not only for those who suffer from back problems, it’s for any health conscious person who wants to live a healthier and more fulfilling life.