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Aptly named “reboot camps,” fitness retreat programs claim they will whisk you away to the best shape of your life. Imagine a week or more in a private, decorated cabana, taking expert-led fitness classes and eating clean cuisine. Destination Fitness Retreats merge an exotic vacation with traditional spa practices, allowing their visitors to immerse themselves in the best of both offerings. While day or resort spas may provide their guests with premiere services for a short period of time, destination fitness retreats aim to reshape lifestyle practices for their visitors.

The element of escape is a huge part of the appeal to enroll in a destination fitness retreat. Like a typical holiday, you’ll be able to depart from your usual routine and get a taste of a new location and culture. However, unlike usual vacations, which can leave you feeling fatigued and bloated, returning from a fitness retreat will keep you re-energized and inspired to stick with a new workout and meal plan. Common offerings at fitness retreats include: hiking, yoga, dance classes, stress management, massage, saunas, and healthful meals and snacks. After returning home from experiencing balanced days, full of activity and healthy meals, you will want to retain the benefits of optimal health forever. After witnessing yourself at a healthy peak, you will be more inclined to incorporate fitness classes and thought-out meals in your daily routine.

As we, at Misha Patel Studio, are currently planning out our first ever studio-led retreat in Bora Bora, scheduled to embark in February of 2012, we have been interested in how to best encompass the positive aspects of traveling in a foreign country with the self-healing properties of a resort spa. One of the aspects we find most vital to a foreign fitness retreat is the incorporation of exploring local culture. After all, if you’re flying to distant lands, why only eat plain, green salads and perform fitness activities that you could do at home? Instead, we have chosen a location where retreat participants will not only take Pilates classes, but also try Polynesian dancing, surfing, paddle-boarding, as well as taste exotic starfruits and fresh fish dishes.

Being pulled out of your comfort zone may lead you to make new adventurous fitness and wellness choices when you arrive home. Maybe you will not have access to another Polynesian dance class, but will try a Zumba class at your local gym. Also, you will come home with plenty of new recipes and a hankering to try new types of fruits in the produce aisle. A fitness resort is not only an enjoyable experience during your vacation, but will lend itself to help you make healthier lifestyle choices when you are back at home.

Even if you cannot make it to a destination fitness retreat anytime soon, you can still plan ahead for an upcoming trip. Cut the costs of mini-vacations to save for one, large vacation that will completely restore you and aid you in your lifetime fitness goals. Also, you can incorporate resort services into your weekly schedule by adding in new fitness classes twice a week or looking online for spa menu recipes. The experience itself will be wonderful, but it is what you gain from a destination fitness vacation in the long haul that truly counts.