Fitness retreat in Costa Rica
- Clem Duranseaud
- 7 days ago
- 6 min read
In February 2020, I did something that was both amazing and daunting. I organized my first fitness retreat! A full week in beautiful Costa Rica full of sunshine, beach workouts, sunset yoga, surfing, delicious food and other shenanigans.
This project was incredible on so many levels: planning a full week of fitness, not just workouts, it's unique the location, the experience, and the unforgettable memories created.
To me, it was also a little disconcerting because I have the organizing skills of a carrot. Thankfully, on the last day, as I did my last walk on the beach alone, I felt that everything had gone according to plan.
A lot has happened since this magical week: Covid, a sabbatical year and a relocation in a new country. Now that the dust is settling, the thoughts of doing more regular retreats are growing stronger.
This post is about the original fitness retreat, how it went, what I learned from it and what I'd do differently in the future.
Organizing the retreat
Surprisingly, this turned out to be easier than anticipated. One of my friends recommended a venue he'd previously used for his retreat, and after a quick chat with the owner, dates were agreed.
There were two criteria I was looking for in a venue: proximity to a beach and to an international airport. This particular place, the Vellas Blancas was on the beach and an hour and fifteen minutes away from the Daniel Oduber airport. It fit perfectly.
I scheduled the retreat in the third week of February. Personally, this is right around the time I'm really starting to miss the warmth and sunshine, and I figured I wasn't the only one.
It was now time to prepare what we would be doing throughout the week, mainly workout schedules and meal planning. This is the fun part. This was a whole week's worth of health and fitness, and I wanted to balance four components:
Workouts: for a fitness retreat, I wanted to make these both challenging and accessible to all levels.
Yoga: an important component of any fitness endeavours in my opinion. Yoga not only improves movement but also works on the mind differently than intense training.
Education: this is actually what was most important to me. What could I do during this week that I couldn't back home? I chose to do specialized workshops to tackle various issues such as longevity or anatomy.
Enjoyment. I wanted people to have fun. The easiest way to implement this was to offer all of the above in an a-la-carte style. People were free to pick and choose what they wanted to do each day. Nutrition played a big role in the overall experience. Should I do a more structured diet to highlight what a healthy diet is, or a relaxed one, allowing people to indulge in the spirit of vacation? After some debating with the chef, we agreed that as long as the ingredients were whole, unprocessed foods, the dishes could both be healthy and enjoyable. Concerning alcohol, I wasn't going to supply it, but if people wanted to go and get themselves an evening drink, they could.
The training I chose for that particular retreat was boot camp style. The Vellas Blancas didn't have any fitness equipment, and I didn't want to bring too much stuff with me on the plane. We would workout on the beach, adding a level of difficulty with the sand.
I did bring a battle rope and a couple TRXs to spice things up.
Boot camp style workouts are essentially body weight high intensity workouts. The sand would give an unstable surface in which people would have to work twice as hard to run and jump in. Naturally, those sessions would include jump lunges, jump squats, burpees and running.
I figured people would be happy to be on a beach in Costa Rica at sunrise and wouldn't care so much about how tough the workouts would be. I was eager to test that hypothesis.
The goal was to help kickstart people's fitness or solidify strong workout habits. Two workouts per day seemed like a good idea for this goal. Now, I needed to balance that with yoga and nutrition.
I know what I'm good at and what I'm not. This is why as soon as I found the yoga instructor and the chef, I gave them free reins to organize their respective speciality.
The only requirement I gave Mark, the yoga teacher, was to put on a least two yoga sessions per day: a morning meditation and a sunset yoga class.
The chef, who was also called Mark, was only add to avoid using fast food. I didn't care too much about the nitty gritty nutrition details, like macro splits or protein requirements, as long as it came out of his kitchen, I'd be happy.
Mark and Mark had my total trust, which made the yoga and nutrition planning easy. I know yoga Mark was a great teacher, and chef Mark worked at Turf, a fitness studio in Vancouver.
Since we were going to be on a beach, having surfing lessons would add some fun to the adventure. I chatted with my cousin, who agreed to take on the role. And just like that, I had my schedule and team!
I had my retreat structure, but now I had to do the hard part: getting people to come.
The first retreat is always a little tricky because no one knows for sure how it's going to be, I had no pictures or testimonials to show anyone who was remotely interested. I relied solely on people's trust in what I was capable.
Naturally, the first potential clients I approached were my parents. I felt like a kid again asking if I could have extra allowance to go buy legos. I assured them they would actually get something out of it this time.
Next up were all my personal training clients, and group fitness class goers. After a few weeks of timidly and furtively mentioning the fitness retreat, a couple people expressed interest.
The total number accounted to four. Lower than hoped, but understandable. And to be honest, I was just happy there were some people at all.
The team was assembled, the people were booked in, all that was left was for the winter to gently pass along and for February to show up!
At the retreat
The retreat was hosted at the Vellas Blancas, on Playa Grande, right beside Tamarindo. I haven't seen many retreat venues but this one seemed ideal: five bungalows, one big house, a pool, and a commercial grade kitchen with a communal dining area, all on the beach!
It was time to enjoy and let all the accumulated stress melt away like ice cream in the sun.
A day at the fitness retreat
The goal of these retreats is to level up your health and fitness. Each day had the following:
A morning meditation on the beach starting at 6:30 am. I'd never been a fan of meditation until I did it on the beach, with the sounds of the waves rolling towards me and the waking Costa Rica coast. It hit differently than the times I did it in my bedroom when it was raining outside
A morning workout on the beach. Bootcamp style, targeting the full body, burpees in the ocean, sand sprints and log carries, all that fun stuff. These were on at 7 am to enjoy the morning's freshness. Fruits and coffee were available before and after the meditation and the regular breakfast was after training.
An afternoon specialized workshop, either yoga or fitness specific. We had an inversion workshop one of the days, and a longevity one another day.
A surf lesson. A nice way to stay active and not feel like you're working out.
Sunset yoga. Either on the beach or on a pavilion with views of the ocean. A great way to relax after a busy workout day.
All activities were optional, which allowed people to pick and choose exactly how they wanted their fitness week to be.
Everyone had lots of free time to explore the neighbouring Tamarindo, relax and enjoy everything this beautiful beach haven offered.
Now what?
The point of this article isn't for me to reminisce on the good old days, but rather to prepare for what's coming.
There had been a second retreat planned with a much bigger crew, which unfortunately got rudely cancelled by Covid.
Fitness retreats are coming back. 2026 seems like a propitious year for some communal adventuring. Beach or mountain? I haven't made the decision yet but I've got some fun ideas for both options.
Stay tunned later this year for more info.
In the meantime, have fun training!
Clem
Humble avis d'un Vancouverite... Avoir la retreat du Costa Rica comme pilier et recurring retreat. Tu connais l'endroit, tu l'as déjà fait et je suis sûr que tes gus de Londres, il y a pas mal qui embarqueraient. Si tu veux plus faire en Europe, je vais développer celle du Costa Rica.