InnerFight UAE: The all-encompassing fitness workout

Kara Martin 11:12 04/12/2014
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  • Convenient: The training club is located off Sheikh Zayed Road.

    Veteran fitness junkie Marcus Smith and his impressive InnerFight brand and crew have been paving the way in sport and fitness performance locally over the past few years.

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    The Brit and company are truly different though, they’re not just chiselled and toned trainers, they’re actually the full package – nutritionists, CrossFitters, endurance runners, triathletes, motivational speakers, life hackers…they can actually do what they dish out to their ex­tremely varied clientele, and they pretty much always get results.

    With “Unlocking human poten­tial” as their catchphrase, these are your go-to guys.

    So, to hear that what started out as scraps of paper filled with Smith’s own workouts, typed and dished out to subscribers via www.InnerFight.com is now also an 8,000 square foot split-level train­ing club off Sheikh Zayed Road – just four weeks old – is pretty exciting news for the fitness com­munity at large.

    The ground level offers 4,000 sq. ft. of functional movement space and is where their popular, must-try InnerFight CrossFit classes are run, alongside one-on-one and small group coaching sessions.

    “There’s ample parking, chang­ing and shower facilities, and another cool thing about this space is that it’s ground level so we have loads of outdoor space where we can run and carry things around, on top of there being a load of natu­ral light flooding in, unlike a lot of other warehouse gyms, and this makes a huge difference.

    “It doesn’t feel dark and dingy, feels really fresh,” says Smith, former rugby player and one of Asia’s fittest men (a tag he gained from his Reebok CrossFit Games reputation).

    Upstairs is an endurance athlete strength lab where runners, tria­thletes and those with a thirst for longer events are put through their paces.

    Full nutrition and fat loss pro­grammes using a state-of-the-art body analysis machinery from industry leader In Body, are also on the InnerFight menu.

    The InnerFight HQ is also meant to be a place of healthy socialising and community outreach – they have a table tennis table, a stylish lounge area where one can sip coffee and use Wi-Fi, but what’s cooler is that because one of the brand’s big visions is “Making people better at life on all levels”, once a month they’ll host informal “InnerTalks”, led by volunteers, on how to do or achieve just about anything – “almost what I’d like to call a mini TED series,” adds Smith.

    “It’s not always going to be fitness orientated, with different stories and skills you can take away for life.”

    In January too they’ll kick off a strength clinic series for endurance athletes. “It is our environment and those that we surround our­selves with that ultimately decides what we are going to get from life and in the new InnerFight facility I am confident that we will be able to add to peoples’ lives in many ways,” says Smith.

    So far the overall response from clients old and new has been “wow”… “and to see people get­ting excited about going to a gym, getting there half an hour early to just settle in after work before doing the real work, just makes the whole fitness experience so cool. It becomes so much fun rather than a whine after work about having to squeeze the gym in.

    “Because the clients are more excited to work out, it means they work out harder, and that pays off with even better results,” he adds.

    “That’s another thing: I like this location because it’s as close to Sheikh Zayed Road as possible, as well as accessible from Al Khail Road, a place where there is no excuse for people not to come.

    “People use every excuse under the sun not to go to the gym (traf­fic, work, this or that…). I wanted to find a place where the number of excuses could be reduced,” he laughs.

    InnerFight is a members-only facility but the rates are pretty flexible, from the option to take a single class for Dh150, or unlim­ited classes for a month costing Dh1,500, three classes a week for Dh1,300, and two a week priced at Dh1,000.

    Longer term member­ships include the three-month unlimited package for Dh4,000, with six and 12-month options also available.

    Meanwhile their Personal Train­ing comes highly priced at Dh500 a session (with cheaper packages, and even a partner option where two people pay Dh300 each), but they also come highly rated.

    InnerFight CrossFit classes run daily from 05:30 and performance coaches are on hand for a variety of services.

    Info: 04 321 2899; www.Inner­Fight.com

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