A Facebook group trying to help people in Bahrain start living a healthy lifestyle has gone viral less than 24 hours since its launch.
Anas Al Binateej first got the idea after getting bored of the daily gym routine and decided to invite people for a walk with him at Dohat Arad on Monday and called it the Bahrain Fitness Group.
“I’m a Bahraini man who had a membership in every gym in Bahrain. But it was useless and it didn’t work for me. I went to the gym for a month, maybe less, and eventually lost interest.
“I eventually came up with the idea to post on Facebook that whoever wants to come and walk with me in Dohat Arad is more than welcome. That was the initial idea. So I did a closed group for people’s privacy but I never expected it to grow to around 500 members in 24 hours,” said Al Binateej.
Around 30 people from different nationalities and ages joined in the three-km walk on Monday.
“The main purpose is to do this all together. No matter how fit or unfit you are, we will start together and finish it together as a group,” added Al Binateej.
The aim of the group is to help people live a fun but healthy lifestyle.
“We do not promise people weight loss, but we do promise them a good time socialising while exercising.”
The group has expanded rapidly to an extent that sponsors have called up Al Binateej with offers.
“What made me feel this is going to be something big are the phone calls I got from potential sponsors offering their services.
“Being a free of charge activity, we sometimes need support. Water in our first event was sponsored by Movenpick Hotel,” said Al Binateej, who currently works as a banker.
Being a non-profit organisation, the support offered goes directly to the members of the group.
Winners Football Centre offered to host the second event with an hour of boot-camp sessions with a professional trainer free of charge. They are currently working on a long-term deal to support the event.
Fitness First gym has also offered the members a class once a week with activities rotated so that everyone gets to do something new every week.
“We are trying to have as much activities as possible so it is never a repeat. People want to do new things all the time and that is the best way to keep it going.
“The feedback I got after the first event was positive. The commitment the people showed made me even more committed to the idea. This shows how the people of Bahrain are looking for something like this to get out and be active,” said Al Binateej.
Encouraging
“The numbers are very encouraging and indicate that there’s a thirst for such a social fitness group on the island,” said one of the participants.
The participants were very pleased after their second training session at Winners Football Centre last night.
“It feels great because this is the first time we are working out while having fun. We feel like a family and we encourage each other. With this heat the encouragement we get is important to get fit. Every week it is a different activity and that will definitely make sure we don’t get bored,” said Mohammed Hisham, who attended the group’s activity for the second time.
“This is great because it gives the people the opportunity to try something because everyone is supportive here. It’s a big difference from going to the gym. A lot of us know each other and if we don’t then we are getting to know each other but there is always support,” said Leila Jheir.
“Introducing fitness awareness to Bahrain is something important. It was a great workout. We’ve had the fit and the unfit do their best and they were very enthusiastic and excited. Living a healthy lifestyle is very important and I hope the group will grow bigger and everyone will have fun,” said Mike Alu, who supervised last night’s session.
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