Tim and Leon Gold swapped Hamburg for Ibiza last year and have never looked back. Their fitness revolution has gathered momentum and they have added a few things to their already extensive arsenal of fitness programmes. Essentialibiza thought it was about time we checked back in with the boys to find out how they are getting on…
You’ve been living in Ibiza for almost a year now, how are you enjoying the change in lifestyle?
Totally. Not only the weather that has a big impact but also the things surrounding you. Attitude of the people is completely different. We mostly notice it during our work and we both feel that it was our best decision in life so far. Although working quite a lot, it feels like a never ending holiday – could anything be nicer?
What’s the biggest difference to your life in Hamburg?
Simple answer: the weather! Although Hamburg is quite liveable, most of the time it is grey and you feel depressed. There are a lot of other differences of course but you only asked for the biggest one.
Does your business or type of clientele change much during the winter?
Slightly, most of our clients live here on the island the whole year. A few of them run a business and so during the busiest time from June to September they cut off their training due to time issues. For us perfect, because then we can make use of the free time to do training for the summer tourists. I reckon for a lot of people running a business here, recovery training starting in October will become more and more neccessary to recharge batteries for the next season. We are going to offer special programmes this autumn.
Is there any part of home that, if you could, you would bring to Ibiza?
What do you mean with ‘home’? My home is where i love to live. But to meet the intention of the question, Harzer cheese – a tasty low fat source of protein! You definitely cannot get it here (not in UK either).
Has it been an easy transition moving to Ibiza from Germany?
Yes! Somehow everything worked well from the first day. Decison was December 2010 and from there it took just 9 months to fulfill it. At a certain point we thought never to get an appropriate house that we can afford. Then an email with the perfect house arrived. Two weeks later we came here to sign the beginning of a new life. After our arrival we immediately had the feeling that our ‘home’ would be here for ages. Lucky us.
Describe the perfect day for you on the island?
Doing a challenging walk up and down the beautiful Cala D’Aubarca. Apart from the mass tourism this is the perfect place to go snorkelling and chilling on your own, even during the busiest time in summer. After that it is barbecue time – either in a good ibicencian restaurant or at home.
Do you get a chance to go clubbing and if so, which parties will you be taking in?
To be honest clubbing is not the first priority for us while we have got a job in which we have to give a 100% – physically and mentally – that’s why our customers book us! For that reason we prefer day parties more than staying out during the night. For the majority warm-up for us is absolutely enough. Occasionally, when it comes to a night out, we would rather go to venues where the music is more funk-loaded like Defected or Hed Kandi.
Going on holiday can be a common problem for people with a regular gym routine at home, the disruption and eating/drinking that comes with a holiday often leads to gym neglect on the return; what advice can you give people to help them?
To train with us! (just kidding). You know in life everything depends on cycles – it is always an up and down – so in my opinion it is not that bad to break the gym routine for up to 2 weeks. In sports science a good long term training plan has always short off periods in which your body gets the chance to recover and recharge. The next approach will be easier then. If one has problems to carry on working out afterwards I would suggest to try something completely new or different from home. For instance hiking, mountain-biking, canoeing or outdoor strength training with own bodyweight – the island offers loads of activities and your body will love the variety. New ways, new approach!
What have you introduced into your service for summer 2012?
Summertime is pooltime and thus our Aqua Fitness programmes are very popular. Besides Aqua Kickboxing and Aqua Ahletics we now also offer AquaJogging. What sounds like boring sports for elderly people is fun loaded and highly effective. Even boxer Vitali Klitschko does it a lot during the preparation for his fights – it must be good though – you only need the right trainers! Because of demand I (Tim) also started to give some tennis classes in which technique, fitness and flexibility are combined to improve capabilities even more than with simple tennis training. A new way of tennis training is also suitable for leisure players. Leon upgraded his education as a manual painless therapist and shows people how to relief muscle induced pain by themselves. You will learn how to manipulate the muscle tension with a foam roll and a tennis ball. Sounds funny but it holds amazing benefits. Without exaggeration, we promise that you will need less doctors visits.
How has your business evolved since we spoke to you at the start of last winter?
Very well. Our name has become well known and highly respected very quick. We stand for Personal Training on another level and that is what the people feel when they train with us. Backed with scientific knowledge, every session we run is an exiting mixture of entertainment, excercising and exclusiveness – but what our clients love even more is our unique all-season outdoor gym – Personal Training exclusive of course.
