The National's Leah Oatway has a go at TRX suspension training under the watchful eye of the instructor Danny Bartlett.
The National's Leah Oatway has a go at TRX suspension training under the watchful eye of the instructor Danny Bartlett.

The fitness test: Weightless weightlifting is quite a workout



I would do anything for Madonna-esque muscular arms and surfboard-flat abdominals, aside from spending time lifting weights in the gym - which has of course made it all but impossible for me to obtain either. I find weight areas in gyms intimidating, so when I first spotted the TRX suspension training system in a net bag at Go Sports - its promise to increase strength, flexibility, power and seriously work core muscles, all without me going anywhere near a dumbbell or leaving the apartment - filled me with hope.

The TRX is a set of height-adjustable, heavy-duty nylon straps with handles that can be anchored to any weight-bearing platform - from a tree to an apartment door - allowing you to perform more than 300 exercises using your own body weight as resistance. Depending on which package you buy, it comes with an instructional DVD and either a basic circuit workout or 12-week fitness programme, and you can buy additional DVD workouts that are sport-specific.

After reading online about its origins in the armed forces - it was invented by a former US Navy Seal named Randy Hetrick, who first came up with the idea while on mission using scrap parachute material - and how various Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters use it, I bought the Forces Kit. If I was going to do this, I wanted it to be as challenging as possible. But after several attempts at looping my feet in the handles had me hanging precariously from the door while, on my television, Hetrick moved on to the next exercise, I accepted that the 12-week training programme that accompanies the Forces Kit was probably beyond my capabilities. I called for reinforcements - namely TRX's Middle East master trainer Danny Bartlett, of the Dubai-based fitness company MeFit Pro.

Once a month Bartlett conducts a day-long course at the Aviation Club, Dubai, to show fitness instructors how to use and anchor the system properly. He holds a list of Abu Dhabi and Dubai-based trainers who have passed the course. "This system is for anybody, anywhere," he says, adding that it can hold up to 1,200lbs. So as long as I keep hold of the handles I should be fine. "The exercises will give the same benefit as lifting a dumbbell with the benefit of being suspended in an unstable condition, activating the core muscles - which refer to every muscle from the neck to the hip."

Bartlett explains that by simply stepping closer to or further away from the TRX, or by widening or narrowing my leg position, I can alter the intensity of the exercise. He then shows me simple ways to adjust the height of the straps according to which muscle area I am working, and how to get my feet easily in and out of the cradles. Feeling more confident, I take hold of the handles and lean all the way back, feet firmly planted on the floor. My arms now fully extended, core engaged automatically, I pull myself up until my hands are chest level, before releasing them slowly back down.

"You're smiling; that looked too easy," Bartlett says, ordering me to move my feet together and further forward before attempting the same exercise again. This time I feel it working. "Keep looking at the anchor point," he tells me. After 12 repetitions - Bartlett suggests generally doing two or three sets of 12 repetitions per exercise, with the final few in each set tough enough to make you grimace - we move on to a chest exercise.

Handles grasped, I allow myself to lean forward until the straps are fully extended and my hands are shoulder level. I breathe out and use my arms to return to standing, arms fully extended in front of me. Bartlett explains that as it becomes easier to do, I should work my feet closer to the anchor point, closer together. A further challenge would be to raise one leg, which I try shakily. It activates the core immediately as the body attempts to stabilise and, while it's going to take some time for me to progress that far, I can feel the potential.

"I don't need to tell you to engage your core because it does it automatically, doesn't it? Otherwise you'll just fall down," he points out. TRX, Bartlett says, is part of a "functional exercising" approach. The muscles you use and the movements you make help reduce the risk of injury carrying out daily chores and can improve technique in specific sports - there are DVDs available for golf and tennis, for example. And it only weighs 2.5lbs so you can take it on holiday or on business trips.

After an hour of arm, chest and leg exercises under Bartlett's supervision, I feel confident enough to attempt the Forces DVD again and this time I manage to complete the upper body workout, albeit a tad slower than Hetrick demands. loatway@thenational.ae

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Cryopreservation: A timeline
  1. Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
  2. Ovarian tissue surgically removed
  3. Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
  4. Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
  5. Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months