Interview with Andrea Baker, Retreats Manager at Komune Resort Beach Club
Interview with Andrea Baker, Retreats Manager at Komune Resort Beach Club
Published: 10 March 2020 10 March 2020
How did your journey into health and fitness begin, leading you to becoming a resident trainer at Komune Resort & Beach Club?
I have been a trainer for over 20 years now. I have always loved helping people improve their wellness, so studied to be a trainer when I was pregnant with my second child. I just kept on wanting to help more people, started working/managing in Health Retreats working on all areas of people’s health. I had a marriage breakup, children all grown up, decided time to do something different and something for me. Met the amazing GM from Komune and the rest is history….
Do you have a specific motto or philosophy in regard to health and fitness?
“Just do something”. Find out what is “your thing” and stop that little voice in your head saying I cant do this and this and this….. what can you do, not what I can’t do! And as old age approaches, a wise friend said to me “don’t let the old in!”
How do you like to incorporate travel with exercise?
I believe everyone now is looking to stay fit and move on their vacations. The old days we all went on strict diets before a holiday to then just blob out and it was expected you would put on 3-4kgs, then come home and starve yourself to get back in shape! Not anymore. People feel good moving, getting excited about new workouts, new equipment, new training methods. Of course, there is nothing better than waking up in new surroundings nice and early and venturing out for a good walk to wake up the adventure in you!
What do you believe the benefits of a dedicated fitness holiday are?
It’s the opportunity to “re-boot”. We are all a product of our environment. I think it’s important to break the circuit every now and again. The most common feedback I hear is “I didn’t realize how stressed I was until I unwound…” To me its about prevention. Prevention from the on-going stress of our crazy busy, fun lives so we don’t burn out, we don’t have injuries, we don’t become this reactive mother and work colleague that we really don’t like to be.
How do guests you have trained with at Komune feel by the end of their trip, what is the greatest feedback you have had?
As I mentioned before, guests feel at home here at Komune. The staff call them by name, they are relaxed without an on-going agenda. They can join in if they feel like or lie by the pool and read a book. Some guests I see in the gym every day and others have discovered they needed to be here more for energy in and are perhaps doing more the spiritual and passive activities. No expectations, just be you.
What are your top 5 tips to those looking to kick start a healthy lifestyle?
Discover how you like to move. “Just do something”. Drop all expectations of what society says you should be doing and find your thing. How can you incorporate this into your everyday life? A lot of people need to slow down – add more Yin to their life. We are all too hard on ourselves. I believe in the ripple effect, just start to change small things and it will ripple through your life and create change.
Above the physical aspects, what do you believe are the most valuable benefits of regular exercise?
I have been lucky to be able to teach fitness in high schools to Year 11 and Year 12 students. How you deal with exercise challenges often reflects into your life. Do you always stop when it gets hard, do you look for an excuse, do you avoid it because you hate to feel uncomfortable? Then you notice, hey with practice and little steps, I can get through this, I can become good at this. It definitely helps to manage stress, anxiety and to me is a healthy option for a coping mechanism in today’s society of easy obtainable “numbing” options of drugs and alcohol. Lifting weights is my therapy for sure!
Wellness programmes offered at Komune Resort & Beach Club:
