Pack Mentality

Do you struggle to keep your fitness goals? Feeling lost in the mega-gym wilderness? Maybe it’s time to ditch the lone wolf approach to working out.

 

Tucked conveniently into the second floor gallery of Fujairah Tower, KAGE Fit could be somewhat intimidating to the ‘casual gym goer’. This isn’t your average fitness factory- there are no rows of treadmills and unfamiliar weight machines. 

 

A sleek, compact and modern interior with black wire partitions, KAGE lives up to its name. There are four key areas: the boxing ring, a studio section with punching bags and then another studio with top ROGUE strength and conditioning equipment, and the odd spin bike or rowing machine- and in the front, a casual reception area with a shake bar.

 

But this is friendly, functional space. If you don’t know what to do, you’re going to get help- there’s no copy-paste workouts here. You’re not likely to be counting down to the end of your work out either.

 

All the trainers are passionate and highly qualified. The KAGE experience is a group one: all classes, or ‘Wolf Packs’ have an ‘Alfa’ leader. The class sizes are kept small so the trainers can keep and eye on form, progress and results. It’s like having the professional guidance and motivation that comes with a personal trainer, with the competition and camaraderie of a group exercise experience. Exercising solo can be a boring experience, where training in groups is the opposite.

 

You’re not likely to see the same program week after week; the flexibility of the space combined with the knowledge of trainers Ben, Chris and Leah means constantly adapting, ‘enkaging’ workouts. 

 

The house specialties are KAGE Fit and Box- both high-intensity and inspired by CrossFit and kickboxing.  Although men and women are welcome at both for the near future, there are also a range of circuit, Kettlebell and Mat Pilates classes that are for women only. KAGE have also introduced mixed martial arts for kids aged 5-15.

 

We spoke to owner and Fujairahn Ahmed Khalil about his new venture. “When I came back to work in Fujairah, one of the things I had missed about living in Dubai was having a variety when it came to working out and the fitness community.“ 

 

Ahmed has been involved at every stage of starting KAGE Fit: inception, design, fit-out, and now the daily marketing and operations. 

 

“I really wanted to create a flexible space that had a fitness community focus. That’s why almost a third of this space is just sofas, tables and chairs. I want people to feel like they can come before the class to catch up, or wind down after”, he says, “I want this to evolve past the stage of being a business to being a point of connection for people who love to be active”.

 

He’s got dozens of videos of classes all over the gym’s Instagram page and on his phone; people’s progress, kids classes. He’d told me about testimonials despite the fact the gym has only been open a few months.

 

“Some of the people that train here regularly already run and train outdoors together.”