Category: Sports

A couple of months back, Fitbit sent me their latest fitness tracker to review, the Alta HR. I’m a mechanical watch kind of guy and so don’t own an Apple Watch so figured this would be a good alternative. I’d be able to keep wearing my mechanical watches on one wrist, and a fitness tracker on the other.

The Fitbit Alta HR is a pretty great looking tracker, it’s slim and looks like a regular rubber bracelet and so can be worn on the opposite wrist of your watch and not look like you’re wearing two watches. The biggest selling point for me with the Fitbit was the fact it had a heart rate monitor. I’ve been going to spinning quite a bit and was curious to know how many calories I was burning exactly. Since the Fitbit could monitor my heart rate, I assumed it would be great at that one job… it wasn’t. But I’ll get to that in a minute.

The Alta HR has a pretty simple and straight forward screen that can display the time, your heart rate, how many steps you’ve done, how many calories you’ve burned and a bunch of other information. You flip through the screens by tapping the screen and using the Fitbit app on your phone, you can even customize what information you want to show on the screen and in what order. So in my case the first screen would show me my heart rate, second screen the calories burned, followed by my active minutes and finally the battery life.

I like the screen because of its simplicity but I hate the responsiveness of it. I have quick view turned off since I don’t want the screen to turn on randomly when I raise or flick my wrist, so to turn the screen on I need to tap it. Problem is, 99% of the time it doesn’t turn on with the first tap, 70% of the time it doesn’t turn on with the second tap, 30% of the time it doesn’t turn on with the 3rd tap either. I have to tap the screen a few times to get it to wake up and thats very frustrating. The other major issue I have with the Alta HR is that the heart rate monitor doesn’t seem to work when I’m sweaty which is when I need it to work the most since thats when I’m working out. During spinning when I’m curious to see my heart rate, I need to tap a few times on the screen to turn it on and when it finally would come on I’d get “–” which means it can’t read my heart rate. Then the screen shuts off again and I tap it a few times to wake it up and I get “–” again. Then the screen shuts off and I tap it again a few times and suddenly its reading my heart rate and showing “148” or whatever my heart rate is at that moment. So much work and in the middle of spinning its really unpractical.

The worst part is it doesn’t seem to be accurate at all. Saturday I ditched my gym and didn’t do any exercise other than binge watch season 2 of “F is for Family” and my Fitbit says I burned 2,995 calories that day. Yesterday on the other hand I had 45 minutes of spinning and my Fitbit says I burned 3,084 calories all day. It won’t do the one thing I wanted the Fitbit to do which is let me know how many calories I’m burning during spinning. It doesn’t make any sense.

On the bright side, it does seem to be good at doing one thing really well, monitoring my sleep. The Fitbit is pretty accurate in knowing when you fall asleep and when you wake up. It also uses your heart rate to monitor how much deep sleep you’re getting, if you’re waking up in the middle of the night and how much light sleep you’re getting. So if you want to monitor your sleeping patterns this is actually a pretty great tracker for that. Another great feature is the ability to vibrate when you get a phone call or message. My phone is always on silent and I tend to not notice it vibrating sometimes. Now my wrist vibrates as well and so I haven’t missed a call ever since I started wearing the Fitbit. Battery life on this thing is also fantastic, it lasts around a week of constant use which means you don’t have to constantly be charging it.

Overall though I’m pretty disappointed with the Alta HR. The biggest selling point for me was the ability to monitor my heart rate and let me know how many calories I was burning but that didn’t work out as planned. The FitBit Alta HR is selling for around KD54 on [Xcite] and KD59 on [Blink]. Here is a link to the official Fitbit Alta HR product page [Link]

A world-renowned tennis academy, run by the coach of Serena Williams, will open its first overseas coaching facility in Kuwait.

Tamdeen Group, the Kuwaiti property developer, has signed up the France-based Mouratoglou Tennis Academy for its upcoming Sheikh Jaber Al Abdullah Al Jaber Al Sabah International Tennis Complex. [Source]

The tennis complex is part of the new 360 Mall expansion and will have a combined stadium seating for over 7,600 people across two main arenas, each with the capacity to hold 4,000 and 1,600 people respectively, eight indoor courts with over 500 seats and eight outdoor courts with 1,500 seats. It was already expected to become one of the world’s best tennis facilities without this academy, now it seems like a sure thing.

Thanks bionicnomad

Here is another interesting activity I recently found out about. Q8 Pilot Gig is a rowing club that offer rowing lessons and outings led by certified coaches. They offer two categories of rowing, you can either do it hardcore and be part of a racing crew, or just row for fun and general fitness (social rowing). The club has 6 beautiful locally built boats and each can carry 6 rowers. The club isn’t based in any specific location but instead row out from different spots around the Kuwaiti coast to keep things interesting for the members. Once you become a member you will have access to the clubs app which will allow you to book from a number of different outing options. They launch from public beaches so one day you might row from Nino’s to Souq Sharq, another day you might row out from next to Corniche Club, it’s always changing so you don’t fall into a routine.

The cost to become a member is KD55 a month and that gives you unlimited access to the rowing sessions as well as training by the certified coaches. They row at least 4 times a week with sessions taking place mid week and on weekends, mornings and afternoons. So it’s very accessible no matter how busy your schedule is. On Saturdays for example they usually have 4 to 5 rowing sessions available for you to choose from. If you’re a Corniche Club member, Q8 Pilot Gig is setting up a base there for the Corniche members and the cost per month will be even less for you.

They offer a free “tasting session” before you decide to become a member and sign up, so if you’re interested in trying them out then you could contact Steve Lock on 99031123 or email them on [email protected]. You could also check out their instagram account for pictures and videos @kwt_pilot_gig

Update: I’ve posted a new update with updates prices and information. Check out that post [Here]

I noticed recently more and more gyms are opening up focusing on just one sport so decided to list all the ones I am aware of. If you think a certain gym needs to be on this list then let me know in the comments below.

The next step is for someone to come up with a membership plan that gives people access to a bunch of these gyms.

Combat
Combat Athletics
Sidekick Academy
The Hook
Vikings MMA

Crossfit
Circuit+
CrossFit Euphoria
Crossfit FDT
Crossfit Flare
CrossFit Q8
Desert Fitness
Microgym
Neon Fitness

Pilates
Arc

Spinning
Lyfe Cycle
Ryde

Yoga
Alive
Daratma
P5M
The Yoga Center

Other
20 Seven EMS Training
B10 SURF Fitness

If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to play polo, the Kuwait Polo Club offers polo training, horseback riding and horse training. The cost is KD40 for an hour, but if you’re interested in multiple lessons than you could negotiate a better deal. The price includes a horse and all the gear and equipment needed. The club is located in Abdalli Farms so you’ll have to commute quite a bit for these lessons.

Polo in Kuwait isn’t accessible to everyone due to its cost and location but its still good to know that if you want to learn how to play then you can. For more information you can check out the Kuwait Polo Club [Website] or find them on instagram @kuwaitpoloclub

Fly High are back with their aerial yoga classes. Aerial yoga is similar to traditional mat yoga but instead of the mat you’re suspended in the air with soft fabric hammocks. They last had classes in November and now they’re back again from March 18th to March 29th. If you’re interested, check out their website flyhighkuwait.com or visit their instagram @flyhighkuwait

Last night I was listening to some great tracks on my way home from dinner and somehow found myself outside the Entertainment City gates at around 10:30 in the evening. As I was u-turning to head back home, I noticed the lights at the TACK Cricket Ground were on so I decided to check and see what was going on. Turns out there was a cricket game taking place so I stayed and watched it until they were done.

The TACK Cricket Ground is actually pretty sweet, they’ve got real grass first of all which I love, but they’ve also got super bright floodlights lighting up the whole area so they could play at night. Super practical during the hot summer months.

I asked a friend of mine who’s involved in the local cricket league if there was a game schedule online and turns out there was. If you’re interested in watching live cricket matches, then head over to the Kuwait Cricket website and check out their schedule [Here]

Here is another new activity if you’re looking for something new to experience. the Mayadeen Shooting Complex is now offering archery lessons. The lessons are open to every one, men, women, Kuwaitis and expats. The cost is KD7 for 30 minutes and all equipment is supplied. Long term coaching is also available.

Previously, archery lessons were only available to Kuwaitis at the Kuwait Shooting Federation so its great that Mayadeen is now offering it to everyone. For more information check out the Mayadeen Shooting Complex instagram account @mayadeenq8

Thanks Rajesh

The Kuwaiti team on Saturday won their 8th GCC Wheelchair Basketball Championship in a row after beating Saudi Arabia 62-56 in the final. The winners are likely to be honored late Sunday in Abu Dhabi following the match between UAE and Bahrain for the third and fourth places. Saudi Arabia dominated today’s game at the beginning, but the Kuwaiti players managed to perform well in the second half, raising their points until the end of the match. [Source]

8th championship in a row!

via @AlMotizzle

Yesterday I was contacted by the Qadsia Fencing Academy letting me know they are now offering fencing lessons to adults. Previously when I had contacted them, the program was only available for children and teenagers so I’m pretty excited the program is now open to adults as well. So excited in fact that I’m heading there tomorrow to start.

Their prices are extremely reasonable, it’s KD40 a month (for 12 sessions) and KD8 for half and hour of personal training. So if you’re interested in trying out something new and different, check out their website for more information [Link]

Update: Check out the latest post for more current information. Link

Looks like the Kuwait Bowling Sports Club is nearly done and will be ready way ahead of the 2017 World Bowling Championship which will take place in Kuwait next year. I walked by yesterday and they had the lights on and damn the place is huge. In total they have 58 bowling lanes, 350 seats and nearly 1000 parking spots.

The World Bowling Championship takes place once every four years and the last time it took place was in 2013 in Nevada, USA. The next championship event will take place here in Kuwait from December 4th to the 18th, 2017. To see a large version of the picture above, click [Here]

Kuwait National Women’s Cricket Team is going to participate in the first ever nine-day UAE International Women’s T20 tournament from 14th. Dec. In Sharjah [source]

Kuwait also has a men’s team.

This past weekend the Kuwait International Jiu Jitsu Open was held at the ice skating rink and they just released two short videos recapping the event. They really gave the ice skating rink a proper makeover since the arena looks so good in these videos, like a world class event. Check them out.

Update: I updated the video links

Mishal Abul on the left with Lorenz Larkin, Audie Attar, & Ramsey Nijem

Back in 2012 I posted about a friend of mine on the blog, Mishal Abul since every now and then I like to highlight a local talent or achievement. Back then I posted about how he was a partner at Paradigm Sports Management, a US based company that manages Football, Baseball and MMA athletes. The most popular fighter they were managing when then was Michael Bisping, and I thought that was a pretty cool achievement, that a guy from Kuwait was part of the team managing Bisping. Bisping wasn’t even that big of a star in 2012 but this year that changed when Bisping caused one of the biggest upsets in the UFC title fight history to become the UFC Middleweight Champion. So the fact that a Kuwaiti is a partner in a company that manages Michael Bisping is already an amazing feat.. but that’s not even their biggest star anymore. Paradigm Sports now manage a ton of other high level fighters including arguably one of the most popular fighters on the planet right now… Conor McGregor.

Conor McGregor winning his second belt at UFC 205

Yup, a Kuwaiti is part of the team that manages Conor which is also how I got into Conor’s afterparty last year after UFC 189 (best wasta ever). It’s crazy! Their whole roaster of fighters is now insane, like no exaggeration here are just some of them:

Artem Lobov
Chris Weidman
Conor McGregor
Gunnar Nelson
Jimi Manuwa
Lorenz Larkin
Michael Bisping
Rick Story
Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson
Tony Ferguson
Uriah Hall

Mishal Abul with Amir Aliakbari in Rizin

In 4 years they’ve managed to grow so much and these are just their MMA stars, they also manage other athletes but since I don’t follow any other sport (except for Formula1), I’m not really interested in the other athletes. Mishal is also now a partner in Tough Prints who do most of the printing for the UFC Reebok fight kits and he’s also now the point of contact for the Japanese Rizin Fighting Federation who are exploding because of their fight matchups involving the likes of Fedor, Wanderlei Silva, Mirko Cro Cop and Shane Carwin.

Anyway, to most of you the above is going to sound gibberish, but for those of you who’re into MMA I thought you’d appreciate this random info. If you’d like to find out more about Paradigm Sports Management you can check out their website [Here]

Aerial yoga seems to be the current “in” activity to do. I haven’t tried it and don’t think I will, but it seems fun and it takes place outdoors so should be great to do in this weather. Aerial yoga is similar to traditional mat yoga but instead of the mat you’re suspended in the air with soft fabric hammocks.

Fly High Kuwait are holding classes aerial yoga classes in Jumeirah and the classes start from KD15 a session. If you’re interested to find out more, check out their website [Here]

Update: I thought they were ongoing till Thursday since that was written on their website, but turns out they made a mistake and the last day was actually yesterday. So it’s over now.