Switching up my fitness focus at Manoir Mouret Retreats in France
Sarah Garbett reviews a Move for Life fitness retreat in Andillac, where she finds a home-from-home manor house, new respect for personal training and recipes worth stealing
Landing at Manoir Mouret felt like returning to an old friend’s house. Owners Jack and Margaret Reckitt are friendly, informal and genuinely interested in getting to know their guests. I was there for a Move for Life retreat, which, I must confess, I’d already had mixed feelings about.
For a start, it was PT-led and a recent experience with personal training had left me underwhelmed. Exercise has been an important part of my life for more than 20 years, but committed as I am, I can easily get into run, gym, yoga, repeat mode, and realise that I’m plateauing, bored or feeling pangs of loneliness.
“Move for Life and retreating with experts and fellow guests who care about their longevity, rather than the number of squats it takes to form a peach-shaped bum, was just the personal refresher I needed ”
So, a few months ago, following a busy work period that left me feeling out of sorts, I booked my very first PT session. Maybe I’d overhyped it to myself, but the experience left me uninspired to bother finding another trainer. Naturally, I went back to my old routine, but deep down I hoped Move for Life would change all this.
The 1850s manor house and its grounds are splendid yet relaxed and homely. Views over the tiny but perfectly formed village of Andillac, vineyards and on a clear day, the Midi-Pyrénées, provided the perfect day-dreaming fodder and being mid-June, the spacious garden was blooming and buzzing with life. It was the perfect backdrop for me to take stock of exactly what I’m trying to achieve with all my sweaty endeavours, and to think through how well my current routine was serving me.
My bedroom was light, clean and tastefully decorated in a pretty blend of Anglo-French styles. I loved the vaulted ceiling and original, wonky exposed beams that ran through from my room into the en-suite.
Our group was mixed, mostly 50 plus, and included professionals, retirees and a journalist writing about longevity. Those arriving with any feelings of trepidation about a rigid, intimidatingly challenging schedule, were put at ease by the welcome meeting and sharing of motivation for the retreat by both the hosts and other participants.
PT and yoga teacher Asha Hibbert, who was Margaret’s trainer in London, led the fitness, with regular Manoir Mouret chef Hayley North heading up the kitchen and teaching qigong.
Asha is approachable, kind and fun to be around, someone you’d happily be trained by and secretly hope to befriend for a post-workout coffee. Together with Margaret, she had designed an exercise taster programme, exploring different elements of movement, with some decent chunks of downtime in between for recovery.
And so, we drifted through the five-night break without the pressure of early starts and a tight agenda, enjoying two guided exercise sessions a day, starting with mobility or a guided walk, followed by either resistance training, yoga, qigong or dance. Mobility was an eye opener for most, as the CARS (Controlled Articular Rotations) and other range of movement sequences reminded us of that our joints need a regular oiling. Resistance sessions were circuit-style, working in pairs, with options for levels of intensity.
Asha encouraged us, checked we were all working correctly and offered alternatives as required. The energy in the room was light-hearted and we all agreed that each workout seemed to be over in a flash. Having Asha’s professional eye on hand to give the slight adjustments you can’t see or sometimes feel yourself was invaluable, and the plank alignment she guided me into has been imprinted in my muscle memory. Her yoga classes were well planned, clearly instructed and combined a solid selection of basic poses, with the odd challenge thrown in for those in the mood.
We could also bench mark our fitness levels (a timed wall sit, for example) and set personal goals with Asha, and we could pick her brain as much as we needed to, one-to-one.
Then there was a Q&A with sports nutritionist and author, Anita Bean. Massages could be booked with an experienced local therapist. Some of us ran or walked the 4km loop through vineyards, or we collected around the pool for chats and rest.
One day we walked through the pretty countryside (known locally as the Tuscany of France) to the breathtaking bastide town of Cordes-sur-Ciel, where we wandered around the stalls and people-watched at the cafe in the square.
Days alternated between two and three meals, plus power snacks, offering punchy plant-based dishes and for those needing an extra protein boost, Hayley prepared some baked chicken and grilled steak.
Breakfast and brunch were buffet-style, combining hot dishes such as shakshuka, root vegetable rotis or savoury muffins with leaves, fruit, cheeses and Hayley’s legendary nut butter. Gut-friendly, homemade sauerkraut, kimchi and kefir yogurt courtesy of Jack were always to hand, and he would also swing by the local bakery to pick up fresh breads and pastries each morning.
Evenings began with a glass of wine or fizz (an alcohol-free version of each), or a mocktail (Jack even treated us to a wine-tasting on the terrace one sundown), followed by an al-fresco supper. The beetroot, black chickpea and sweet potato curry, coconut broth with crispy tofu and greens, and miso sticky toffee pud, had us calling for Hayley to share her recipes.
On the last day, local dance teacher Laurence dropped in to help us shake it all out. Her non-choreographed session, designed to free us up in body and spirit and connect with our fellow retreaters by simply having fun with dance, was an uplifting way to draw activities to a close.
