The Body Camp Mallorca: The ultimate transformative travel experience for body and mind

The Body Camp Mallorca promises that you will leave with a “happier, healthier lifestyle”.

A bold claim – so how does the Mallorca retreat stack up?

We all have a travel experience that sits firmly on our “one day” list.

You know the one I’m talking about…

For me, it wasn’t a typical bucket list destination or once in a lifetime adventure (I’ve always been pretty good at checking those off). No – it was a much more transformative travel experience that eluded me: I’ve always wanted to go on a fitness retreat.

Until recently, that is, when I finally took the plunge and checked into The Body Camp Mallorca. And, boy, was it an adventure.

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When I first rocked up at The Body Camp in Mallorca, I couldn’t help feeling like maybe a fitness retreat had stayed on my “one day” list for a reason.

I have a lot of wild ideas and jump into a lot of things I’m not totally convinced about before I can change my mind.

But, since this was something I’d wanted to do for years, I thought it was a safe call.

As I put down my suitcase and started looking around my home for the next week, though, the boxes of fancy dress, quote-filled walls and cardboard cut-outs of Harry Styles told me otherwise.

Maybe this is why it’s taken me this long to actually go on a fitness retreat…

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Why I put it off going on a fitness retreat for so long

It was all just fear setting in, of course. I was looking for an excuse and that random box of pirate hats fit the bill nicely, thank you very much.

The truth is I didn’t need any new excuses because I already had plenty. I can’t count the number of times I’d thought “I want to go on a fitness retreat” followed by all number of excuses.

I would love to go on a fitness retreat, but…

• I should wait until I’m in better shape so I can make the most of it
• I need to be fit so that I’m not the odd one out
• I’ll feel out of place
• I won’t fit in
• My gym clothes aren’t fancy enough
• Now isn’t a convenient time
• I don’t want to end up in hospital again
• If I hate it, it’ll be a total waste of a week
• There are so many other places I want to travel
• It’s not my travel style
• It’s not “me”
• I’m too old to start
• I won’t learn anything I can’t learn from afar

Okay, you get the idea. And maybe you can even relate to some?

For someone who loves new experiences – especially ones involving travel – I’d sure put a lot of energy into convincing myself that maybe this one just wasn’t for me.

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Why I went to the Body Camp

As it turns out, that fact alone made me the perfect candidate for such a retreat. The thing I quickly noticed was that The Body Camp is for everybody (and every body!). And the more you think you don’t need it, the more you potentially have to gain.

Even though I felt like the only person who turned up without out any clearly defined goals, I quickly realised that it didn’t matter.

Given the number of excuses I’d been feeding myself, it’s a wonder I actually made it to Mallorca. But The Body Camp turned out to be the best cure for the excuses that had been keeping me from doing it sooner.

Although my new “no more excuses” mentality has easily been my biggest takeaway from The Body Camp retreat, it wasn’t the reason I went.

Truth be told, I didn’t realise how good I’d become at making excuses for not doing the things I wanted to do. How much I’d been playing small. And how badly I needed a reset.

I went to The Body Camp for little more than the new experience. It was a travel experience I’d always wanted to try and the timing seemed right.

After nearly 18 months of cancelled trips, I was also nervous to travel again… and it seemed like a nice kind of pseudo-travel adventure. It was close to home (I drove to Seville so I could fly domestically within Spain), on an island I’d visited before and it didn’t involve too much planning on my part.

A nice way to ease back into travel without really travelling, I’d thought.

Add to that the fact that The Body Camp brands itself as a “holistic retreat” that combines fun fitness programmes with a 100% plant-based menu and a healthy dose of wellness activities, and the timing was perfect.

It was time to get out of my comfort zone.

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The Body Camp: not your average average boot camp in Spain

As I expected, I was thrown out of my comfort zone from the second I arrived at The Body Camp in Mallorca.

But never too far.

While I was certainly challenged physically, mentally and emotionally during my week at The Body Camp, it always felt like a safe space in which to be challenged. And that helped me with the thing I needed most: getting comfortable with being uncomfortable again.

The Body Camp is organised in a format that encourages you to give your best in a truly empowering way. The atmosphere at camp provides just enough support for you to want to give it your all, but lets pure self-belief take over to push you there.

The Body Camp has all the tough workouts you’d expect of a boot camp.

You’ll be living by a very strict schedule while you’re there (being 5 minutes is considered on time).

And there’s no doubt that you will feel challenged at times.

But somehow you’ll always be having fun.

It’s a magical concoction that makes you want to take part in the optional challenges, give every session your best and make sure those habits finally stick when you leave.

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Checking into The Body Camp

After spending the day exploring Dragonera island – and remembering just how much I love solo travel and the freedom of exploring alone – I arrived at The Body Camp sweaty and apprehensive in equal measures.

I was one of the first guests to arrive, camp was fairly quiet and I realised just how out of my comfort zone I was.

Seeing other guests begin to gather by the pool made me realise that I’d gotten myself into the kind of travel I usually avoid: lounging by the pool, rarely leaving a hotel, barely touching a camera or phone, and little room for spontaneous adventures.

It all felt a little… uncomfortable.

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I decided to embrace it – wasn’t I here for a new experience? – and headed down to the pool to join the group.

As I passed reception, I overheard a staff member recognise the person checking in from last year. And, as I reluctantly approached the pool, I walked in on several other guests discussing their previous experiences at The Body Camp.

Their previous experiences. That meant they had also been before – and chosen to come back again. In fact, one of them was joining the retreat for the fifth time!

There’s a reason so many of the guests at the Mallorca retreat with me were repeat customers. And, after putting it off for so long, I myself left hoping to join The Body Camp Ibiza retreat next year.

Why? Because, despite my initial scepticism, the energy at The Body Camp is completely infectious. The programme is well-designed to bring out the best in everybody. The community and camaraderie are next-level. And the way it all comes together is completely life-changing.

Over the course of one week, I laughed, cried and connected with 24 amazing humans with totally varied backgrounds. We all came from completely different lives, but there wasn’t a single sign of judgement, ego or icky cliquey-ness all week.

We were just a group of people focused on being our best selves while supporting each other on their own journey.

It was messy at times. It was inspiring at the most unexpected times. And, more than anything, it was empowering for everybody there.

It wasn’t long before I realised that my biggest fear of all – the one about not fitting in at a fitness retreat – should have been the least of my worries.

It would be impossible to feel out of place at The Body Camp because The Body Camp is just as inclusive as it is transformative.

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The Body Camp fitness programme

With a name like The Body Camp, it’ll come as no surprise that you’re going to MOVE. Each day starts with a series of workouts, followed by an afternoon of optional activities or “me time”.

Another one of my biggest fears was that I simply wouldn’t be able to complete the workouts, or at least not really reap the benefits. Again – and unsurprisingly – I needn’t have worried.

The workouts were as challenging as you wanted them to be, meaning everybody could feel the full benefit. Whether you’ve never done a burpee before or spend your weekends taking part in triathlons, the workouts will challenge you.

Every workout is different and comes with various options to suit every level: ‘economy’, ‘premium’ and ‘business class’. You choose how you want to travel.

Perhaps the most game-changing part of all, though, is that you’re never alone in your workout. No matter what you’re doing, there’s always somebody cheering you on.

Almost every workout was completed in a team or with a partner. You’re either working together to complete a circuit – and cheering each other on the in the process – or you’re alternating between completing the sets and acting as a personal cheerleader for your partner.

(If you want to “treat yourself” to some hand weight exercises or a little dance while cheering your partner on during their turn, that’s highly encouraged, too.)

And then there are the workouts themselves.

From the gruelling Sparta circuit to the iconic Body Camp Baywatch beach workout, every workout was a 40-60 minute session packed with fun, feel-good energy and a heady mixture of sweat and laughter (usually to the motivating soundtrack of 80s hits).

Alongside the high intensity training sessions, there are also plenty of stretching and lower intensity sessions to help with recovery and maybe even introduce you to something new.

Throughout my week at The Body Camp, I took part in everything from sunrise yoga, barre and sound healing to cycling and hiking in the nearby mountains.

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One of the most impactful sessions we did wasn’t a workout at all, but sure made a difference to every workout that followed.

It was a short reframing exercise on our very first day, in which we learned to banish negativity from our vocabulary. We stopped feeling ‘frustrated’ and instead started feeling ‘challenged’ and quickly started referring to ‘fitness’ as ‘fun’.

By the end of the week, they were no longer codewords. Working out was FUN.

If I had one reservation about the whole week, it would be that fitness sessions were always prioritised, sometimes at the expense of the equally valuable mindset and wellness sessions.

I’m keen to join the Ibiza retreat because I know that one puts a deeper focus on mindset and general wellness, but I’m pleased we got to take home a workbook full of exercises so we can complete them more thoroughly in our own time.

If you’d like to join The Body Camp and are deciding between the Ibiza and Mallorca, this difference might be something worth keeping in mind!

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The Body Camp food

The one thing that was never rushed was meal times. Each meal time had an entire hour set aside so we could enjoy our food mindfully, and that made that very clear from the start.

And that was music to my ears because the food was the biggest selling point for me. Not only because of the focus on plant-based whole foods, but because it looked absolutely beautiful on their Instagram.

I arrived with pretty high hopes – and it somehow exceeded them.

The food at The Body Camp was just as beautiful in person – perhaps even more so – and, most importantly of all, tasted even better than it looked. We ate five times a day and every single meal was 100% vegan, 100% gluten-free and 100% incredible.

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I realise not everybody would be so excited at the prospect of eating five times a day as I was. That’s probably especially true if one of your reasons for joining a fitness retreat is to lose a few pounds.

And while the allergen-free menu meant we all ate the same things, at the same times, every day, we didn’t all eat the same amount.

At our very first meal, they made one thing very clear: this is not starvation camp.

The Body Camp is very much focused on holistic health – including mental health – and they don’t once take your measurements or weigh you while you’re there. If you want to do that at home, you can. But you won’t be preoccupied by a number on a scale while you’re there.

On our first evening, every guest spoke to chef Ben to discuss their goals, requirements and preferences. We then got to choose if we wanted to be in lane 1 (fat loss), lane 2 (fitness) or lane 3 (gains).

While you’re allowed to move between lanes for the first couple of days, everybody is encouraged to “lock in” to one of the lanes for the second half the week.

At the start of every meal, the chef would come out and tell you exactly what’s on the plate in front of you, as well as sharing some of the nutritional reasoning behind it. And Ben was always happy to discuss anything at all.

Nutrition talks and cooking demonstrations meant that not only did we get to enjoy this incredible food for the week, but we went home armed with information to help us nourish our bodies for the long-term.

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The Body Camp? More like The Mind Camp!

Of all the ways in which my body benefitted from my week at The Body Camp, it was my mind that underwent the biggest transformation.

When I turned up looking for nothing more than a new experience, I had no idea that I would leave with a totally new mindset and outlook.

In all honesty, I didn’t really feel like I needed one. But The Body Camp gave me the chance to really look inward, be honest with myself and set about making some real, lasting changes.

At the start of the week, while everyone else was committing to the goals they arrived with, I had to rack my brains to come up with my own goal for the week.

I settled on “no excuses” and planned to see the week through excuse-free. If I was told to run, I would run. If I was served a food I’m not keen on, I would eat it. And if I was given the option to do something new, I’d jump all over it.

Little did I realise that that was exactly the phrase I needed to carry into my everyday life, and it’s continuing to serve me well one month on. Not just in my health and fitness choices, but also in my work, relationships and daily life in general.

I wonder how much of that comes down to that initial reframing exercise we did. Even now, one month after I rocked up to The Body Camp, I still see every trip to the gym as a ‘treat’ and genuinely have fun throughout every CrossFit session.

When I don’t want to do something, I embrace the challenge.

When I’m tempted to complain about something, I realise what a gift it is.

And when I’m feeling tired after a long day, I think about how grateful I am for everything that made me feel that way.

In a nutshell, The Body Camp gave me a week of fun, a lifetime of friendships and the tools to feel empowered every single day.

In spite of my apprehension and my distaste for organised fun – and disregarding the time I found myself in hospital for a month – I’d say it was my most transformative travel experience to date.

Want to experience The Body Camp for yourself? Visit the website to see upcoming retreats and book.