Club Med Academies Announces New Fitness Director

Club Med Academies is proud to announce Idrissa Diallo, the new director of the Performance Program at Club Med Academies. Diallo, a Strength and Conditioning Specialist, will oversee the phusical and movement training of every player in the academy program. A native of Burkina-Faso, in West Africa, Diallo is from the Fulani tribe of nomads, which can be found throughout the West African continent. Diallo holds a Bachelor's of Science in Health and Physical Education from Southern Adventist University, and a Master's of Science in Education from Capella University. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (NSCA), a Licensed Sport Massage Therapist, a Certified Traditional Thai-Massage Therapist, and a Certified Reflexologist. His past professional experience has included work as a fitness/footwork coach and massage therapist for several professional tennis players, including Shua Peng, Vera Zvonareva, Victoria Azarenka, Kai Cheng, Jan Yung Chan, Vania King, Alla Kudryavtsva, Aleksandra Wozniak, Jim Thomas, Yelena Kostanic, and Lovro Zovko. He has organized and conducted physical training programs for top players in preparation for Grand Slam tournaments as well as WTA and ATP tournaments, often traveling with his players, and he had also organized and conducted fitness workshops for coaches and players of tennis federations in Mexico, Jamaica, China, Taiwan, adn Thailand. He also worked to help prepare the Chinese national and Olympic tennis teams for the 11th National Games and the Asian Games. He has also developed training curriculums for junior and professional athletes, and worked closely with top tennis coaches, including Bob Brett, Alan Ma, Guillaume Peyre, and physical therapist Kerry Brooke (who has worked with Venus and Serena Williams).

Club Med Academies Featured in Fitness Magazine

The world-class training opportunities available at Club Med Academies were highlighted in the current issue of Fitness magazine. In the July/August issue of Fitness, a piece entitled “What a Trip: Game On!,” Club Med Academies was listed as one of the top summer vacation destinations for sports enthusiasts. The story listed the Academies’ lineup of world-renowned athletes as one of the main attractions, including a 5-time Ironman champ, an LPGA masters professional, and a tennis coach who has trained eight number-one players.

TCPalm Features Club Med Academies

An in-depth feature story about Club Med Sandpiper Bay in the June 14, 2011 edition of TCPalm covered all aspects of the resort, including the facilities’ history as the area’s first country club, the renovations, and of course the establishment of the sports academies. The story highlighting the Academies’ featured Kyle Zugelter, a Vero Beach player who credits Club Med Academies Tennis’s world class tennis training program with landing him a coveted tennis scholarship at Division II Eckerd College. In the story, Zugelter states that the Club Med Academies’ advantage is that “you have everyone playing at a high level with great coaching, and that makes it tick.”

Club Med Academies has also developed top-notch training programs in golf and fitness, the article states, and is expanding these programs over the next nine months. The current $1.5 million renovation includes improvements to the golf course and a new fitness center. These improvements are slated to be done in March. “With the development of the three academies, Club Med hopes to show a re-energized focus on fitness and sports, whether it be for the casual guest participating in all-inclusive group activities while on vacation or full-time students and adults seeking long-term training,” the article states.

The story also highlights the impressive career of five-time Ironman winner Heather Gollnick, who, along with husband Todd, head up the fitness academy, with nutrition, fitness and triathlon instruction.
For the full story, click here.

Broadway Bodies Comes to Club Med

Are you over aerobics? Need to bump up your boring cardio routine? Then check out Broadway Bodies' limited engagement at Club Med Fitness Academies. For one week only, starting Monday June 12, the New York City-based exercise/dance phenomenon will be taking Club Med Academies by storm, offering daily classes and workshops. Even if you're beach bound and not Broadway bound, you will enjoy these energizing aerobic workouts set to your favorite show tunes. Belt it out while you work out, and pick up a few new dance moves along the way. For more information on Broadway Bodies, go to http://broadwaybodies.com/. For more information, or to book your stay, call 888.WEB.CLUB.

Insider Tip from Top Fitness Trainer

Tina, one of the top trainers at Club Med Academies Fitness, offers this tip to step up your fitness routine: “Try mixing up your fitness routine. For example, change up your cardio, and instead of the treadmill try a spin class or do more of a super-set workout instead of regular sets for weight training. Not only will this shock your body, but it will also help you avoid falling into the same patterns for your workouts.”