I went on a Costa Rica wellness retreat organized by Petro Martynyuk in October 2014. I was…read morefamiliar with his work as a trainer as well as his active involvement with nutrition brand ETB / Eat The Bear, but I had never worked one on one with him and it had been years since I had last seen him. Feeling pretty burnt out from a nonstop busy period at work in New York, I signed up for his wellness retreat (which I found out about over social media) and figured I would give it a try.
How glad I am that I did. The trip was comprised of seven days at a grand, sweeping property sitting on the side of a mountain overlooking the Pacific Ocean -- all located in the middle of the jungle of Costa Rica. Petro kept each day structured with a straightforward routine that kept the group engaged - from fresh wakeup tonics to sunrise boot camp to simple and clean meals around a massive wooden table and evening yoga, there was a nice rhythm to the whole trip. There was down time for chilling poolside, afternoon off site activities when the group might stay together or split off for a bit, and even time to read a book -- but across it all, we were anchored by a simple schedule that never felt forced. Meals were prepared by a private chef, we all had our own personal space in king sized rooms, and the property itself is something out of MTV Cribs in its grandeur and scale. There's really nothing like waking up to a private balcony and seeing toucans out your window, or sitting on the edge of the infinity pool and looking at the Pacific Ocean as howler monkeys wail through the forest. It was really fantastic (and luxurious) to recharge in this context. The retreat was not just about disconnecting and relaxing; there was also an active recovery element of the trip that Petro designed and implemented across each day's activities.
His style as a trainer is direct, straightforward and ultimately efficient. His bootcamp programs were not designed to take all morning; they were designed to target key muscle groups and be as effective as possible. As needed, he tailored the program to individual capabilities and fitness levels, and explained multiple approaches to each movement in advance of beginning. We all knew what movements we were doing when we started, so no time was wasted asking questions because the instructor had rushed instructions. Petro kept an eagle eye on form of every member of the group, and his training was simple and focused -- thumbs way up.
Victoria Martinez was Petro's co-pilot on the trip, an ayurverdic wellness specialist and yoga instructor. Her evening classes were a nice counter balance to the morning bootcamps, and while the two types of classes were very different, each day began and ended with intense body-oriented experiences which, again, was a nice rhythm and balance to fall into. The yoga classes were solid, paced well and all positions, transitions and movements were explained at the right speed to follow along with live as she led the class -- no one was caught wondering what we were doing next, or what arm to move where, as can happen in yoga classes where the teacher isn't so attuned to their students' practice. Post-yoga head massages with essential oils became the unanimous highlight of every single day. Additionally, she taught the group a multi-day primer on the basics of ayurveda, its principles and core ideas, as well as its practice and how to incorporate some of its key concepts into daily life. I'm personally a skeptic, but Victoria kept it easy, digestible and relatable, which is not an easy thing to do with the subject matter. I recommend both her yoga teaching and wellness instruction.
Both Petro and Victoria went above and beyond to make sure everyone was comfortable and having a great time throughout the week. I'll definitely go on the next retreat that Petro organizes.
