Something for the weekend: Gloucester-based Hillside Brewery has launched a new one-day corporate retreat for fitness-loving employees and foodie fans alike with its unique Beer Pilates Retreat.
The quirky team-building day features an hour-long outdoor Pilates class, led by local instructor Samantha Lewis, with each of the flexibility-inducing poses allowing employees to hold their selected brew. Exercises could include abdominal crunches where staff clutch their beverage between their inner thighs, arm strengthening exercises that use the beer bottles as weights, or core-busting planks that see employees rewarded with a sip of beer after successfully holding the move for a minute.
The corporate retreat will begin with a freshly prepared brunch, which the lycra-clad employees will be able to enjoy on their arrival at the brewery, followed by a brewery tour to give staff the chance to learn all about craft ales and the art of brewing beer. After some essential product sampling, employees will then be able to try their hand at the beer-making process themselves by creating their own personalised ale, complete with a uniquely designed label. At the end of the day, employees will be able to tuck in to an outdoor antipasti picnic to refuel after their Pilates session.
A minimum of eight people are required when booking the the team-building day out, which costs from as little as £86 per person, and can even be extended into an overnight camping trip at Hillside Brewery’s own camping field.
Paul Williamson, director at Hillside Brewery, said: “No one likes the awkwardness of forced team-building if they’re really honest, so we wanted to put a new kind of corporate retreat together that encourages bonding with a whole lot more fun thrown in.
“Everyone loves to unwind with a beer or two, so we thought we’d maximise the relaxation stakes by offering a retreat that combines our craft ales with an expert-led Pilates session, actually incorporating beer sampling into well-known Pilates moves. Anyone taking part needs simply to don their comfiest exercise gear, get into position and enjoy an invigorating Pilates session [while] sipping their favourite Hillside beer; alternating sips with water to maintain hydration levels of course.”
Samantha Lewis, Pilates instructor, added: “Pilates is all about controlled movements to improve strength, definition and flexibility, so what better way to increase the challenge than by having to look after a bottle of beer [while] you work.
“We’ve created a Pilates programme suitable for all fitness levels and capabilities to ensure that everyone can take part, incorporating a beer bottle into a variety of well-known and new moves to allow everyone to enjoy a swig [while] they stretch. Water will of course be on hand too, keeping hydration levels topped up at all times.”
Here at Employee Benefits, this sounds like a perfect day out for the editorial team, although we cannot promise our balance would be at the required standard for Pilates after a beer or two…
