(Photo Courtesy of Ahmed Zaatar)
“You always have to keep an open mind and be at the top of your game,” said Safia Abdel Dayem, one of the coaches at Stallions, a local exercise group. The coaches there push trainees to reach the peak of their athletic abilities through a regime of high performance training, but as Abdel Dayem also points out, “We’re lucky enough to have an amazing team that supports and encourages one another. Then again, that’s what Stallions is all about, spirit.”
Stallions’ philosophy, according to Abdel Dayem, is to “motivate and empower individuals to reach their best possible athletic ability.” She added that the group sees that team spirit is important and this has created a “family like bond that keeps our clients coming back for more.”
Stallions is the brain child of Karim Ismail, who is now the group’s technical director. “He has been in the field for over a decade, as an athlete and coach,” said Abdel Dayem, explaining that Ismail reached out to some of his friends and they came together to create Stallions.
“Most of us coaches were regular clients, but all of us were ex-athletes looking for a new challenge,” said Abdel Dayem. She added that the coaches wanted “to see Egyptian athletes excel at their sports just by improving their overall athletic abilities.” The group decided to expand and managed to do so through “hard work, commitment, and planning and social media.” The group really gained momentum after setting up Egypt’s first Fitness Camp. Currently the Stallions Facebook page has over 2000 fans and is increasing all the time.
Stallions have three head coaches and two other coaches, all with athletic backgrounds. “We have a Karate World Champion, an Arab and African Diving Champion, Ex National Team Football players that are Egyptian League and Cup winners, and Water Polo Egyptian Champions,” said Abdel Dayem. “You can safely say that we know sports and that is why we focus on attracting athletes to our coaching staff.”
(Photo Courtesy of Ahmed Zaatar)
The exercise regime varies and is tailored for each client and “depends on every coach’s character,” Abdel Dayem explained. “Each coach deals with their clients differently because coaches have a completely different character than the others.”
The group has competed as a team in El Fit, Egypt’s only fitness competition. Stallions won 3rd place in the team competition in their first outing at El Fit but in the most recent competition they turned out in force and won 1st place in the men’s masters individuals, in the women’s competition they attained 2nd and 4th place and the team won 1st place in the team competition.
Among Stallions’ clients is the White Sharks swimming team. Abdel Dayem said, “it feels great to see how their performance in the water has been enhanced in less than the months because of what we do.”
If you want to get involved with Stallions, search for their Facebook page, Instagram and Twitter via @StallionsEgypt. The group holds sessions in three locations in Heliopolis and also relocates to the North Coast in the summer.
