The Training Room Fitness Retreat 2025

Nosara, Costa Rica

Dream Becomes Reality

It has always been a dream of ours to host our own fitness retreat, and we just made it a reality!

In January, The Training Room held their very first fitness retreat in Nosara, Costa Rica.

This blog post is meant to be both informative (for those who may be interested in our next trip) and reflective for those who went on this excursion.

Please feel free to post a comment on the bottom of this page!

The video above will give you a brief look at some of things that went on that week.

Our Vision

Our vision was to create an expereince that included daily “Training Room style” workouts, healthy meals, fun activities with plenty of time to relax, meet new friends and soak up the beauty and culture of Nosara.

Travel

We flew United Airlnes direct from Newark into Liberia, CR (about a 5 hour flight). United flight 1876 left from Newark at 7:18 AM got us to Liberia at 11:44 AM (Costa Rica is 1 hour behind us).

The ride from Liberia to the retreat venue in Nosara takes between 2.5 to 3 hours (barring any traffic or stops along the way) which was included as part of the retreat package.

The roads are bit challenging to say the least, but well worth the prize at the end!

Itinerary for the Week

Here’s the cliff notes version of our week including meals, workout schedule, excursions and more.

Sunday Night

The group settled in to their rooms at Castillo Colonial.

We hosted a cocktail hour on the lawn at 5 and welcome dinner at 5:30.

Sunday, January 18th – Dinner

• Rice
• Beans
• Green salad
• Steamed vegetables
• Fried ripe plantains
• Garlic mahi-mahi
• Chicken fajitas
• Beverage: Passion fruit drink
• Dessert: Tres leches cake

Monday Morning Rise and Shine!

First workout of the week was on the lawn (at Casillo Colonial) from 7-8 AM was a classic Training Room conditioning circuit.

We did 4 workouts on the lawn and 2 on the beach for the week which also included a hike to the beach and hike back.

As usual, there were training options available for all abilities!

There was also a hiking/walking or running only option.

Breakfast was served poolside at Casa Ojos Azul every day at 8:30 by our amazing Chef, Kevin who was going to be cooking our meals ALL week!

Here’s what Kevin whipped up for us…

Monday, January 19th – Breakfast

• Oatmeal & banana pancakes
• Scrambled eggs
• Bacon
• Fresh fruit
• Yogurt & granola
• Coffee, tea, orange juice

The rest of the day…

Around 10 AM, golf carts were dropped off for those of us who rented them for the week. This is probably your best option for getting around Nosara.

Late mornings and afternoons were free time to be spent however you wanted.

Some of us went to the beach, hung by the pool, played pickle ball (facility down the hill from our house), went into town or even headed over to the Bohdi Tree Yoga Resort.

The Bohdi Tree is a world renown yoga resort that also has an amazing spa and restaurant.

Each member from our group was provided with a $40 gift card to be applied for any of the Bohdi Tree’s many services.

Dinner was served at 5:30 on the lawn at Castillo Colonial each night.

Monday, January 19th – Dinner

• Rice
• White beans
• Salad with hearts of palm
• Picadillo (traditional vegetable hash)
• Chicken in sauce
• Pork chop with onions
• Beverage: Tamarind drink
• Dessert: Brownies

After dinner, the group headed down to Casa Ojos Azul (were we were staying) for game night with MB.

Needless to say, we had a blast hanging by the pool and playing a little LCR (left, center, right).

Tuesday

We started our hike to the beach at 6:30 AM from Castillo Colonial. Mike led the hike while Jim drove down to the beach to set up for the workout. We found this nicely shaded cove area which proved to be perfect for our beach workouts.

After the workout, we hiked back and fueled up for the day with an amazing breakfast!

Tuesday, January 20th – Breakfast

• Gallo pinto (rice & beans)
• Scrambled eggs
• Fried ripe plantains
• Beef in sauce
• Fresh corn tortillas
• Fresh fruit
• Yogurt & granola
• Coffee, tea, orange juice

The only other thing that was planned for that day was our catamaran cruise on the Pacific Dream around 2 PM.

So…

Some of use headed to the beach for a little bit, maybe had some lunch at the Sendero Hotel (highly recommend) which was situated a stones throw from Playa Guiones.

Playa Guiones was our spot! We rented a tent and some chairs from the Sendero for the day. This was also a great spot to surf, which Jim and Mike did. There are several board rentals close by as well as surf schools if you wanted lessons.

Catamaran Cruise

We boarded The Pacific Dream on Tuesday afternoon. Our host was Juri.

Both Juri and his team provided us incredible service while we cruised along the coast of Nosara, stopping to check out some sea life and for a quick dip in the Pacific.

Sunset was unreal as where the fresh civiche and pasta salad that the crew prepared for us.

Check out this drink menu(all included)…

Wednesday

7 am workout on the lawn followed by poolside breakfast!

Wednesday, January 21st – Breakfast

• Omelet with turkey ham, onion, sweet pepper, mozzarella cheese, tomato
• Whole wheat toast
• Jam
• Fresh fruit
• Yogurt & granola
• Coffee, tea, orange juice

This was a free day!

Some of the group went to the beach, visited the Bohdi Tree, played pickle ball, went horseback riding and fishing.

Kevin had the night off, so we were on our own for Dinner! There are plenty of great places close by to dine around the Nosara area.

Thursday

Lawn workout at 7 AM

Breakfast at 8:30

Thursday, January 22nd – Breakfast

• Gallo pinto
• Avocado
• Chicken in sauce
• Fresh corn tortillas
• Yogurt & granola
• Coffee, tea, orange juice

Some of us had an ATV tour planned through Tico ATV Tours of Nosara which was a blast!

They took us though rivers, up the mountain for some amazing views. We stopped at the beach where staff members served us freshly cut pineapple.

Thursday Dinner was taco night!

We orded 100 tacos from a little local taco stand in town called Tacos y Tacos. There were shrimp, chicken, beef, as well as a tasty breakfast taco. The guacamole was some of the best you can get!

Friday

We all met at 6:30 Am for the hike to the beach workout. Mike led the hike down while Jim drove down to the beach to set up.

Again, there was a “walk only” option for anyone not participating in the beach workout.

Hike back after the workout.

Breakfast was served at 8:30.

Friday, January 23rd – Breakfast

• French toast
• Hash browns
• Eggs
• Costa Rican sausage (salchichón)
• Fresh fruit
• Yogurt & granola
• Coffee, tea, orange juice

The rest of the day was free for beach, lunch, pickleball, Bodhi Tree, shopping in town or just hanging out and relaxing by the pool at Casa Ojos Azul.

Dinner was served at 5:30 on the lawn.

Friday, January 23rd – Dinner

• Rice
• Chickpeas
• Chicken fillet with onions
• Beef fajitas
• House salad
• Chayote picadillo
• Beverage: Watermelon drink with fresh mint
• Dessert: Rice pudding

After dinner, we all hung out at Casa Ojos Azul for some drinks and games.

This time it was flip cup!

Team Scorpion vs Team Sloth!

Saturday (last day)

Workout on the lawn at 7 AM followed by breakfast.

Saturday, January 24th – Breakfast

• Gallo pinto
• Huevos rancheros
• Fresh corn tortillas
• Guacamole
• Costa Rican sausage (salchichón)
• Chia pudding with almond milk
• Fresh fruit
• Granola
• Coffee, tea, orange juice

We had a few hours to relax, and pack up before heading back to a very cold NJ and incoming snow storm.

Ride back to  Liberia Airport…

We can’t say enough great things about our onsight chef team Kevin and his wife Maria.

They were both incredibly kind people who did an amazing job of fueling us for the week with the most fresh and delicious local cuisine.

Our hosts, Coltin and Grettel did an amazing job of setting us up for success, and helping us make a our very first fitness excursion a success!

We couldn’t have been happier with our Training Room crew!  The chemestry of the group was amazing, and a pleasure to spend the week with!

Here’s to fitness, fun, food and new friendships!

See you next year!

Pura Vida!