GO ON VACATION. Come back ripped. That’s the enticing pitch—to be an all-expenses-paid guinea pig for a new kind of luxe fitness hotel, Dubai’s SIRO One Za’abeel. What better way to celebrate the big 5-0 than by calling in some reinforcements for my midlife battle with the bulge? I book it, dreaming of my shiny new six-pack and feeling fitter already.
Only as I board my flight to Dubai do I wonder: What exactly have I signed up for? Kerzner International Resorts’ fresh-out-of-the-box concept promises an experience “engineered to power your performance.” Is that code for “fat camp in the desert”? Have I enrolled to be the plaything of some sadistic ex–Army drill sergeant? Breathe.
