FINDING SOME STABLES MATES

From farming to Hyrox.. Paddy & Anna take southeast by storm

- MARK MCCADDEN

IT COULD be an entrance to any farm - with old stone walls, a white painted fence and a narrow gravel lane taking you off the R772 just outside Gorey.

But as you navigate the boreen-style driveway, and the renovated farm buildings emerge in front of you, it's clear that The Stables is no ordinary patch of agricultural land.

Owners Paddy and Anna Syme have, over the past decade or so, turned it into the fitness fanatic's equivalent of a funfair.

Look to your right and there's an astro pitch that doubles up as an outdoor workout area. On any given day the surface could be packed with tyres, skierg machines, spin bikes or medicine balls.

To your left is a barn that has been converted into a gym. Behind that, a pilates studio and a yoga room, while one of the smaller buildings has been turned into a dining area.

Then, in front of you, is a huge building that has recently been converted into a premium and versatile workout space.

Around this building, and the fields behind it, is a running loop, part of the Hyrox training classes on offer at The Stables, the first Hyrox-affiliated gym in Ireland's southeast.

And that's not it. Paddy and Anna have developed a 5km obstacle course, with 48 obstacles.

"Think Hell and Back, think Ireland's Fittest Family, that sort of stuff. Ramps, water, rope swings, monkey bars, all that sort of craic," Paddy told Fitter Happier.

So how did this farm, which specialises in growing Christmas trees, become one of Ireland's must-go fitness destinations?