More professionals in the Emirates are working just as hard, if not harder, after hours as they are during their day jobs.
In recent years, many have turned to fitness centres in the UAE that have started offering boxing training for workers. A "white-collar fight night" is taking place this Friday at the Habtoor Grand hotel in Dubai, while Haddins Fitness in Abu Dhabi is hosting a "corporate contender night".
Other employees are training to compete in group events such as the Abu Dhabi Corporate Games in November. Then there are those who prefer competitions with high-intensity challenges.
This week, about 60 fire fighters representing civil defence departments in each of the seven emirates will be competing either individually or in teams at the UAE Fire Fighting Championship.
The event runs through tomorrow under the umbrella of the International Security and National Resilience Exhibition and Conference in the capital.
Equipped with helmets, fire-retardant gear, boots and breathing apparatus, these men will have their rescue skills tested in a 1,393-square-metre arena inside the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.
Tests will include a "victim rescue" using an 80 kilogram dummy that must be moved more than 20 metres, as well as the "stair climb", which requires fire fighters to carry 20kg of weight up and down a four-storey tower.
"We will get - after this competition - the best team," says Mohammed Al Ahmadi, a former fire fighter for Dubai Civil Defence who founded the challenge in the Middle East. Mr Al Ahmadi, who is also the managing director of the private firm 911 Occupational Safety and Fire Fighting Training, saw a similar championship in Canada and has since hosted such challenges in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
He says winners of the contest in Abu Dhabi this week will be sponsored to compete in a global contest to be held in the United States in October.
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