Former Olympian Heba Abdel-Gawad fine-tunes brain and body with .body//HACK:

An Egyptian Olympian has brought .body//HACK: to the UAE – a technique that helps optimise your brain-body connection for superior physical fitness.

Neural performance specialist and former Olympian Heba Abdel-Gawad works with client Tala Alkhadra to stretch out muscles in Murjan Plaza, Dubai. Sarah Dea / The National

The Egyptian synchronised swimmer Heba Abdel-Gawad, who competed in the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games, and her partner, Yousef El Fakhri, have launched .body//HACK: in Dubai. They focus on using the brain to get the most out of the body by reprogramming neural pathways through movement. The technique includes stimulating acupressure points in areas such as the feet and head to correct imbalances, strengthen weak areas and stimulate activity in underactive muscles.

Balance is the key

“It’s all about bringing the body into a state of balance,” explains Abdel-Gawad. “Dancers, for example, want shortcuts to flexibility, known as ‘hacks’, which this kind of work can achieve. It’s about training the brain to understand that ‘it’s safe for the body to go to these places’.”

The concept originated from a company called Z-Health in the United States which combines neuroscience with movement and performance research, but it is part of a bigger movement merging neuroscience and functional neurology with the physical, everything from physiotherapy to sports performance.

The duo have successfully used the technique to work with the likes of the Leeds Rhinos rugby team in the UK to aid their rehabilitation programming, as well as the Northern School of Contemporary Dance to help dancers gain more flexibility. Recently, El Fakhri moved to China to work with the Beijing Ducks, the country’s basketball champions, as their strength and conditioning coach, where he is incorporating .body//HACK: techniques to get the most out of the players.

From head to toe

“We forget that the brain and nervous system governs everything in the body,” explains Abdel-Gawad. “Rather than seeing the body as a simplistic bio-mechanic thing where this muscle does this or that, we are looking at posture, movement and strength from a neurological perspective because it covers everything from muscle to ligaments. It’s something that’s really overlooked by the health and fitness system.

“We focus on specific areas of the brain to see which part is over or under active. This is done by stimulating all kinds of different changes in the body. When the brain functions well, everything else functions well. For example, activating the cerebellum, the lower part of the brain, can affect the digestive system and flexibility.”

What the clients say

Tala Al Khadra, a Palestinian mother of two, has been consulting Abdel-Gawad for more than a year. She has suffered from chronic back pain since she was a child, and it has impaired her balance and ability to walk.

“Heba began by working with the muscles in my face,” she said. “All the nerves are so connected so it’s amazing to see what things like this can do. From my eyes to my jaws and neck, she tried different things but it seemed there was a blockage in my jaw, which she released and allowed my hip to unlock. She really knows how the body is connected.”

Jaeann Tschiffely, a teacher from the US, has been working closely with Abdel-Gawad since she broke her leg a year ago.

“At every stage of my recovery she has done amazing things to help me overcome the injury,” says Tschiffely. “Eventually I became stronger and fitter and had better balance than before the accident. I learnt to push beyond what my mind was telling the body, and to overcome some of the subconscious messages that were limiting my movement, strength and flexibility.”

Find out which exercise suits you

Abdel-Gawad says .body//HACK: is relevant in a place such as Dubai where people lead busy, stressful lives and tend to focus on doing stressful types of training. Experts can work out which kind of exercise or therapy a person responds to best by identifying weakness and imbalance.

“Not all exercise is good for everyone’s body,” she says. “We are all different and don’t fit into the same box. It isn’t as simple as saying this exercise is good for everyone and this is what you’re going to feel.”