High-Altitude Boxing & Strength Camp in Bulgaria's Rila Mountains

Belmeken is a national sports complex, not a retreat centre: a large training facility in the mountains that hosts national and club teams through the year. The camp takes a group of participants for one week in late August and runs a schedule built around three training blocks a day. Mornings start around 7:00 with a first session, usually boxing or strength and conditioning. Breakfast follows, then free time — most people nap, stretch, or sit outside. The second session lands before lunch. Afternoons have a third block, which may be boxing, wrestling, or a recovery session depending on how the group is holding up.

The coaching team is led by Nikolai Gerstner, who holds an M.Sc. in Sports and Exercise Science from TUM and has competed in boxing and BJJ, and Mikael Moshfeghi, a boxing and kickboxing coach who won Bangla Stadium Champion in 2018 and has competed in MMA, wrestling, boxing and Muay Thai. Ekaterina Georgieva rounds out the team as a fitness coach and Pilates/Barre instructor who also teaches Yin Yoga and mobility — her sessions are the recovery half of the week, and they matter as much as the hard ones. Between them you get striking technique, grappling, conditioning, and the mobility work that keeps you able to train on day six.

Full board is included: breakfast, lunch and dinner prepared fresh at the complex each day, sized for people training two or three times daily. Transport from Sofia to Belmeken and back at the end of the week is arranged for you, so you don't have to figure out the mountain road yourself. Accommodation is on site at the complex — seven nights, in the same facility as the training hall, the pool and the sauna.

What separates this week from a boxing holiday is the location and the structure. At 2050m, the altitude forces you to pace yourself early and rewards you later. Being at a national training base rather than a resort means there's nothing else to do, which is the point — no bars, no town to wander into, just the mountain, the group and the next session. The swimming pool and sauna are there for the hours between training. The group size is deliberately capped, so coaches can give hands-on attention to technique rather than running a large class.

The week costs 999€ for the 22–29 August 2026 dates, including seven nights, all meals, all training sessions, pool and sauna access, and transport from Sofia. Booking is by application — you fill in the form, and the team confirms your spot. A special offer runs alongside it: bring a friend and you both take 50€ off per person.

What's included

- 7 nights at the National Sports Complex Belmeken - Full board: breakfast, lunch and dinner daily - 2–3 daily training sessions (boxing, strength & conditioning, wrestling, recovery) - Coaching from a team with competition backgrounds in boxing, kickboxing, MMA, wrestling and BJJ - Mobility, Pilates and Yin Yoga recovery sessions - Transport from Sofia to the camp and back - Swimming pool and sauna access - Small group with individual coaching attention

What's not included

- Flights to and from Sofia - Travel to and from the Sofia meeting point - Travel insurance - Boxing gloves, wraps and personal training kit - Personal expenses - Drinks and snacks outside the three included meals