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Current Affairs, Health and fitness, Travel

Fitness-und Sporturlaub in Barcelona, Spanien

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Personal training and fitness holidays in Barcelona www.barcelonabienestar.com

Fitness- und Sporturlaub in Barcelona, Spanien

Urlaub bedeutet für jeden etwas anderes!

Manche Menschen machen Urlaub in einem Strandresort, um in der Sonne zu entspannen, andere sind eher auf Abenteuerurlaub aus. Wiederum andere entscheiden sich für Sightseeing oder Gastroferien, um die Kultur besser kennen zu lernen. Manche machen Sport- bzw. Fitnessurlaub, um ihrem Hobby nachzugehen oder aber um andere Sportarten wie Golf, Reiten, Skifahren, Snowboarden, Mountainbiken, Kitesurfen, Wellenreiten, SUP (Stand Up Paddle) oder Wandern auszuprobieren.

Also wieso sollte man sich für Urlaub in Barcelona entscheiden? Ganz einfach – hier ist all dies möglich!

Die Tage der Pauschalreisen sind in Zeiten des Internets gezählt. Jeder von uns möchte gerne einen indiviudellen Urlaub, geplant nach seinen eigenen Wünschen und Vorstellungen sowie nach seinem individuellen Zeitplan, geniessen.

Genau dort setzt Bienestar an. Hier wird auf die einzelnen Bedürfnisse eingegangen. Es gibt nichts, was wir nicht für unsere Reisenden aus aller Welt organisieren. Barcelona ist eine unglaublich vielseitige und pulsierende Stadt. Wir helfen Ihnen, dies zu entdecken, indem wir einen persönlichen Urlaubsplan für Sie erstellen.

Wir bieten Gesundheits- und Wellnesspakete ganz auf Ihren Geschmack abgestimmt an. Unsere Fitnessaktivitäten umfassen Personal Training, Pilates, TRX, Boxen, weight vest training, funktionelles Training, HIIT, sowie Programme für spezifische Sportarten wie Stand Up Paddle (SUP), Fitness, Ski / Snowboard, Surfen, Wandern, Mountainbiken, Klettern und vieles mehr. Für all diese Aktivitäten organisieren wir nicht nur ein Sportprogramm sondern Sie haben auch die Zeit, das Meer, die Piste und die Berge zu geniessen.

Aber wir bieten nicht nur sportliche Aktivitäten an sondern auch Wellness- und Beautybehandlungen wie bspw. Massagen, Ernährungsberatung, Abnehmkurse, Mani- und Pediküre. Des Weiteren organisieren wir Kunst- und Gastrotouren, empfehlen landestypische Lokale und Trips zu den schönsten Sehenswürdigkeiten.

Wir nehmen Ihnen den Organisationsstress ab, aber Sie bestimmen weiterhin Ihr individuelles Programm. Also ein massgeschneiderter Urlaub – ganz ohne Hektik. Hotels, Transfers, Sportaktivitäten, Kultur, Ausflüge etc. – Sie entscheiden was gefällt und wir kümmern uns darum.

Unsere Urlauber kommen aus aller Welt, z.B. Amerika, England, Deutschland, Schweden, Russland, China, Frankreich, Italien, Holland sowie Australien.

Für weitere Informationen klicken Sie auf www.barcelonabienestar.com oder kontaktieren Sie uns für die Organistion Ihres Traumurlaubes. Barcelona und das Bienestarteam warten auf Sie!

www.barcelonabienestar.com

 

 

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How to make your Barcelona holiday a health and fitness retreat

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Personal training in Barcelona How to make your Barcelona holiday a health and fitness retreat

A holiday means many different things to different people.

Some people go to a beach resort to relax in the sun. Some people choose adventure holidays to explore. Some people like sightseeing breaks or a more gastronomic emphasis to immerse themselves in a different culture. Some people choose sport-based holidays to practise their favourite hobby or try something new like golf, horse-riding, skiing or snowboarding, mountain biking, surfing/SUP or hiking. Others might want music and the arts to form the basis of their vacation.

So why is a holiday to Barcelona such a great choice? It is because in Barcelona you can have every one of the holidays I mention above.

More people are choosing to have some organisation to their holiday. The days of the traditional package holiday may be long gone as people use the internet to create their own designer holidays, but more people want something constructive to do on their holiday. But they do not want a hotel-organised series of events or classes that the hotel manager thinks you will like at a time specified by the hotel. They want a tailor-made, personal itinerary that fits in with individual particular requirements and timescales.

This is where Barcelona Bienestar answers the needs of our clients. There is nothing we cannot arrange and organise for our clients who come to us from all over the world. Barcelona is such a diverse and interesting city and we complement this by giving our clients a personal itinerary so they can maximise their enjoyment of their holiday.

We offer a health and wellness package based around whatever interests our clients. Fitness activities include personal training, Pilates, TRX, boxing, weighted vest training, functional training, HIIT, and programs based around specific sports such as Stand up Paddle (SUP) fitness, skiing/snowboarding, surfing, walking, mountain biking, rock climbing and many more. For all these activities, we arrange time not only training, but also practising. So you will get time on a surf board, on the slopes or on a mountain.

But it’s not just physical activities we offer. We also offer a range of wellness and beauty services including massage, diet, weight loss, eye lash curling and extensions, gel nails and meditation.

We also organise cultural holidays including the arts and gastronomy, and we give advice on all aspects of Barcelona from the best restaurants to the best sights to see.

We take the stress out of organising your holiday, but you are always in control so you have exactly the holiday you want and need. We can simply arrange your activities, or on a full package we can organise your hotel, meals and transfers as well. What ever you want and need.

For more information, click on www.barcelonabienestar.com or contact us and let us organise your dream holiday for you. Barcelona is waiting for you, and so are we.

 

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Our proud Pilates Community; we are stronger together

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www.chrishuntwellness.com

Usually in my blog I try to bring a more light-hearted look to Pilates and health. I was going to write today about Pilates in Russia following my latest visit. But if you have been reading my articles over the past months you will see that I have a big interest in the issues of mental health and depression and their link to physical exercise. I do not seek controversy, but I am not afraid to talk about the topics that some people would rather ignore. I could write interesting articles about Shoulder Bridge, but I leave such articles to other people.

I lost my father to Alzheimer’s (see my blog “I lost my father, don’t lose yours” and I have also talked about depression and the link between mental and physical health in several previous articles. So it was with great sadness that over the weekend I read about the suicide of a 34 year-old Pilates teacher in New York last week, who jumped from her Upper West Side building.  My deepest and sincere condolences to her family and friends. I am sure that some people reading this article will know the lady in question, so I hope you will forgive me for writing about this tragic event.

There are suggestions about incurable disease and mental health issues. I have personal experience of the dark places that can lead people to depression and even suicide. I lost a close friend many years ago and I found it very difficult to understand how I did not see the signs. But the truth is that as teachers we are performers, so most of us have a great “game face” that we switch on during those times when we would rather be anywhere else than standing smiling in front of a group of people. As much as we all love Pilates and bringing our knowledge to the communities that we live in, we are human as well, so we have difficult situations to deal with and we are allowed to be sad sometimes. “The show must go on” is an old cliché but it has a lot of relevance for many people every day.

I love being a Pilates teacher, and I love helping people to change their lives (it is important to remember that we do not change people’s lives, we simply give people the knowledge and belief so that they can change their own lives). I also love the Pilates community. Sure, people criticize me and the things that I write in my blogs sometimes, and of course I do not and cannot expect everyone to always agree with my point of view. And there are also always people in every walk of life who try to make a name for themselves by being negative as they find it easier to criticize than praise. But everywhere I travel from Russia to the US, and every Pilates forum and group I am a member of,  I always have a strong sense of community, a sense that the vast majority of Pilates professionals want only to help each other, want to share their knowledge and experience.

It is for this reason that I love our community, and I always try to give more than I receive. It is also for this reason that I created Pilates Carnival, conventions that give all profits to children’s charities and where I ask everyone including the presenters (and of course me) to work for no money, donating their time and energy for the good of our community. Of course some presenters are horrified with this thought and I have been accused of cheapening Pilates and devaluing the system. Whilst I always respect the opinions of other people, I think these people simply do not get it. They are so commercially orientated they fail to see that by promoting themselves and Pilates in an environment that benefits charities as well, they are creating a positive energy that no money can buy. And of course it is not rocket science for these people to realise that if you do a Pilates convention for charity attended by over 100 Pilates teachers/studio owners and hundred’s of member’s of the public, you might just get some good exposure and new clients from the experience. But I respect their life choices, thank them for their time, and I simply do not work with them because they are not “my type” of people.

But I am happy that the majority of Pilates people are my type, they give more than they take, love much more than they hate. To paraphrase Lennon and McCartney, in the end the love we save is equal to the love we gave. So let’s keep supporting each other, looking after each other and looking out for each other. Most things in life are more important than money or reputation. Much more important.

In the U.S.: If you are contemplating attempting suicide, there are people who can help. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255)

In the U.K.: For confidential support call the Samaritans  on 08457 90 90 90 or visit a local Samaritans branch

Chris is an international Pilates presenter and educator based in Barcelona, Spain. He is the creator of Pilates EVO©, bodyFUNC©, and CEO of Pilates Rehab Limited and Sport Core Strength.  He also organises Pilates Carnival and Fitness Carnival, conventions where all profits go to local children’s charities. For more information about Pilates with Chris in Barcelona, please click on Barcelona Bienestar. To learn more about Chris, please read Just who is Chris Hunt anyway?

Current Affairs, Health and fitness

Exercising on the beach: Is it more than sandcastles and ice-cream?

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Healthy Beach Barcelona

www.chrishuntwellness.com

I am excited. Those who know me will also know that I get excited a lot, and it’s usually to do with either snowboarding, surfing, a new guitar, TRX training, ice-cream, or most typically Pilates.

Today I am excited about my new project in Barcelona, Healthy Beach Barcelona. I have said many times that health must be holistic. You cannot just run, life weights, eat tomatoes or even only do Pilates. To be truly healthy, sure you can do all those things and more, but you also need spiritual and mental health. And we all know the psychological effects of feeling and looking good. Wellness is a word that is used a lot nowadays, and for me wellness encapsulates (a word that is not used enough nowadays) the holistic nature of health. So Healthy Beach Barcelona offers Pilates (naturally), fitness, nutrition, massage, meditation, NLP, Life Coaching and a range of beauty procedures.

So why am I excited about Healthy Beach Barcelona? It is because Pilates specifically and wellness generally has historically been the reserve and the domain of more mature people, but with Healthy Beach Barcelona I am introducing many concepts to a much younger audience. Starting here on the beach in Barcelona. Which brings my onto the purpose of my article, what are the benefits of exercising outside?

I grew up with Aerobics Oz Style on Sky Sports, which is certainly not a bad way to start the day. But there are other more serious benefits, and I think the most obvious is that the scenery and fresh air (assuming you are not exercising next to a major road) simply raise the spirits and are great for emotional well-being.

But my favourite place is the beach. Sand is constantly shifting and changing, demanding various muscles in the body to come into play that might not normally engage on a pavement or gym floor workout. For example when doing Pilates, sand is on different levels, and you have to adjust to that difference which brings a new element to exercise. It also removes the issue of the hard surface on your knees. When you kneel on your mat laid over the sand, your joints are cushioned.

Running in the sand is also kinder on the joints than running on pavement because there is less impact on the body. I am using my bodyFUNC© functional training system for Healthy Beach Barcelona, and running and movement through sand forces you to use a fuller range of motion as it requires the body to move through a full range of motion, which stretches your muscles more than running on the pavement. Studies suggest that it is possible to burn up to 1.6 times as many calories for that extra effort. Sand develops the arch strength in your foot, the calves and all the muscles below the knee, as well as the quads.

However, a word of warning, you need to work up to a sand run or workout because it might be very different to what you and your body are used to. Start by the shoreline where the sand is flat and it’s packed down. When you feel comfortable, you can mix up your run by moving into the softer sand for a minute, like doing an interval workout, and then moving back into the harder sand. Tread carefully and go at a slower pace than what you’re used to.

Barefoot is a popular today (I have previously written articles for Barefoot Running Magazine and I will write about that next week) as it is argued that it is good for building up muscles in the foot and creating a more natural gait, as opposed to shoes dictating the gait. Beach running is a great way to try the method out. When I train people on the beach, I build them up in their running shoes by the shoreline and then the softer sand and then go for a short run on the harder sand with no shoes on.

Obviously there are considerations to be aware of when training on the beach. Look out for debris, such as bottles and sticks, wear sun-block, don’t trend on people sunbathing or little Johnny’s sandcastle,  and most important for me (see reasons why I get excited above) keep clear of ice-cream sellers.

By the way, for those who were wondering where my celebrity was today, my picture today is of actress Ileana D’Cruz, someone who regularly does Pilates and exercises outside. She credits Pilates with her health so that is how she earns her place in my blog today. Celebrity watchers can now relax. I nearly went a whole blog without a celebrity! It’s not possible…. 😉

Health and wellness are all about feeling good, and for me there is no better place to feel good than in the fresh air on a beach. If you haven’t tried it, then I recommend that you do. And next time you are in Barcelona, click on Healthy Beach Barcelona and pop along for a session, or contact me before you arrive and we can organise a beautiful retreat.

If life is a beach, then why not be a healthy beach?

Chris is an international Pilates presenter and educator based in Barcelona, Spain. He is the creator of Pilates EVO©, bodyFUNC©, and CEO of Pilates Rehab Limited and Sport Core Strength.  He also organises Pilates Carnival and Fitness Carnival, conventions where all profits go to local children’s charities. For more information about Pilates with Chris in Barcelona, please click on Barcelona Bienestar. To learn more about Chris, please read Just who is Chris Hunt anyway?

 

Current Affairs, Health and fitness

“You do Pilates? Are you gay?” Pilates for men, Landon Donovan and Moscow time.

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Chris Hunt Pilates

www.chrishuntwellness.com 

The World Cup is in full swing, so do we really need another football related story from me? I think yes, as it relates to the most beautiful game of all, Pilates.

My article today is (not for the first time) about men and Pilates. My celebrity headliner is considered by many to be the best player in Major League Soccer history and he is the national team’s all-time leading scorer, L.A. Galaxy midfielder Landon Donovan.

He may have been left out of the US World Cup team in Brazil, but he is still a superstar. As retirement approaches for the 32year old, in a recent interview he revealed one of the secrets of his prolonged success: “I do Pilates. I love Pilates because we do very specific training in soccer for the same six or seven muscles, but we neglect so many other muscles. So when I do Pilates it helps get all the rest of the muscles in shape and gets them working together.” Wise words indeed about our holistic exercise system from a top athlete and sportsman who has firsthand experience of the benefits Pilates brings.

So back to my headline and Pilates for men in general. I am just back to Barcelona (via  two days in London) after spending a wonderful 10 days in Moscow teaching Pilates EVO© to Pilates teachers, and as with my previous visits, I found the Russian people to be really wonderful. It’s a little annoying that I am writing this blog at 5 am in Barcelona because clearly I am still on Russian time! More about my visit to Moscow and Pilates in Russia in my blog later this week. Today I want to talk more about the ignorant attitudes towards Pilates that still exist today.

Whilst in London, I was asked the question again that forms the title of my blog today. I have lost count of the number of times people question my sexuality because I am a man who teaches Pilates. Whilst I take such comments as a compliment, they would be quite funny if it was not such an ignorant attitude. I am not gay, not that it matters, but I still find it interesting and disturbing in equal measures why some people make a link between men doing Pilates and their sexuality. I have some very close friends in the fitness industry and in the Pilates community who are openly gay, but there are also others who hide their sexuality, presumably for fear of suffering the prejudice that regrettably still exists in society today.

One of the (many) wonderful things about living in Barcelona is the openness of most of the people. There is a strong gay community and I am happy and honored that my Pilates sessions are popular with that community.

There are so many men in the public eye who do Pilates now, it never ceases to surprise me that there remains a section of society that is still so ignorant. I wrote previously about Dwayne Allen (see my article “Men do Pilates, ask Dwayne Allen”) and I could (and no doubt will) write about many other men including most football and rugby teams.

Such comments do make me all the more determined to continue to change attitudes towards men and Pilates. It is a battle, but it is one that we can and will win.

It’s breakfast time in Moscow now, Barcelona will not be waking up for a while yet….

Chris is the creator of Pilates EVO©,  and an international Pilates presenter and educator based in Barcelona, Spain. He is also the creator of bodyFUNC©, and CEO of Pilates Rehab Limited and Sport Core Strength.  He organises Pilates Carnival and Fitness Carnival, conventions where all profits go to local children’s charities. His business Barcelona Bienestar in Barcelona offers services including Pilates, functional training, personal training, wellness retreats, massage, NLP, life coaching, meditation and beauty treatments. Healthy Beach Barcelona also offers a range of wellness services including Pilates and training on the beach. To learn more about Chris, please read Just who is Chris Hunt anyway?