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Health Retreats Barcelona are in fashion

health retreats barcelona

Health Retreats Barcelona are in fashion

Recent surveys show that more and more people are choosing a healthy holiday

The Great British Public are, finally, changing their holiday habits. New research we are studying at Barcelona Bienestar, a health, fitness and sport holiday business based in Catalunya, shows that the number of British people planning a fitness holiday has doubled in the past year, with around one in two people considering an activity-based break as opposed to the traditional ‘fly and flop’ vacation.

The survey found that one in the three people wanted to ‘tone up’ whilst on holiday and a quarter of people surveyed said they would like to lose weight. In contrast, only one out of twenty people said they would want to go on a group drinking holiday. Separate research by a travel company found that staying active while on vacation is now important for 82 percent of people.

Most popular activiites included Pilates, yoga, boot camp, walking and cycling.

More and more people are saying no thanks to over indulging on holiday, and instead they are choosing much healthier pursuits. It’s way too early to think that this could be the demise of the boozy Brits abroad stereotype, but it is a very positive step in the right direction.

health retreats barcelona

At Barcelona Bienestar fitness, sport and wellbeing holidays in Barcelona and Ibiza, we give people the chance to get away from their normal life with all the associated stresses and strains on a health retreat Barcelona, and spend quality time in beautiful locations whilst also refreshing their body and mind. We have a wide range of holidays. On our detox, yoga and meditation retreats, clients immerse themselves into programs designed to make mind and body healthier. Our fitness holidays feature many different activities in both personal training and group training, such as boot camp, Pilates, boxing, HIIT and TRX. These are designed for all levels of fitness, and we work closely with you to achieve all your goals. We also offer sport holidays where you can try new sports such as SUP, surfing, snowboarding, beach volleyball, cycling, hiking, golf, kite surfing and many more.

All of our fitness professionals you will meet on Health Retreat Barcelona are fully qualified in everything they teach. Most countries are not as regulated as the UK when it comes to fitness and health instruction, so be careful when abroad. You can trust Health Retreat Barcelona with you health and fitness.

Health Retreats Barcelona can be designed to meet all requirements, so for example you can have a mixture of fitness sessions and trying different sports. Also do not forget that you are on holiday in beautiful locations, so the full holiday experience can also include day trips, city tours, time to relax on beautiful beaches, and also entry to the best restaurants and clubs.

The attitude that a holiday should be over-indulging and going over the top are long gone. We know that you can return from a holiday feeling refreshed, fitter, healthier and having tried and learnt new training techniques and sports. You can also have a personally designed health and fitness plan to continue to follow.

Pilates EVO Training Week Barcelona May 2015

Chris Hunt Pilates EVO Barcelona www.chrishuntpilates.com

Pilates EVO Training Week Barcelona May 2015

“Life is always moving forward, always changing, always evolving. When we awaken to the fact that we cannot stop or control change, that we should embrace change, then we are able to move forward as well. From this philosophy I created Pilates EVO. We should never forget our past. It built the foundation that our present so depends. But the past is not an excuse to stay still and not plan for a different future. I hope that you enjoy the journey you are about to start. Every journey begins with an intention and a small step. You have taken your first step.”
Chris Hunt, creator of PilatesEVO.

PilatesEVO©: The history
Since its birth around 100 years ago, the Pilates method has been modified and arguably made more effective by some distinguished presenters, but diluted and the basic principles largely ignored by less scrupulous teachers.

Pilates EVO©(EVO is an abbreviation of evolution) is like no other Pilates system you have ever known. Developed by Chris Hunt Pilates in London, it takes Pilates in a new and exciting direction incorporating more functional training methods and movement patterns, whilst staying true to traditional Pilates principles.

Pilates EVO© expands the mind and body element of Pilates by incorporating Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and Mindfulness Meditation techniques to maximise the psychological and physical benefits, improving concentration and making clients emotionally, mentally and spiritually fitter. It improves motor fitness such as agility, balance, speed, co-ordination, reaction time and power. Pilates EVO© also draws on the thousands of years of teachings from Kundalini yoga and meridian stretches to impact energy flow and enhance the overall experience.

It has more flow and movement with sequences of moves made up from the sacred numbers 3, 7 and 21, and it uses unique, uplifting soundtracks mixed in London by DJ Shameless to enable clients to really connect with how their body is moving and working, giving a far deeper and rewarding experience. Most moves have different levels progressing muscular fitness using repetitions, range of motion, rate and resistance. This creates a system that will remain challenging to a wide range of training goals from elite athletes, people seeking everyday fitness, to clients rehabilitating following accident or injury.

This system increases muscular strength and endurance as well as flexibility, and helps prevent injury and improve performance with movements that are applicable to life and sport.

Pilates EVO© is more than an exercise system, it is a way of life. A way to maximise your potential physically, mentally and emotionally.

PilatesEVO© Barcelona Training Week May 2015
You can experience PilatesEVO© in Barcelona in May 2015. This event is organised by Barcelona Bienestar (www.barcelonabienestar.com), who organise fitness and sport holidays and wellness retreats all year in Barcelona and Ibiza, and personal training.

Chris Hunt will be running 5 days of masterclasses and workshops from Monday 4th to Friday 8th May. You do not have to be a PilatesEVO© qualified teacher to attend, as all the information and training can be used by any Pilates or functional training teacher in standard Pilates sessions or in any type of functional training sessions.

The program of courses is as follows:

Monday May 4th PilatesEVO© Introduction update
If you are an existing PilatesEVO© teacher you will learn new PilatesEVO© combinations. If you are new to the PilatesEVO© concept then you will gain a basic understanding of the system and ideas and moves you can use in your own Pilates sessions.

Tuesday May 5th PilatesEVO© Tactility© Module
This is the most popular PilatesEVO© course which is useful for any Pilates teacher. It gives invaluable information about how to correctly touch and guide people during a Pilates class, ensuring that your positioning, corrections and hands-on guidance give your clients the best possible learning experience.

Wednesday May 6th PilatesEVO© Pregnancy Module
This module will teach you how to modify your Pilates exercises and sessions for all stages of pregnancy.

Thursday May 7th PilatesEVO© Rehabilitation Module
This module will give you information on how you deal with some of the most common conditions that some of your clients will present with and how you can best help them to rehabilitate.

Friday May 8th PilatesEVO© Advanced Module
Not all clients come to Pilates for rehabilitation. This exciting module gives you advanced movements for advanced clients.

Cost of training
You can attend as many of the training days as you wish. The more days you attend, the less you pay:

Cost for 1 Day: 59€
Cost for 2 Days: 118€
Cost for 3 Days: 164€
Cost for 4 Days: 199€
Cost for 5 Days: 225€

All qualified PilatesEVO© teachers (who have a minimum of the PilatesEVO© Foundation Course qualification) receive a discount of 20% on the above prices.

Pilates & Functional Training Convention
Immediately following the training week, you can attend Pilates and Functional Training Carnival on the 9th and 10th May. This event is truly unique in the fitness industry as all profits are given to a local Children’s Charity, Fundació Pere Tarrés. There is a full weekend of classes from International Presenters and the only charge is a donation of 50€. This is not a typical convention full of egos and reputations. This is the people’s convention and it is a breath of fresh air.

If you attend all 5 days of the PilatesEVO© training week then you get FREE entry to Pilates and Functional Training Carnival (Chris Hunt will donate your 50€)! All qualified PilatesEVO© teachers also receive free entry to the Carnival.

For more information on PilatesEVO© Barcelona 2015 training week and on Pilates & Functional Training Convention 2015, please contact chris@chrishuntpilates.com.

Chris Hunt is an international Pilates and functional training presenter and educator based in London and Barcelona, Spain. He is the creator of Pilates EVO©, bodyFUNC©, and CEO of Pilates Rehab Limited and Sport Core Strength. He also created Pilates Carnival and Fitness Carnival, conventions where all profits go to local children’s charities. He organises Pilates events, retreats, fitness holidays and sports holidays in Barcelona and Ibiza. For more information about training with Chris in Barcelona, please click on Barcelona Bienestar. To learn more about Chris Hunt, please read Just who is Chris Hunt anyway? You can also subscribe by completing the form on the this BLOG to receive articles and special offers straight to your inbox.

Chris Hunt pays all profits made from this BLOG to his charity partners. More details can be found by clicking on www.chrishuntwellness.com and selecting the “charity partners” tab.
www.facebook.com/chrishuntofficial

Pilates, cowboys and horse riding: Perfect partners or a load of bull?

Barcelona Pilates Holidays

Pilates, cowboys and horse riding: Perfect partners or a load of bull?

www.chrishuntpilates.com

It’s been a chilly week in Barcelona and London, although I know it’s all relative as some of you will be experiencing much colder temperatures. There were even some snow flurries today in Barcelona, which is probably contrary to what most people expect.

Contrary thoughts and expectations are the theme of my blog today, along with of course Pilates.

I was reading an interesting article this week. Let me tell you the story…

Two hours before he was scheduled to do battle with a 1,900-pound bull named Blurred, Matt Dunsmore was searching for bliss. A professional bull rider from Elk River, Minn., Duns¬more was competing in the World’s Toughest Rodeo tour stop over the weekend at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. He found a quiet corner tucked underneath the stands, and there, amid the solitude, he went through his yoga routine. The yoga was a must, he explained later, because he had missed his Pilates class.

Not the typical view of a rodeo rider perhaps. Not what we would expect of a cowboy? Dunsmore explained “We take this seriously as a sport. We’re athletes. I don’t smoke, I watch what I eat, and I work out every day. The yoga is for stretching my muscles and helping me focus. The Pilates builds core strength and hones my balance.”

We all know that Pilates can help strengthen the core muscles that riders use, and it will restore the body’s balance. Whilst Pilates helps with many sports and everyday life, the fact that its benefits include improved posture and muscle tone as well as increased stability for the pelvis and shoulders, makes it essential for the rider.

Improved core stability will mean less work for the rider’s back and improved independent movement of limbs without unbalancing the torso. The rider’s I have worked with in the UK and in Barcelona and Ibiza on our Barcelona Bienestar horse-riding holidays learn to concentrate and to breathe more deeply which can help control their heart-rate, and their flexibility will also increase. They achieve better harmony with their horse, removing imbalances that are commonly transferred between the horse and rider. Their balance improves helping with jumping, as does their coordination and stamina.

Pilates is also an excellent way to avoid common associated injuries such as shoulder and back pain, and groin strains, or to recover from injury more quickly. Most commons injuries are caused by falls or during stable duties. About 80% of injuries occur while riding, and these respond very well to Pilates as it improves balance and postural awareness which help to reduce the risk of falling. Pilates can also help to improve spatial awareness which means that the rider can react more quickly when faced with the unpredictability of their horse.

I want to give Dunsmore the final word today, after only lasting 2 seconds on his bull : “I’ll go home and lick my wounds and come back tomorrow,” he vowed. “My philosophy is that if I’m not chasing something, I’m not living.”

Chris Hunt is an international Pilates and functional training presenter and educator based in London and Barcelona, Spain. He is the creator of Pilates EVO©, bodyFUNC©, and CEO of Pilates Rehab Limited and Sport Core Strength. He also created Pilates Carnival and Fitness Carnival, conventions where all profits go to local children’s charities. He organises Pilates events, retreats, fitness holidays and sports holidays in Barcelona and Ibiza. For more information about training with Chris in Barcelona, please click on Barcelona Bienestar. To learn more about Chris Hunt, please read Just who is Chris Hunt anyway? You can also subscribe by completing the form on the this BLOG to receive articles and special offers straight to your inbox.

Chris Hunt pays all profits made from this BLOG to his charity partners. More details can be found by clicking on www.chrishuntwellness.com and selecting the “charity partners” tab.
www.facebook.com/chrishuntofficial

 

 

Pilates and Dance: What is influencing what?

Chris Hunt Pilates Pilates and Dance blog

Pilates and Dance: Have we gone too far?

I do not go looking for controversy, but I am not afraid to speak my mind either, and after all that is what a blog should be for. I certainly do not write articles to create animosity or bad feeling, so please understand that before you read this article or comment upon it. I write from my own opinion, so obviously you might think me right or wrong depending on your own opinion, but we all have the right to our opinion. I respect yours, so please respect mine.

With that said I want to talk about Pilates and dance. We all know that Joseph Pilates was not a dancer, and that in his early days he did not work to any great extent with dancers. It was opening his studio next door to the New York City Ballet that really began the love affair between Pilates and dance, and that affair is still going strong today.

We also all know exactly why Pilates is so suited to dancers so it is not my intention to discuss that here today. What I want to talk about is not so much how much Pilates has influenced dance and dancers, but how much dance and dancers are influencing Pilates.

I know many wonderful Pilates teachers who are former dancers, some of who were integral in my first Pilates experiences and my decision to become a Pilates professional. What concerns me are presenters who are turning Pilates into dance choreography. This means that I come across Pilates teachers who have only ever trained with certain presenters so their idea of Pilates is clearly and fundamentally influenced by dance.

So how should the Pilates method be taught to new teachers?

Everybody has their own individual take on our beloved system, me included (see Pilates EVO: From the Heart). I respect everyone’s ideas, and many of those individual “takes” are wonderful and enhance the experience.  But for me the basic principles are sacrosanct and so is a more classical grounding. I only teach Pilates EVO to teachers who are already fully qualified. I see it as an add-on to people’s fundamental knowledge, not the starting point.

I do not think it is good that people do not experience fundamental training and then different types of Pilates, so they can understand that different presenters do sometimes have very different interpretations of the method. I see conventions year after year that feature the same list of presenters, and whilst I am not questioning the value of anyone’s integrity, ability, knowledge or professionalism, in my opinion that can continue to perpetuate the insular beliefs and experiences in some teacher’s minds about what Pilates is.

So what is your opinion about Pilates and dance? Do you agree that there is some truth in what I say, or is your opinion different? I would love to know, so please share.

Chris is an international Pilates and functional training presenter and educator based in London and 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. He organises fitness holidays and sports holidays in Barcelona, as well as retreats. For more information about training with Chris in Barcelona, please click on Barcelona Bienestar. To learn more about Chris, please read Just who is Chris Hunt anyway? You can also subscribe by completing the form on the this BLOG to receive articles and special offers straight to your inbox.

Chris pays all profits made from this BLOG to his charity partners. More details can be found by clicking on www.chrishuntwellness.com and selecting the “charity partners” tab.

 

Lose weight, not performance


Barcelona bienestar: Exercise in barcelona

www.barcelonabienestar.com

Lose weight, not performance

Working as a fitness exercise trainer in Barcelona, I am often asked the same type of questions. In my blog I will try to answer some of these questions. Today I talk about losing weight without losing performance.

Many athletes and fitness participants wish to lose weight, either for health or performance reasons.

However, rapid weight loss can have serious health consequences leading to a reduction in performance.

Since 95% of dieters fail to maintain their weight loss within a five-year period, lifestyle management is the key to long-term weight management. Two methods that should not be entertained are crash dieting and dehydration.

It has been proven that rapid weight loss results in diminished aerobic capacity. Fat is more fattening calorie for calorie than carbohydrate. This is supported by a number of well-controlled studies. It is the over- consumption of fat, rather than carbohydrate or protein, that results in body fat gain. To lose body fat, you simply have to expand more energy (calories) than you consume.

Research has shown that a combination of diet and activity is more likely to result in long-term success than diet or exercise alone. There are no miracle solutions or short cuts. The objectives of a healthy diet and exercise programme are to:

Expand more energy than you consume

Maintain (or increase) lean tissue

Gradually reduce body fat percentage

Avoid a significant reduction in resting metabolic rate (this is the number of calories your body burns if you did nothing all day).

Obtain energy requirements from a high percentage of carbohydrate (60%) and a low percentage of fat (15-20%)

Achieve an optimal intake of vitamins and minerals

The key to successful fat loss is to cut your calories mostly from fat and to reduce carbohydrates by only a modest amount. If you reduce carbohydrate intake below the daily average requirement, glycogen stores become depleted which results in lean tissue loss, so is not a good idea.

Keys points for permanent fat loss are:

Set realistic goals, and write them down.

Monitor body composition changes by measuring chest, waist, hips, arms and legs, and obtain skin-fold thickness measurements by using callipers.

Aim to lose no more than 0.5 kg each week.

Keep a food diary. Most people eat far more than they realise or admit to.

Trim the saturated fat by using less butter, deep-fried foods, fatty meats, pastry, cakes, biscuits and chocolate.

 

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? You can also subscribe by completing the form on the this BLOG to receive articles and special offers straight to your inbox.

Chris pays all the profits made from this BLOG to his charity partners. More details can be found by clicking on www.chrishuntwellness.com and selecting the “charity partners” tab.

Personal Training in Barcelona


Personal training in Barcelona

www.barcelonabienestar.com

Personal Training in Barcelona

There is no doubt that having a personal trainer is the best way to maximise your potential and the best way to achieve your goals. Simply going to the gym or attending group exercise classes is for most people not enough to inspire and motivate them.

If you have an existing injury or problem, then personal training is even more important.

For this reason, Barcelona Bienestar offer personal training sessions in Barcelona. Some of our clients like to train outside on the beach or in the parks in Barcelona. Some like their personal training to be just that, personal. They prefer to work with us in their home or if visiting Barcelona for a holiday or vacation then in their hotel.

We will design a program especially for you to give you the best possible chance of achieving your goals.  This will not only include exercise, but also nutrition and lifestyle.

We use many different methods to challenge the body and the mind. So for our personal training we use TRX suspension training which uses bodyweight in a challenging group of exercises. We also use boxing, jump ropes, exercise bands, exercise mini balls, weighted vest and many other exercises.

We can help you to achieve long-term fitness and exercise goals if you are living in the Barcelona area, or keep your body in the best shape if you are just visiting. We can also help you with weight-loss or muscle/bulk gains.

We also offer group fitness and exercise training sessions which are perfect as a supplement to your personal training sessions with us. Included in our program is Pilates personal training and group sessions and also functional training group sessions.

So, if you are looking for personal training in Barcelona, if you are just starting out on your road to fitness, or you are a long-term fitness person, we can help you reach a higher level.

We are totally professional in our teaching and our business. We teach in English and Russian. Chris is an International presenter and trainer of fitness teachers all over the world. Julia is the current Miss Ireland Sports Bikini Model and a qualified personal trainer. So you will be in very safe hands.

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? You can also subscribe by completing the form on the this BLOG to receive articles and special offers straight to your inbox.

Chris pays all the profits made from this BLOG to his charity partners. More details can be found by clicking on www.chrishuntwellness.com and selecting the “charity partners” tab.

 

 

Demi Moore: Pilates and you are what you eat, no excuses!

Pilates EVO Demi MooreDemi Moore: Pilates and you are what you eat, no excuses!

I like Demi Moore. Maybe it’s because she had a hard childhood, maybe it’s because of the scene with Patrick Swayze and the potter’s wheel in the film “Ghost”, maybe it’s because she is an intelligent and likeable person who has stood the test of time.

I certainly like the fact that she does Pilates, and at 51 as the picture above shows, she is in an amazing condition.

Demi follows a raw vegan diet, so as I am a vegetarian I appreciate that about her as well. There is no doubt at all that to achieve a healthy body (and mind) we must look holistically at how we live and how we train. Diet of course is a vital part of that jigsaw. It never ceases to amaze me that people will train their bodies really hard then eat some crap food, justifying it by saying (and clearly believing) that “I have earnt that”.

The idea that junk food is some sort of treat is one that I find interesting and disturbing in equal measures. Here in Barcelona I often hear people say “have a cake, treat yourself”. What I am saying is if you want to eat food that is full of fat or sugar then I have no big problem with this, as my philosophy is everything in moderation, but please do not think of it as a treat or a reward, because that is dangerous.

We can speculate as to where these thoughts come from, maybe rationing in the war, but in my opinion, such an attitude is only (and quite literally) fuelling the obesity epidemic that is sweeping the world.

Another scary thing I hear people say is that eat junk food because their body is telling then to eat it because it needs some type of particular ingredient. And people actually believe this nonsense. Take it from me, it has nothing to do with your bodies nutritional needs.

Another chestnut I hear is that diet is influenced by blood-type. Particularly popular is the belief that people must eat meat because they have the “meat blood group”. Let’s just spend one moment to consider this. They must eat meat because our ancestors ate meat? It is no surprise that the vast majority of respected medical experts do not support the idea that blood group has any affect what-so-ever on dietary needs. Worry about your blood group when you need a transfusion, not lunch. It’s dangerous to be thinking that it’s due to 50,000 years of evolution that our blood type is the reason we feel the need to eat a certain type of food.

The moral of my story? Eat what you want, but if you want to be healthy then try to eat a balanced diet. But for the love of God, do not try to justify your eating habits with outlandish, nonsensical and irrational excuses. We are what we eat. And what you eat is not the fault or influence of your ancestors, World War 2 or the little voice in your head. It is your choice. Pure and simple. And the sooner you stop making excuses and accept that and accept responsibility for what you put into your mouth, the sooner you can start to change things.

Demi Moore: Pilates and you are what you eat, no excuses! I want Demi to have the last words on this blog.

“I have had a love-hate relationship with my body. I sit today in a place of greater acceptance of my body. And that includes not just my weight, but all of the things that come with your changing body.”

After decades of suffering a neurotic preoccupation with being sexy, Moore said she ultimately found that beauty and thinness never truly made her happy. “I had an extreme obsession with my body,” she said. “I made it a measure of my own value. I tried to dominate it, which I did, and I changed it multiple times over. But it never lasted, and ultimately it didn’t bring me anything but temporary happiness.”

I think these are wise words indeed.

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 the services that Chris offers in Barcelona including Pilates, functional training, massage, NLP, coaching and beauty treatments, please click on Barcelona Bienestar. To learn more about Chris, please read Just who is Chris Hunt anyway?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Barcelona Pilates Classes: Under the sun with sand in between your toes

Healthy Beach Barcelona 1

www.chrishuntwellness.com

Barcelona has everything. Sun, sea, beaches, restaurants, shopping, mountains, culture, architecture to name just few. And now it has professional fitness classes as well.

I have created in Barcelona, as a subsidiary of my business Barcelona Bienestar, a new venture called Healthy Beach Barcelona. People say that life is a beach, so why not make it a healthy beach?!?!

Healthy Beach Barcelona offers Pilates but much more. To maximise health and wellness, our bodies need much more than Pilates. So with Healthy Beach Barcelona you can get everything you need to be a God or Goddess. We offer functional and cardio training sessions on the beach and on the terrace in small groups or on a one-to-one basis. We also many other services including massage, meditation, NLP, life coaching, nutrition advice and beauty treatments including gel nails and eye-lash extensions. We offer everything you need to help you become the best you can be.

If you live in Barcelona then you can join us every day. If you coming on vacation then join us during your stay. Or even better, come to Barcelona on a Barcelona Bienestar Retreat and let us organise everything for you.

Life is a beach. Come to Barcelona and let us help you to be a healthy beach.

Find out more by clicking on Barcelona Bienestar or click on Healthy Beach Barcelona.

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?

 

The World Cup: Coleen Rooney, WAGS, and Pilates

Sport Core Strength Chris Hunt Pilates

www.chrishuntwellness.com

Any excuse to talk about football and I am there. I am a lifelong passionate fan of Arsenal and Barcelona. When I lived in London I was a regular at Highbury and then the Emirates, and now I am blessed to be in Barcelona watching one of the most beautiful football teams in the world. I played football for many years as a boy and young man, so applying my knowledge of Pilates to footballers is something I naturally enjoy.

Before the serious stuff, you might have noticed that the World Cup is almost upon us, and whilst the players are going through their final preparations, so too are the wives and girlfriends (WAGS). In the UK there is always s big fuss about the WAGS and their impact on the players.

Queen of the WAGS. mother of two and wife of England striker Wayne Rooney is Coleen Rooney. She took to twitter this week to tell us all about her fitness regime, which includes gym sessions, interval training and of course Pilates. She said “I always wear a bikini on holiday, they’re the first thing I think about packing. I have drawers full and I always take far too many away. But like anyone else I have to be careful about what I choose. There are certain shapes I’ve found that make me feel confident, so I stick to those. I tend to avoid anything too skimpy on the bottom half and I look for halter neck styles on top. My main problem area is my love handles so I don’t want to wear anything tight around my hips. Thin, stringy, tie-side briefs aren’t flattering so I always go for big bikini bottoms.”

With these inspiring words in mind, let me turn to the serious point of my blog today. I love to work with sportsmen and women. Whilst I get a massive sense of satisfaction when I see someone rehabilitate from injury or improve their posture, I also love to work with athletes to help them to improve even further their game. In Barcelona I am working with people involved in sports such as golf, surfing and rock climbing.

We are all very familiar with the benefits that Pilates brings, and specifically for football Pilates is relevant because it can help to: improve  flexibility, improve mobility, improve co-ordination, build overall fitness, improve endurance, build body awareness and focus, reduce the risk of injury, and help to rehabilitate after injury

Football demands rapid directional changes, often at near maximum pace, and the delivery of controlled power from unbalanced body positions. As our understanding of the demands placed upon footballers develops, so has the approach to training and injury prevention. The quiet revolution in training techniques is now not so quiet, with modern-day managers acknowledging the crucial importance that stretching, suppleness and flexibility gives their players. Pilates meets these demands perfectly, so an ever growing number of footballers use Pilates to improve their core strength, their co-ordination, mobility, flexibility and technique, as well as for prevention and rehabilitation from injuries.

Pilates is also a perfect form of warm-up prior to playing, and cooling down post-match. Any out-dated opinions of Pilates being a sedate pursuit for ladies only have long been extinguished, with many Premiership Football Teams including Pilates in their training schedule. The benefits are also used by other top sportsmen and women, such as the All Blacks Rugby Team, and individuals such as Tiger Woods.

Pilates is not only appropriate for the professional player. Youth players, semi professionals, and weekend players, whatever their age, sex and ability, would all gain enormous benefit from a regular Pilates’ routine.

I developed Sport Core Strength (http://www.sportcorestrength.com) in London and now in Barcelona to encourage more sportsmen and women to include Pilates in their regimes. Whilst working one-on-one is always a very effective way to teach (especially when most players will have their own specific issues), it is a lot of fun to work with whole teams as well, creating exercises in pairs and groups.

If you want to chat about Pilates for sports (including golf, football, cycling, surfing, tennis, skiing/snowboarding, running rock climbing etc), about Sport Core Strength, or about Pilates in Barcelona then please contact me.

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?

Chinese Medicine on the NHS? Whatever next! Pilates?

דיקור

www.chrishuntwellness.com

Chinese medicine could be available on the NHS if there is enough evidence to prove that it would benefit patients, UK Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has suggested. Let me repeat that. Chinese medicine could be available on the NHS. It’s not April 1st and I am not still suffering from an overdose of wine and cake after my birthday this week.

So, the NHS, that bastion of all that is traditionally British and not what you would ever describe as being particularly cutting edge when it comes to new therapies or treatments is considering integrating traditional Chinese medicines with Western medical techniques. Jeremy Hunt said his frequent travels to China (his wife’s home country) had taught him that it is important to “follow the scientific evidence” concerning Chinese medicine. He said that taxpayers’ money should never be spent on the traditional techniques if there was not “good evidence” that they would be beneficial.

He made the comments in the Commons on Tuesday in answer to a question from the Conservative MP David Tredinnick.“In your travels to the People’s Republic of China, what have you learnt about the integration of Western medicines with traditional Chinese medicine?” Mr Tredinnick asked. The Health Secretary replied: “What I’ve learnt is that the most important thing is to follow the scientific evidence and where there is good evidence for the impact of Chinese medicine then we should look at that but where there isn’t we shouldn’t spend NHS money on it.”

This is truly music to my ears, but why? As a Pilates teacher why do I care so much? The reason is that Chinese medicine can involve methods such as herbal remedies, acupuncture and massage therapy. The very fact that it is being discussed at the echelons of UK Government shows a huge shift in the way the Western world is thinking about health and healthcare. You could say that thinking is coming full circle.

I am Buddhist and I have studied Buddhism and spirituality. I am also qualified in Thai Massage. If you read my blog regularly you will know that I have a profound belief in the link between the mind and the body. You will also know that that I think tradition and science both have a vital role in our thinking. We all know that Pilates is holistic, mind and body. I have long believed that the mind connection is understated. This is why that in my system Pilates EVO I integrated NLP, meditation and most importantly for this article meridian exercises and stretches.

So what are meridians?
Meridians (also known as collaterals) circulate in each of us, and can be thought of as paths in which energy flows.  The central idea in Eastern medicine is the assumption that all physical problems are due to an inhibition of the energy flow and that the revival of this circulation can contribute to improving health and well-being. Meridian exercises can also be used as preparation for meditation. In a traditional sense Meridians are functionaries without substantial structure as most people cannot feel or see them. The discovery of the meridians was made possible only by a very sensitive perception of Chinese people and their close relationship with the nature. The twelve meridians in the YIN-YANG pairs are responsible for six basic functions. Six of the basic functions with six yang meridians and their associated organs refers to the more superficial layers of the body. The other six basic functions with six yin meridians refer to organs, and so are more inside the body.

It is my opinion that a knowledge and use of such ancient methods as meridian and meditation can perfectly complement modern exercise science and psychological methods such as NLP, which is why Pilates EVO includes all of these.

To see Chinese methods and also meditation (a future blog about this is coming…) potentially moving into the mainstream of Western healthcare is for me a wonderful step in the right direction. A shift away from drugs can only help us all as Pilates and yoga teachers as our holistic methods will increase in their value and acceptance.

If you want to talk more about Pilates EVO, meridians or Pilates then you know where I am 🙂

Chris is an international Pilates presenter and educator. He is the creator of Pilates EVO©, bodyFUNC©, and CEO of Pilates Rehab Limited and Sport Core Strength.  He also organises Pilates Carnivals, Pilates conventions where all profits go to local children’s charities. Read Just who is Chris Hunt anyway? for more.