Tag Archives: barcelona bienestar

Health and fitness, Travel

Ретрит, фитнесс и спорт туры в Барселоне и на острове Ибица!

Barcelona Bienestar Free Holidays Russian

Бесплатные Ретрит, фитнесс и спорт туры в Барселоне и на острове Ибица!

Ретрит, фитнесс или спорт тур в Барселоне или на о.Ибица бесплатно !? Определённо, в современном мире ничего не бывает задаром и сложно представить, как можно получить бесплатно что-то качественое и без обмана. Возможно! Barcelona Bienestar предлагает вам прекрасную возможность, приложив немного усилий, получить бесплатно фитнесс или спорт тур в Барселоне или на Ибице!
Начнем со знакомства. Что такое Barcelona Bienestar? Что означает «bienestar»?
В переводе с испанского «bienestar» – благосостояние. Устаревшее значение этого слова – хорошее физическое, душевное состояние и это именно то, что мы предлагаем людям из всех уголков мира. Компания Barcelona Bienestar, эксперты в организации ретрит, фитнесс и спорт туров в Барселоне и на Ибице. Barcelona Bienestar предлагает составление на заказ VIP-туров для клиентов со всего мира! Нашими услугами пользуются турасты из многих стран, включая Россию, США, Китай, Гернанию, Францию, Италию, Англию, Канаду, Бразилию, Латвию, Литву, Австралию и Тайланд. Почему? Ответ прост, все любят Барселону и обожают Ибицу! Что может быть лучше поездки на отдых в любимое место, которая будет включать в себя здоровье, фитнес и спорт!

И так, что же мы предлагаем нашим клиентам? Да всё, что они захотят! Фитнес, спорт, рестораны, уютные загородные домики, ночные клубы, круизы на красивых яхтах. Мы говорим на Русском, Английском и Испанском языках.

Спорт.
Barcelona Bienestar предлагает широкий спектр спортивных развлечений: серфинг, SUP-серф, сноуборд, катание на лыжах, горные велосипеды, кайт – серфинг, скалолазание, гольф, дайвинг, пешие прогулки и теннис. Если вы хотите освоить что-то новое для себя, мы обеспечим вам ежедневные спец тренировки и практические занятия по выбранному вами спорту.

Фитнес.
Mы помогаем нашим клиентам достичь поставленной цели и намеченных планов, будь то кардио фитнес, наращивание мышечной массы, коррекция и снижение веса. Проводя групповые и персональные тренировки мы используем различные техники для получения наилучших результатов. Пилатес, йога, бокс, табата, гири, TRX, HIIT, утяжеляющий желет, круговые тренировки и многое другое. Ваши тренировки могут проходить, как в помещении, так и на улице – пляжи, парки, горы и т.д.

Ретрит.
Мы предлагаем:
1. Лидерство
2. Тимбилдинг
3. Корпоративный отдых
4. Детокс
5. Медитации
6. Оздоровление
7. Снижение веса
8. НЛП
9. Лайф коучинг

Выбирайте, что по душе и в любом количестве.

Наши тур-пакеты.
В организации вашей поездки мы вам поможем на столько, на сколько это будет нужно. Ваша задача купить билет на самолёт, а все остальные организационные заботы мы возьмём на себя. Мы можем подобрать вам шикарный отель, коттедж или апартаменты в соответствии с вашим бюджетом. Barcelona Bienestar также предлагает: детокс программы и план питания, после ежедневных фитнес или спорт программ у вас будет достаточно времени на приключения, наслаждение и расслабление. Мы поможем взять в аренду машину или велосипед, расскажем о лучших пляжах и местах, которые стоит посетить, а также лучших ресторанах и дискотеках Барселоны и Ибицы. Мы знаем как работать, мы знаем как отдыхать.
Чтобы запечетлеть прекрасные моменты вашего путешествия, у нас есть для вас фотограф. Для вас мы можем организовать экскурсии, записать вас на массаж или сеанс физиотерапии. Возможно всё!

Даже по окончанию вашего путешествия по спорт или фитнесс програме в Барселоне или на Ибице, работа Barcelona Bienestar не заканчивается! Мы предлагаем онлайн программы, чтобы вы могли поддерживать полученый результат или продолжать работу над собой, сохранив хорошие привычки.
Бесплатное путешествие.

И так, как же получить бесплатный тур? Очень просто!
Первое, поставь Нравится/ Like и Поделись/ Share нашей FACEBOOK страницей или добавляйся в Друзья на VK и делись нашими постами. Мы смотрим!
https://www.facebook.com/barcelonabienestarholidays
http://vk.com/id277248007

Второе. Если ты тренер или хозяин клуба, собери группу своих клиентов (минимум 8 человек) в один из туров Barcelona Bienestar в Барселону или на Ибицу и получи бесплатное место в этом туре! Если ты квалифицированный, опытный тренер мы можем включить тебя в программу тура и если нам понравится то, чем ты занимаешься, мы можем вновь пригласить тебя в Барселону или на Ибицу, как одного из наших тренеров.
Если же ты не тренер, но преверженец здорового образа жизни и/или занимаешься спортом, собери группу друзей и единомышленников (минимум 8 человек), и наслаждайся выбраным вами туром в Барселолне или на Ибице бесплатно! Всё что тебе нужно, привези ссобой 8 или больше друзей и ты получишь свой тур БЕСПЛАТНО!
Для этого специального предложения Barcelona Bienester в 2015 году у нас ограниченное количество свободных недель, по этому спешите связаться с нами чтобы обсудить детали и начать планировать тур вашей мечты.
Твоё путешествие в Барселону или на Ибицу станет незабываемым! Помни, когда выбираешь Barcelona Bienestar, TODO ES POSIBLE!

 

Health and fitness, Travel

Team building and corporate holidays in Barcelona and Ibiza


Team Building in Barcelona and Ibiza

www.barcelonabienestar.com

Team building and corporate holidays in Barcelona and Ibiza

Barcelona Bienestar do not only offer sport and fitness holidays to Barcelona and Ibiza. We also offer team building and corporate holidays and retreats. Can you think of better place to improve your team?

What is team building?
Team building has changed over the years, and so has the places it is done. If your company still goes paintballing, then you need to read on.

Team building has four main components:

1) Goal setting: aligning around goals
2) Interpersonal-relationship management: building effective working relationships
3) Role clarification: reducing ambiguity
4) Problem solving: finding solutions to team problems

Team building has been proved to have positive effects on cognitive, affective, process and performance team outcomes. In fact, team building has the strongest effect on affective and process outcomes, and the largest effect on financial measures of organisational performance. Recent meta-analyses show team building improves both a team’s objective performance and supervisory subjective rating on performance.

Team building aims to enhance social relations and clarify team member’s roles as well as solving task and interpersonal problems that affect team functioning. Team building has always been about a group process intervention aimed at improving interpersonal relations and social interactions. But we at Barcelona Bienestar have developed it into much more, including achieving results, meeting goals and accomplishing tasks. It’s not about target-based competencies, and it’s not usually formal or systematic in nature.

Why choose Barcelona Bienestar for your team building experience?
We offer activities that encourage teams to engage and change its context, composition and team competencies to improve performance. Team building is not the same as training. It is not usually done in the settings that are not the actual environment where the team usually works, and there can be few settings that are as inspiring and motivating as Barcelona and Ibiza.

So which type of teams are our clients? Whilst the theory and practise of organisational development makes it perfect for office or shop-floor based industries, it can also be successfully applied to many other groups from sports teams to school groups.

Your team building experience should be all about your organisation and its needs. It should never be a “one size fits all” package. It must be tailor-made to fit you. This is where Barcelona Bienestar offers something very special. We do not start with a standard program. We start with a blank piece of paper. We have all the ideas, but it your choice as to how and what we do to achieve your specific goals. Because we are the experts in sport and fitness holidays in Barcelona and Ibiza, we can also integrate events such as SUP (stand up paddle), rock climbing, hiking and many other activities that will test your staff both mentally and physically, individually and as part of a team.

If you are thinking that all this sounds great, but it will come at a price that is too expensive for your budget, then think again. The cost of one of our team building experiences in Barcelona and Ibiza is comparable to inferior events in your own country.
We have a wide range of accommodation from farmhouses to hotels, so the facilities, range of accommodation and the weather really does make Barcelona and Ibiza first class venues for your next team building or corporate event. We also arrange excursions, nights out and shows if you want to add more life to your stay. Barcelona Bienestar can make your event come to life.

To organise your event, please contact our corporate team who will be delighted to assist you.

 

 

Health and fitness, Travel

Free Retreats, Fitness and Sports holidays in Barcelona and Ibiza!

Barcelona Ibiza Free Holiday

www.barcelonabienestar.com

Free Retreats, Fitness and Sports holidays in Barcelona and Ibiza!

Free Retreats, fitness and sports holidays in Barcelona and Ibiza? Really? Surely in this day and age nothing comes for free, afterall, there’s no such thing as a free lunch? Maybe, but here is a wonderful opportunity that for just a little effort, you can get yourself a free fitness or sport holiday in Barcelona or Ibiza.

Who are Barcelona Bienestar?
First things first, who are Barcelona Bienestar and what does bienestar mean? It’s Spanish for “wellness”, and it’s what we offer to people from all over the world. Barcelona Bienestar are the experts in retreats, fitness and sports holidays to Barcelona and Ibiza. We offer a VIP tailor-made service to clients from all over the world. Our clients have visited us from places including Russia, the USA, China, Germany, France, Italy, the UK, Canada, Brazil, Latvia, Australia and Thailand. Why? Because everyone loves Barcelona and Ibiza! They are on most people’s wish-lists for a vacation, so what better than a dream holiday that includes health, fitness and sport?

So what do we offer our multi-national clients? Simple answer is anything they want. We have no barriers, no limitations. We have never failed to deliver exactly what our clients ask for. From fitness, sports, restaurants, secluded farmhouses, night-club entry to privates cruises on a beautiful yacht. We teach in English, Spanish and Russian. Todo es posible as we like to say in Spain.

Sports
We offer an amazing range of sports because in and around Barcelona and Ibiza there are so many possibilities. Sports we specialise in include surfing, SUP, snowboarding, skiing, mountain biking, kite surfing, rock climbing, hiking, golf, football, scuba diving and tennis. Our holidays will give you the chance to have specialist training for the sports of your choice, and also the chance to take part in that sport, everyday of your holiday if you wish. So if you want to learn a new sport, or get better at a sport you already love, then we can help.

Fitness
We help our clients to achieve many different fitness goals including cardio fitness, muscle gain, weight loss, and we love to teach people new techniques. We use many different methods including personal training, group training, Pilates, yoga, HIIT, TRX, body weight training, boxing, kettlebells, tabata, weighted vests, circuit training and many more. We can train you inside, or even better outside. We use quiet secluded places, and we use the beach, parks and the mountains.

Retreats
We offer a wide range of retreats including:
1) Leadership
2) Teambuilding
3) Corporate
4) Detox
5) Meditation
6) Wellness
7) Weightloss
8) NLP
9) Life coaching

We work with many businesses to orgainse leadership and teambuilding events that are always very popular. You are free to choose one or many of these activities to make your retreat perfect.

Our Packages
We can help organise as much or as little of your holiday as you wish. You only have a to organise your flights and we can do all the rest. We can arrange accommodation to suit your budget and your needs, from private farmhouses to beautiful hotels. We can give you a special diet or detox. Even after your daily program of sport and fitness, there will still be plenty of time to explore, enjoy and relax. We will help you hire a car or even better a bike. We will tell you the best beaches in around Barcelona and Ibiza, and the best restaurants. We can usually get you a reduced or free entry into the best discos, bars and places to dance all night. We know how to train hard, but we also know how to play hard as well.

We also offer a personal photographer to capture some of the special moments of your holiday.

We can also organise excursions to the famous landmarks in and around Barcelona and Ibiza. We can book you treatments including sport massage, relaxation massage, physiotherapy and chiropractic. Remember, todo es posible.

Even after your sport or fitness holiday or retreat to Barcelona or Ibiza is over, our service does not stop there. We offer online programs to keep up the good habits you started on holiday with us. We will also keep you updated about sport and events and when you come back for another holiday (over 75% of our clients come back) then you get a special loyalty discount.

Free holidays
So, enough talk you are thinking, how do I get a free holiday? It’s simple, and here’s how.

First, please like and share our FACEBOOK page.  We will be checking! 🙂

If you are a trainer or club owner, then bring a group of your clients (minimum number of 8), then you get your holiday for free! You can either enjoy receiving fitness sessions for a nice change, or if you love what you do so much that you just can’t stop teaching, and you are a certified and qualified trainer, then we can incorporate some of your own training sessions into the holiday. If we like what you do, we might invite you back to Barcelona or Ibiza as one of our trainers.

If you are not a trainer but just love keeping fit or playing sport, why not get a group of your friends or sports club together and enjoy a fitness or sport holiday in sunny Barcelona or Ibiza. Again, all you need to do is bring 8 or more friends and you will get you holiday for free.

We only have a limited number of weeks available next year for this special offer, so please contact us as soon as you can so we can discuss your requirements, and start planning your dream holiday.

You will have a holiday in Barcelona or Ibiza that you will never forget. Remember, when you chose Barcelona Bienestar, todo es posible!

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 created Pilates Carnival and Fitness Carnival, conventions where all profits go to local children’s charities. He organises retreats, fitness holidays and sports holidays in Barcelona. 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.

 

 

Current Affairs, Health and fitness

VAT on Pilates: Tax judges refuse to bend rules

 

Pilates Rehab Road to Recovery Image

VAT on Pilates in the UK

www.pilatesrehab.co.uk

As a provider of Pilates services in the UK and in Barcelona, Spain, it is essential for me to stay up-to-date with rulings about taxation.

The industry has been waiting for a ruling, and this week that ruling was delivered.

The ruling this week by Tax Judges in the UK means that Pilates will contain to not qualify for VAT exemption.

You must register for VAT if you go over, or you know that you will go over the threshold of £81,000 in a 12-month period.

Some services in the UK are exempt from VAT, but Pilates is not.

If you’re a VAT registered business then you are essentially an unpaid tax collector. You have to add VAT at the appropriate rate to everything you sell (usually at 20%). This additional income isn’t yours – you’re collecting it on behalf of HMRC (HM Revenue & Customs). Every 3 months you need to pay over the VAT you’ve collected to HMRC. There are pros and cons about being registered for VAT. As the Pilates industry mainly deals with clients who are not VAT registered themselves, there are not as many benefits as other business may get.

If your PIlates business is based outside of the UK then VAT will not apply.

You can read more about the ruling by clicking on the link below. The Times is a subscription website.  I will post more details of the ruling as soon as I can.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/money/tax/article4278607.ece

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 created Pilates Carnival and Fitness Carnival, conventions where all profits go to local children’s charities. He organises retreats, fitness holidays and sports holidays in Barcelona. 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.

 

 

Celebrity Pilates, Current Affairs, Health and fitness

Lucy Liu: Life balance with Pilates and meditation

Chris Hunt BLog Lucy Liu Pilateswww.chrishuntwellness.com

Lucy Liu: Good life balance with Pilates, meditation and diet

Over the weekend, as usual I was reading the Sunday Papers to see what is new in the world (I read the tablet edition during the week but on a Sunday I still go old-school with the printed edition). I read an article about Lucy Liu. I’m sure we all know Lucy, the actress and director. There are lots of articles about celebrities and I know that many of us do not find what celebrities get up to all that interesting. So why am I bothering to write today about Lucy Lui?

The reason is simple. I’ve read before about her philosophy on life and health, and this article further confirmed to me that she does know a thing or two about what she is talking (even if she is trying to promote a new book), and her philosophy has, in my opinion, a good balance.

About her training routine, Lucy says “I mix Spinning, running and Pilates. Pilates is great for posture. When you first do Pilates, you don’t feel anything and don’t know that anything is happening. As you continue, it really strengthens from the inside out. I like using a reformer…. the counterweight keeps me engaged.”

The things that people say about Pilates make me smile sometimes, but some of the things that Lucy say are close to the mark. So she has a good mixture of cross-training underpinned by her Pilates practise. Of course I like this, but I also like her newfound interest in meditation. This began when Deepak Chopra wrote an introduction to an art book she wrote. He asked her if she wanted to learn meditation from him. She not surprisingly said, “Absolutely.”

The advice he gave her was “Get in a comfortable seated position. The most important thing is not to judge your meditation.” This is one of basic principles of mindfulness meditation, no judging. Just accept your thoughts and your situation. This is the way that I teach Pilates EVO; awareness without judgement. Self-judgement or how we view ourselves tends to be negative for most people and this can erode self-esteem and be self-defeating. It is therefore very important in many aspects of our lives that we practise acceptance without judgement. I recently wrote in my article “Cindy Crawford: Pilates and self-image” about this topic as it is very important for many people to understand. If you have time and you are interested in this topic then please read that article. I also teach about NLP in my Pilates EVO course which in my experience is a great way for people to improve their self-image. I will be writing more about NLP soon.

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 created Pilates Carnival and Fitness Carnival, conventions where all profits go to local children’s charities. He organises retreats, fitness holidays and sports holidays in Barcelona. 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.

Current Affairs, Health and fitness

Pilates, Spinning and Zumba just fads? Bodyweight training is the future…

8 Comments


Barcelona Bienestar TRX Training

Pilates, Spinning and Zumba just fads? Bodyweight training is the future…

www.barcelonabienestar.com

The title of my article today may come as a shock to some of us. But in its ninth year, the American College of Sports Medicine’s (ACSM) annual worldwide survey of fitness trends for 2015 has been published, and according to FitPro, it’s not good news for Pilates, spinning or especailly Zumba!

First things first, who is Fit Pro? Well, by their own admission, Fit Pro is “is the largest professional association of fitness leaders in the world and a global front-runner in fitness development.” They also offer a range of educational programs that they are not at all shy in promoting at every opportunity, so to say they their opinion is independent is not always quite true.

Back to the survey. The ACSM survey attempts to give “key insights to help fitness professionals determine which factors are causing particular fitness trends to increase or decrease in popularity”.
So what are the results? The survey says that “High-intensity interval training took over the number one spot in 2014, previously held by educated, certified and experienced fitness professionals, which was in that position since 2008 and now appears at number three. However, bodyweight training has now taken the number one spot for 2015.”

Fitpro say that “Bodyweight training was first in the spotlight when it was highlighted in the trends survey in 2013 at number three. The reason behind its slow climb to popularity is due to it only becoming a defined trend within gyms in the last couple of years. However, despite finally only reaching the top spot in 2015, individuals have used their bodyweight for centuries as a form of resistance training. This method of training appears an inexpensive option for gyms due to minimal equipment use – the supposed limitations of the push-up and pull-up certainly appear to be a belief of the past. So, take note, bodyweight training is a trend to watch for the future”.

For those who are not so familiar with the term “bodyweight” (of course if you believe this study then in 2015 you soon will be…), it simply means using your own weight for the resistance to movement. You know, like many Pilates exercises do. The advantage is obviously that at the basic level you do not need any equipment, although at more advanced levels weights are a definite help. Some of the exercises can require more flexibility and balance to perform repetitions when compared to pure weight lifting.

One of main drawbacks is of course that if you are only using you own bodyweight, you can only ever lift your own weight. Whilst for many people this is more than enough, for some it makes it difficult to reach a required level of intensity, although it is possible to progress from bilateral to unilateral movements.

For all these reasons I have used bodyweight exercises primarily with new clients on their sport and fitness holidays in Barcelona to enable them to gain a degree of strength and confidence before progressing. I have been teaching with weighted vests and TRX for many years, and they are one of my preferred methods of training myself. So I am not disagreeing with the survey on this point.

The Fitpro article goes on to say that “Bodyweight exercises can also be modified to decrease the intensity. For instance, a practitioner unable to perform a single push-up may perform them with the knees on the ground….” Sounds like a familiar way to do a push-up?

But I digress a little. Back to this fad called Pilates. The ACSM Survey seeks to provide “a detailed study of specific trends that have appeared dominant for many years in the industry but have now dropped off the top trends list”. Fitpro uses the example of Zumba. Zumba was recorded at number nine in 2012 but dropped to number 28 in 2014 and number 34 in the 2015 list. To paraphrase (or parrot-phrase) Iago who famously said in the Disney film Aladdin, I think I might die of not-surprise.

The survey goes on to say that Pilates, indoor cycling, stability ball and balance training “failed to appear on the list of top 20 trends in the health and fitness industry”, which FitPro concludes supports the theory that these were fads and not trends. And there we have those words from the very “mouth” of Fit Pro!

The survey summary actually says:

“Consistent with the previous nine ACSM worldwide surveys, some new trends from last year were embraced (e.g., body weight training and high-intensity interval training), others were once again supported (e.g., educated and certified health fitness professionals), and still others failed to make the top 20 trends (Pilates, indoor cycling, stability ball, mixed martial arts, online training, pregnancy/postnatal classes, water workouts, unmonitored fitness facilities, medicine ball slamming, and Bowka). Trends have been defined as a general development that takes some time, and then stays for a period (usually described as a behaviour change), whereas a fad comes and goes. In the top 10 fitness trends for 2015, all have been on the list in previous years. Taking over the top spot from high-intensity interval training is body weight training. It will be very interesting to watch body weight training and high-intensity interval training during the next year to see if these are truly trends or fads. Pilates, indoor cycling, balance training, and use of the stability ball continue to exist in the health and fitness industry but with not as much popularity according to the ACSM trends survey.”

If we use the definition of a fad as something that comes and goes, and as Pilates is not in the top 20 trends this year, then FitPro put two and two together and got fad, opps I mean five.

The survey itself only had 3,403 respondents in total, so it represents a very small sample. It was suggested that the “persistent, sluggish economy has influenced the results of this survey”. After all, bodyweight exercises are very cheap for gyms to run.

The survey respondents took the view that “indoor cycling and Zumba have run their course”. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) was recorded at number two in the survey, but survey respondents did raise concern over high injury levels when carrying out a short, intensive burst of exercise (Les Mills please take note).

Strength training continues to be popular within the fitness industry (but rarely do I see it being performed correctly). “It is not uncommon at all for cardiovascular and pulmonary rehabilitation or metabolic disease management programmes to include weight training in the exercise programmes for patients,” says the survey. Personal training has remained in the top 10 since the survey began, and exercise and weight loss has continued to be a trend.

One interesting point is that yoga has apparently increased in popularity jumping to number seven in the 2015 trends list. I think this is a passing fad (a couple of thousand year’s long fad that is…) Bikram is helping with this surge (you might want to read my article Hot Pilates and yoga: Just a lot of hot air? for my opinion on hot yoga and hot Pilates).

The population is living longer, and therefore requires ever more mobility and strength in later years. Surely Pilates is the perfect vehicle to deliver this need? And Pilates will also remain relevant to younger people and sportsmen and women as if has done for many years. For these reasons I take the Study (and especially Fit Pro’s reporting of it) with a large pinch of salt. It is one thing to report on what is actually going on out there (and everything I see suggests that Pilates is gaining in popularity) and another thing completely to be trying to influence the industry.

But what is your opinion?

By the way, if you want to read the full report, you can click on this link. ACSM 2015 Fitness Trends Full Report

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 created Pilates Carnival and Fitness Carnival, conventions where all profits go to local children’s charities. He organises retreats, fitness holidays and sports holidays in Barcelona. 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.

 

Celebrity Pilates, Current Affairs, Health and fitness

Cindy Crawford: Pilates and self-image

Cindy Crawford Chris Hunt Pilates

Cindy Crawford: Pilates and self-image

www.barcelonabienestar.com

An article about Pilates, one of the most famous models to ever walk the planet and self-image. Surely this is a contradiction?

It’s Friday so I have that Celebrity feeling again, my compromise after a week of serious blogs. I was very pleased by the response to my blog ealier this week about Pilates for men. But it’s Friday now….

I have explained before that I am not obsessed with celebrity. I have never bought Hello Magazine. What I am obsessed with is Pilates. And whilst not every one agrees, it’s my opinion that if someone starts Pilates because their friend, neighbour, sporting hero or favourite celebrity does Pilates, then why not?

I’ve had comments about glamorising Pilates, about how privileged celebrities are, about creating false hope, even about living on a different planet… But I am sure that I live on planet Earth (most of the time) and so whilst I always respect everyone’s opinion, it is my humble opinion that these people are missing the point of my posts and they are taking everything a little too seriously. All I am doing is raising the awareness of Pilates. If you do not or can not understand that, then I am sorry for wasting your time and please do not read my blog today! 🙂

So back to Cindy.  She recently said her age-defying beauty secrets include getting enough sleep, a sensible low carb diet and regular workouts that include yoga and Pilates. She also said not smoking, taking good care of her skin and being happy have kept her young-looking at 48 years old.

“I eat right and I exercise and I drink water. I try to get enough sleep. True beauty is the energy you give out, and that comes through being happy.”

Crawford is a long-time fitness fanatic and works out three to four days a week, combining cardio exercise, weight lifting, yoga, hiking, biking and of course Pilates. She mixes up her exercise routine to keep from getting bored and to make sure she works her entire body.

Despite being hailed for her stunning beauty, Crawford admits she has struggled with body image because she was always bigger than other models during her heyday. As she approaches her 50th birthday, Cindy said she hopes to come to terms with her body.

Unlike many celebrities, Cindy admits to having undergone a few cosmetic procedures (including Botox), but she says that said consistent exercise, eating well and having a positive attitude are critical for successful aging and true happiness. “If you’re happy in your life and you’re doing work that you like, that comes across.” she said.

Many might find it surprising that she struggles with self-image. But of course everything is relative. Whilst many might envy her beauty and see only their own faults, Cindy is no different. Many of my clients who come to Barcelona for fitness or sport holidays struggle with their self-esteem when to the outside world they “look” super confident.

So what exactly is self-image? Well, it’s the personal view (or mental picture), that we have of ourselves. Self-image is an internal dictionary that describes the characteristics of the self, including intelligent, beautiful, ugly, talented, selfish, kind, etc. These characteristics form a collective representation of our assets and liabilities as we see them.

Our self-image is a product of learning. Early childhood influences, such as parents and teachers can significantly influence our self-image. They are mirrors (ask Justin Timberlake) reflecting back to us an image of ourselves. Our experiences with others such as teachers, friends, and family add to the image in the mirror. Relationships reinforce what we think and feel about ourselves. The image we see in the mirror may be a real or distorted view of who we really are. Based on this view, we develop either a positive or a negative self-image. The strengths and weaknesses we have internalized affect how we act today. We continually take in information and evaluate ourselves in multiple domains such as physical appearance (How do I look?), performance (How am I doing?), and relationships (How important am I?). With a positive self-image, we recognize and own our assets and potentials while being realistic about our liabilities and limitations. With a negative self-image, we focus on our faults and weaknesses, distorting failure and imperfections.

Self-image is important because how we think about ourselves affects how we feel about ourselves and how we interact with others and the world around us. . A positive self-image can enhance our physical, mental, social, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Conversely, a negative self-image can decrease our satisfaction and ability to function in these areas.

So how can we create a positive self-image? The good news is that self-image is not permanently fixed (but it not always easy to change). Part of our self-image is dynamic and changing. We can learn to develop a healthier and more accurate view of ourselves, thus challenging the distortions in the mirror. Self-image change is a process occurring over a lifetime. A healthy self-image starts with learning to accept and love ourselves. It also means being accepted and loved by others.

Body-image is part of self-image. Our body-image includes more than what we look like or how others see us. It also refers to how we think, feel, and react to our own self-perceived physical attributes. Body-image development is affected by cultural images and the influence of family, peers, and others. A positive body-image contributes to enhanced psychological adjustment (less depression, positive self worth, life satisfaction, less interpersonal anxiety, fewer eating disorders).

Distortions in our thinking contribute to a negative body-image. Again, body image is not fixed. Our body experiences change as we grow older, and each stage in our life is associated with body-image markers. Maintaining a positive body-image is a lifelong process. Changing negative body-image means more than changing our body. It means changing how we think, feel, and react to our body.

So back to Pilates. As teachers, we all know what an amazing physical and psychological effect Pilates can have on our clients and their own self-image. As much of the evidence to support the claims we make as Pilates professionals is anecdotal, I like a good scientific study. In May 2008 a study in Portugal tried to prove this. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of Pilates-based mat exercises on life satisfaction, perception of appreciation by other people, perception of physical appearance, perception of functionality, total physical self-concept, and perception of health status in healthy women. A trial was conducted in Evora, Portugal, in which 62 healthy adult women were randomized to a Pilates-based experimental mat group or a control group. Experimental group participants performed mat Pilates twice per week, 60-minutes per session. The study concluded that life satisfaction, perception of appreciation by other people, perception of physical appearance, perception of functionality, total physical self-concept and perception of health status may improve after 6 months of Pilates-based mat exercise.

But we knew that already. Today I am asking you to please share your stories of clients whose lives were improved by Pilates, not so much physically, but mentally.

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 created Pilates Carnival and Fitness Carnival, conventions where all profits go to local children’s charities. He organises retreats, fitness holidays and sports holidays in Barcelona. 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.

 

 

Current Affairs, Health and fitness, Travel

Fitness-und Sporturlaub in Barcelona, Spanien

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

 

 

Current Affairs, Health and fitness, My life

Everything happens for a reason

Chris Hunt Pilates Wellness

Everything happens for a reason

It has been a wet and rainy day here in Barcelona, which is stark contrast to yesterday which was gloriously hot and sunny. How things change, and what a difference a day makes!

When I started this blog, I had an air of enthusiastic nievevity. This was my chance to vent my spleen, to tell whoever wanted to listen exactly what I was thinking and feeling.

All the articles that claim to have the secrets to a successful blog say make it personal, connect with your readers and they will keep coming back. But I also wanted my blog to be a source of information and a place to debate issues that I think need to be debated. So, in keeping with many things in my life, it was getting complicated by the number of things I was trying to achieve at the same time. Andy, a good friend of mine once bought me a book called ” Simplify your Life”. I wish I had read it.

I want to get back to my original intentions and write not only about health and fitness, but also once a week to get off my chest my thoughts and emotions. I have lots of those. Sometimes I put them into the songs I write, sometimes I tell anyone and everyone who will listen, and other times I keep them inside (that is the most dangerous scenario). I once wrote a song I called “I think I thought too much”. Maybe the next song I write should be “I think I talk too much”.

Please remember that what I write here cannot be wrong as much as it cannot be right, because ultimately it’s my opinion, an opinion that may or my not mean anything to you, but to me it means everything.

We live in a world of celebrity, where substance seems to be less important than superficial. That applies to all areas of life I see (including the world of fitness) where appearance and commerciality seem more important to many people than honesty, integrity and character. In Pilates we talk about deep lying muscles and superficial muscles. The superficial is all too easy to see, whereas anything deeper is often hidden or very under developed. There is a tendency to glorify the superficial when we should we looking inside.

If you ask someone about a particular movie, you might get from them their opinion if they have seen it, or a sample of reviews they have read, but usually and ultimately you are getting their opinion. That is all they can give. So many times we will take that opinion and make decisions based upon it. The more people we ask the more opinions we will have to draw on, but still we are gathering subjective information based upon other people’s complex decision making processes which can go back to childhood experiences and include everything else that has happened to them since then. Whether we like it or not, throughout out life, especially when we are children, we are being programmed by our parents, teachers, and the society we live in. Of course the vast majority of that programming is done with the best of intentions. But it is still programming. Some is necessary and very helpful. But some leaves us with the residue of other people’s programmed fears and negative experiences and it can take a lifetime to shake the disease off.

In my life I lived to a program for many years, always knowing deep down that it was not the program for me. But programming can be very strong. Mostly with intention, during the last 10 years of my life I have given up most of the things that were important to me (or at least I thought they were). Some people call it a mid-life crisis. I prefer mid-life enlightenment. It’s an incredibly liberating experience, but also scary, thought provoking and at time panic inducing. But I’m still standing. Repeat after me, “we grow the most when we are outside our comfort zone”. I can confirm this to be true. In fact never has a truer word been spoken. Apart from “don’t pay the ferryman until he gets you to the other side”.

I’ve learnt not to get attached. Silly example, last week my Dr Dre Mixr Beats snapped in half. In the balance of life a very trivial thing, but as anyone who knows me (check out my pictures as well) will know that music is an integral and vital part of my life, and my Beats are the instrument that delivers this life-enhancing nectar to my ears, thus we are inseparable. So whilst I was a little inconvenienced, it was not so much a material heartache, more a musical heartache (Bonnie Tyler or Pepsi and Shirley. I’ll give you that one just incase you hadn’t noticed all the song titles in my words so far. Pay attention now… This shit’s about to get heavy.)

To be “happy” or “enlightened” (as I am buddhist) does not mean you have to throw away all material possessions. It’s perfectly ok to have nice things, expensive things, designer things. The key point here is that you must not become attached to those objects. They must not be the meaning of your life. The same logic can be applied to relationships. Enjoy the things you have in your life, be grateful, but always remember, there’s never a forever thing.

The most important lesson I have learnt through out my life experiences and studying Buddhism and psychology is the old truism that everything happens for a reason. Cliched it might be, but it’s incredibly powerful if you embrace it and really believe it. It gives you the power to take set-backs and even body blows but get up again, trusting that the Universe (or God if you prefer) has a master-plan. Of course even if you don’t believe in a divine roadmap, the truth is there is usually nothing you can do after a setback other than learn the lessons you need to learn, and move forwards and upwards. But if you believe that everything happens for a reason, it opens your heart and mind to new possibilities that in other circumstances you might have missed. Everything that happens to us in life can be seen as a lesson. And if you keep getting the same lessons (“why do I always end up with a bad partner”, “why do my bosses always take advantage of me”, “why does my weight fluctuate so much”, “why is it I never have any money/time/friends”) it’s probably because you aren’t learning your lesson and you are repeating patterns of behaviour that are not getting you what you want. So guess what? You will keep getting the same results until you change your behaviour. That’s not rocket science, so you do not have to be a scientist to understand it.

So why did my Dr Dre’s break? A faulty headband? Me being too heavy handed? A message from the Divine? Maybe. But what it did do was stop me being in a cocoon of music and open my ears on that flight to Barcelona and no surprises, I met a very intesting person to whom I talked.

My last thought for today’s blog. When things go wrong, it is very easy to wallow in self-pity and memories of what we remember as “better times”. Usually we only look back at our past because we do have a clear future. But we can have a clear future if that is what we choose to have.

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. 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.

Current Affairs, Health and fitness, Travel

Hur du kan omvandla din semester I Barcelona till en hälso- och fitness semester

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

En semester kan betyda manga olika saker för olika människor.

Vissa ligger på stranden och njuter av solen. Vissa väljer en äventyrs semester för att utforska och uppleva sin destination. Vissa gillar sightseeing och andra väljer att lägga mer vikt på gastronomi fär att lära sig mer om en ny kultur. Vissa gillar sport-baserade semestrar för att utöva sin favorit sport, eller for att prova nagot nytt, som till exempel golf, ridning, skidåkning eller snowboarding, mountainbiking, surfa/paddle boarding eller vandring. Andra kanske vill ha musik och konst som huvud aktivitet pa sin semester.

Så varför är då Barcelona ett så bra val?
Därför att i Barcelona finns möjligheten att uppleva allt som jag nämnde ovan.

Fler och fler väljer att resa på ett mer organiserat sätt nu för tiden. Visst, dagarna då man bokade traditionella paketresor må vara över, då man numera använder internet mer och mer för att skräddarsy sin egen designer semester, men allt fler vill ha något konstruktivt att göra på sin lediga tid.
Men man vill inte enbart ha aktiviteter organiserade genom hotellet, där hotell chefen bestämmer när och var aktiviteten ska äga rum.
Man vill ha ett skräddarsytt, personligt schema som passar in med andra önskemål och tids-restriktioner.

Det är här vi, Barcelona Bienestar, möter behovet av våra klienter. Det finns ingenting som är omöjligt för oss att arrangera och organisera åt våra gäster, som kommer till oss från världens alla hörn.
Barcelona är en väldigt spännande och inressant stad och vi kompletterar detta med att ge våra klienter ett personligt schema så att de kan få ut det mesta av deras semester.

Vi erbjuder ett hälso- och välmåående paket baserat på klientens intresse. Fitness-aktiviteter såsom personlig tränaing, Pilates, TRX, boxning, träning med vikt-väst, funktions träning, HIIT samt program baserade runt en specifik sport, såsom Stand Up Paddle, skidåkning/snowboarding, surfing, vandring, mountainbiking, bergsklättring med mera. För alla dessa aktiviteter erbjuder vi inte bara träning, utan också tid för att öva och förbättra. Så du får tid på en surf bräda, i skidbacken eller i bergen om du vill, eller så kan du få ett träningsprogram med bas i Barcelona. Valmöjligheterna är oändliga.
Men det är inte bara fysisk aktivitet vi erbjuder. Vi erbjuder också en mängd olika hälso- och skönhets behandligar, inklusive massage, kostråd, viktminskning, ögonfrans böjning och förlängning, gel naglar och meditation. Vi kan också arrangera kulturella aktiviteter, inklusive konst och gastronomi, och vi ger råd angående alla aspekter av Barcelona, från de bästa restaurangerna till de mest sevärda siterna.

Vi fråntar stressen av att planera en semester, men du är alltid i kontroll så att du får exakt den semestern du vill ha och behöver.
Vi kan antingen planera enbart dina aktiviteter, eller så kan vi planera ett fullt paket, där vi bokar hotell, planerar måltider samt arrangerar transer till och från flygplatsen. Vad du än behöver.

För mer information, klicka på www.barcelonabienestar.com eller kontakta oss direkt och låt oss arrangera din drömsemester. En semester där du efteråt kommer återvända hem med en mental och fysisk tillfredställelse. Barcelona väntar på dig, och det gör vi också.