Tag Archives: exercise

Health and fitness, Travel

Diane Kruger’s hangover cure? Pilates of course!

Diane CHW

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After a long night partying with her man Joshua Jackson at the Vanity Fair Oscar party Sunday, Diane Kruger shows her dedication by getting up bright and early Monday morning by going to her Pilates class in West Hollywood.

Diane is 37 years old and looked amazing at the Oscars in her black lace number that showed all her curves.

Coming from Germany, the home of Joseph Pilates, it’s obvious that she knows the wonderful benefits of regular Pilates.

We might not all get to be as famous as Diane, but we can all benefit from regular Pilates, and feel like a movie star! 🙂

Health and fitness

Reverse Woodchop: Chris Hunt

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In the latest of my series of snap videos shot in location at La Molina, here is nice way to use your snowboard to get your obliques and your quadriceps warmed up for Snowboarding.

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Reverse woodchop is an exercise you have probably seen in the gym. There are many ways you can perform it using cables or weights (my favourite is using TRX). The rotation and lift builds a connection between your upper and lower body that is ideal for boarding or skiing, and it also strengthens the core.

If you want to know more about how Pilates can help your snowboarding or skiing then click on www.skicorestrength.com

 

 

Health and fitness

A Fitness Convention that donates profits to charity? That is a breath of fresh air!


PC Cropped Logo

I created Pilates Carnival with one simple aim: to promote and assist with the training of Pilates teachers… all over the world.
Chris Hunt Pilates
My passion
Pilates Carnival does this by providing free places to training courses, conventions and workshops, and by organising Pilates Carnival Conventions for teachers and experienced Pilates followers from all over the world no matter which school of Pilates they come from.
Chris Hunt Pilates Carnival
Pilates Carnival Conventions
The purpose of the conventions are to teach, learn, socialise, break down barriers. Share our passion and ideas. There is a full program of classes, workshops and seminars, and lots of socialising. The conventions are totally different to other conventions, with fresh new presenters, fresh new ideas, and working with a children’s charity as a partner, all profits are donated to the charity. Now that is a breath of fresh air? Pilates Carnival is not about egos, and there are no boundaries and no limits to what we can learn together.
Pilates Carnival Group
Pilates Carnival Barcelona April 2014
The next convention  is in Barcelona on 25, 26 and 27 April 2014. The charity partner is Fundació Pere Tarrés. This is a wonderful organisation which is doing amazing work with children of all ages.
If you want to get involved you can join the Carnival community by clicking on our Facebook Page and learn whilst giving at the same time. Or please spread the word by sharing this post with as many people as you can. What better way to make a real difference to you and to others who really need our help?
Thank you.

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 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.

Health and fitness

Chris Hunt Wellness Pilates Triceps Push Up

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Click here to see the first in my series of 15 second videos, the Pilates Tricep Push-up.

This is Level One, starting in all-fours neutral. It’s really important that the nose starts in line with finger-tips. On the in-breath we lower the nose towards the floor so there is a slight movements forward with the body. We return on the out-breath to the starting position. Muscle recruitment is as always vital, so  elbows must stay tucked to ensure we are engaging the tricep muscles. The movement is carried out as slowly as possible.

To make the exercise more difficult, we simply move the hands further away from the knees but still maintain the above rules; nose in line in finger tips to start and moving slightly forwards as we lower, elbows tucked into the sides of the body.

It may look and sound easy, but most people really struggle with this if it’s done correctly. It’s easy to cheat (elbows coming wide and body moving backwards during the move) but of course that just reduces the effectiveness of the exercise.

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Health and fitness

Extreme TRX Training

Chris Hunt Fitness TRX 2

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Here I am using TRX to do an extreme chest push-up completely suspended off the ground.

if you have not yet used TRX, you should give it a go. It’s excellent for all Fitness Levels because it so versatile. It will help build functional strength, but will also help you improve anaerobic cardiovascular endurance. You have the choice to perform any exercise at a rapid pace or with a slow and controlled motion. Of course, the faster you go, the greater cardio training potential you will have. There are literally hundreds of different variations of exercises you can use to target every muscle of the body, and it’s really portable.

Suspension training is an excellent way to improve muscle imbalances primarily because of the amount of balance you must have to perform any of these exercise. Because of the constant instability, your body will perform as single unit to maintain the necessary balance. Many training injuries are a direct results of muscular imbalances throughout the body. As previously mentioned, TRX will help correct such imbalances, and can be a great tool for people who are recovering some injury.

Chris TRX

From my perspective as a Pilates presenter I love the way that TRX is an extremely attractive training technique because of its ability to active the core. This is due to the constant instability that the straps provide. You must be able to balance and keep your core tight throughout every movement. TRX can strengthen all muscles of the core including the rectus abdominis (front of abs), transverse abdominis (sides of abs), and lower back.

bodyFUNC

All TRX exercises are very low-impact and are excellent for people looking to give their joints a break. This is especially true for runners who tend to get overuse injuries due to repetitive movements. You don’t need to worry about being crushed by heavy weights because the only resistance you use is your own body.

Most of all for me this is a really fun way to train indoors our outside. Give it a try. Let me know if you want any more information or tips, I am here to help.

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Health and fitness

How to keep your New Year Resolutions this time

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Chris Hunt Wellness Runner

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This is Part One of my blog about New Year’s Resolutions, Part Two will follow soon.

On January 1st, millions of people begin the annual ritual of New Year’s Resolutions. Memberships at health clubs and diet programs soar, whilst sales of chocolate and alcohol decline. People take a long, hard look at their spending habits as they sort through the January bills.

Yet despite all this good intention, most people will fail at their resolutions. Come February, most New Year’s resolutions will be a dim memory. How can such apparently strong determination fizzle out so quickly? What can we do to increase the likelihood that our desire for change will translate into permanent positive change?

Chris Hunt Wellness Healthy Eating

Let’s first examine the psychology of the New Year’s Resolution. During the month of December people tend to overindulge in eating, drinking, spending money and neglecting exercise. Rather than moderate these behaviours, we promise ourselves that after the holiday season is over, we will definitely take control. In the meantime, we give ourselves permission to overindulge without guilt. Our resolve is at its peak when we feel full, drunk, or broke. It’s easy to think about going on a diet as we groan from a bloating holiday meal. It’s no problem to plan to quit smoking when we’ve just had a cigarette and replenished our nicotine level. At this point we feel confident about our New Year’s resolutions because we have not yet confronted any prolonged physical deprivation or discomfort.

In early January, we are often so sick of rich food and drinks, and feeling so sluggish from lack of vigorous physical activity that it’s not difficult to abstain from overindulgence. In fact, some people look forward to more structure and discipline in their lives. However, a few weeks into the new discipline, our appetites have returned, and we start to feel deprived. It is at this point that we are most at risk for reverting back to old behaviours.

Soon we start rationalizing that this is not a good time of year, what with cold weather and our numerous obligations. When spring comes, we’ll really get into shape. Thus, we make another promise to ourselves, and, now free of guilt, put off habit change for another few months. Chances are that when spring arrives, we will have another temporary surge of motivation, only to abandon it within a few weeks.

Pilates Group

Why do people abandon their resolutions? One reason is that we become discouraged when results don’t come quickly enough, or when we find that we are not necessarily happier because of them. Behavioural change requires sustained effort and commitment. It is also typically accompanied by physical discomfort. For example, reducing food, alcohol or nicotine intake from a level to which you have become accustomed, results in cravings. Forcing yourself to get off your cosy chair to exercise is often difficult when you’re tired. And of course, it’s easy to procrastinate until tomorrow, so that you can rationalise not disciplining yourself today.

Therefore, if you are going to make New Year’s resolutions this year, be sure you are ready for the challenge. Read Part Two of this blog for some tips to maximize your success.

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Current Affairs, Health and fitness

Couch Potatoes are our Olympic Legacy

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A recent survey confirmed the findings of the annual UK Commons Education Select Committee survey that found that there is no noticeable increase in children doing sport in the UK since the Olympics. In the words of the parrot Iago from the Disney movie Aladdin, “I think I’m going to die from not surprise” (I have no idea how or why I remember that quote by the way…)

It makes very uncomfortable reading. Most people fail to even go for a 10 minute walk once a month! Only 21% of boys between under the age of 15 were active for an hour a day, down from 28% in 2008. And for girls the figures are worse, only 16% which is down from 19% in 2008. Teenagers are worse, 14% of boys between the ages of 13 and 15 are getting enough exercise, a figure down from 28% in 2008, and for girls the figure is just 8% down from 14%. And adults do not fair much better. 2/3 of men and about 50% of women do 2.5 hours of moderate activity a week (the same as 2008), but before producers of sports clothing get too excited, the weekly activity done by 59% or women and 48% of men is household chores. Only 46% of men and 37% of woman said they had walked for 10 minutes in the previous 4 weeks. Shocking, really shocking.

Government figures state that 1.6M more people are doing regular sport since the UK won the Olympic bid in 2005, but where is the evidence? Not only is there no apparent legacy from the Olympics, in children the figures are actually getting worse.

So what happened? As with most things, there are a combination of contributory factors. Those in the political arena will point to a systematic selling off of school playing fields. Others will blame Playstations, Candy Crush or the Internet. It’s certainly not through a lack of exposure to sport, as with dedicated sports channels, high profile sporting events and the ability to watch endless replays on YouTube, there is more sport in the media than ever before. People love the sport celebrity culture, but rather than try to emulate their heroes or heroines, they’re quite happy to just sit and watch.

In my opinion, whilst all the above factors are of course relevant, one big issue is the severe lack of facilities. The standard and number of decent sporting facilities in the UK is a disgrace. Over the last decades, the interest in sport and physical activity has been eroded and throttled so now we have a legacy alright, but it’s one of lethargy and apathy. It’s quite ridiculous to think that by having the Olympics would’ve solved the historical underlining issues. Sure, it was an amazing event and without doubt it generated a lot more interest in sport, but where the hell were all these interested people supposed to go? Public facilities are typically dirty and outdated, many people cannot afford expensive health club membership, and as for gymnastics or the majority of other disciplines, good luck finding a club without a waiting of a few years.

The answer is simple. Not easy, but simple. Improve facilities and educate our children. It’s not a quick fix, but they never work anyway. It’s going to take years to change the cultural attitudes toward exercise and health in general, but we need to start. Remember the story of the Spanish admiral centuries ago who much to the amusement of his colleagues instructed the planting of thousands of oak trees so there would be enough raw materials for ship building? “But it will take 100 years before we can use this wood” they said, to which he replied “you better get planting straight away then”. So when do we start planting our metaphorical oak trees? There’s no sign of it yet.

I recently wrote to the UK Government asking them to talk to me about introducing Pilates into schools as part of my Pilates Allstars System for children. Pilates is not cardio of course (or at least in my opinion it should not be) but it builds a foundation for sport, it gets children into the exercise habit, all children no matter what their sex, shape or size can do it, and imagine the benefits and money saved for UK business and the National Health Service if our kids left school with strong postural muscles, body awareness, flexibility and good postures? You will die from not surprise to find out no one was interested.

You only have to remember parents smuggling McDonalds Happy Meals into schools where Jamie Oliver had introduced healthy eating to know that we have a big cultural problem in the UK when it comes to health. But we must try because if we do not, the consequences are unthinkable. Let’s start planting those oak trees so that later generations can truly benefit. That will be a legacy worth waiting for.

Health and fitness

Chris Hunt bodyFUNC TRX training

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bodyFUNC TRX workout
bodyFUNC TRX workout

Chris Hunt bodyFUNC TRX training

Here is a little look at me training. I’m using some of the training techniques I use when teaching my system bodyFUNC, a system designed to be functional and of course fun!

Health and fitness

Something money cannot buy

Even if you are not in the wellness industry, I hope that you will read this article. I organise conventions two or three times a year called Pilates Carnivals. They are very different to any other convention, in fact as far as I know they are unique in the health and fitness world. It’s not only Pilates, it also includes yoga, meditation, health, fitness, diet and functional training. But what makes them different?

It’s different because it is non-profit. All the profits that are made go to a local children’s charity. Everyone who participates (including me of course) does so free of charge, giving all their time and energy knowing that we are all creating something very special, a very positive energy. The aim is to teach, learn, socialise and break down barriers whilst sharing our passion and our ideas.

Pilates Carnival aims to promote and assist with the training of teachers all over the world. It does this by providing free places to training courses, conventions and workshops and through the conventions. I am creating a global community who are not motivated by money, but simply what to give something back to the fitness community that we love and rely on, whilst also helping charity at the same time. Of course the truth is that the more we give, we more we get back, it’s one of the Laws of the Universe.

My next goal is to arrange Fitness Carnivals based on the same principles, including all forms of exercise. That will be a lot of fun!

My conventions have been very popular, I’ve held them in several countries including the UK, Germany and Poland and this year will be Spain and Australia (I want many more in places all over the globe). But a few people have met my idea with bitterness and animosity. They say I am reducing the value of Pilates. This is of course nonsense, the truth is they are afraid that their commercial interests might be reduced. And some people will never get the fact that by giving, we are creating something money can never buy.

So if you “get it”, you can help. Please get involved. The more we spread the word, the more we can buck the trend of money-making commercialism, bring the Pilates and fitness communities together, improve standards and the more we can raise for very worthy charities. You do not have to be a Pilates teacher. If you have any interests in the area of wellness then you can get involved. You can help by sponsoring the events, donating products that can be sold at events (everything from clothing to drinks, equipment to retreats), donating places on your training courses, presenting at events, offering to work with me to organise an event in your City, giving time in promoting events or web development, and by simply sharing this blog or the Facebook Page.

Please join this community. We can make a difference. Never let anyone tell you that we can’t.

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