All posts tagged: fitness

The best wellness retreats in September

Published by Mark Smith

Most over massage, there’s a new kid in town. It’s wellness. These are the best wellness retreats coming up in September 2017. Designed to boost wellbeing, increase fitness and restore your mind, body and spirit, spas are really tackling some of the big issues facing people in today’s stressful world. These therapies often deliver life-changing results for a happier, healthier life. All of these events and programmes are scheduled to take place in September this year. But often run throughout the year. This is just a taster of what’s available at your local spa. From sleep and stress to gait, posture and gut health, discover why health is the new wealth at a spa near you. The best wellness retreats: Sleep Sleep. It’s an essential element of life and helps to maintain our mental health and physical wellbeing. But for many people it remains one of life’s greatest challenges. Restless nights, poor sleep or tossing and turning until the birdsong of dawn leads to long, difficult days at work and a sluggish body and foggy …

Spa Experience by Better Male bamboo massage

Spa London becomes Spa Experience by Better

Published by Mark Smith

Spa Experience by Better is the new brand new name for Spa London. I’ve written about Spa London and talked about it on BBC Radio 4 and am a big fan for a number of reasons. The team has partnered with quality spa brands and offers excellent treatments at competitive prices. It makes spa affordable for more people and spreading the art of relaxation through the wider population is a very good thing in my book. Spa Experience by Better is a fresh new look for the spa group which has locations right across London and the South and the business has some very interesting plans to expand the concept nationwide. Partner brands include Elemis, La Sultane De Saba, Murad and Essie. The group first launched in 2007 with a single spa at Bethnal Green in East London. The facility was the UK’s first ever public sector day spa and created a niche offering in the market, by offering a high quality service, but with less of the cost and exclusivity of spas that had existed before. There are currently …

LUX* Le Morne Le Brabant, Mauritius - The Spa Man

Review: LUX* Le Morne, Mauritius

Published by Mark Smith

LUX* Le Morne is a relaxing resort tucked away in a quiet corner of Mauritius. Hugging the coast with a stretch of private beach, it’s tranquil lagoon setting ensures a chilled vibe and relaxed atmosphere for spa fans and beach lovers. It has the most dramatic setting of any property on the island, backed by the dramatic peak of Le Morne Brabant, a breath taking UNESCO World Heritage site and makes for a picturesque stay in this magical corner of Mauritius. Landscaped gardens, four pools and 600 metres of white sandy beaches give LUX* Le Morne a true sense of a tropical escape. All rooms are sea facing with a mix of superior rooms and suites are just a few steps away from the beach. There are plenty of activities to keep you occupied. The boat house offers everything from paddle boarding to water skiing or you can head out to sea to go swimming with the Dolphins in the early morning sunshine. The food at all three restaurants is fabulous and in particular the Thai …

Wellness rooms introduced at Macdonald Hotels

Published by admin

Macdonald Hotels have launched dedicated Wellness Rooms, providing a one-stop shop the health and wellbeing needs of guests, at three of their top spa hotels. Macdonald Portal Hotel in Chester, Macdonald Alveston Manor in Stratford-upon-Avon and Macdonald Craxton Wood in Cheshire are the first hotels to provide this new comprehensive wellbeing facility, and the group intends to expand this throughout 2015. The rooms are a designated space for one-to-one wellbeing expert consultations, covering everything from dietary advice and fitness assessments through to physiotherapy and complementary therapies. It’s the perfect way to kickstart a New Year wellbeing programme, combining a focus on health and fitness with the relaxation of spa. They are available for hotel guests, Vital Health Club members and day spa guests to seek expert professional wellbeing advice. to complete the wellness offering Macdonald Hotel’s Vital Health Clubs are offering free comprehensive Health Checks as part of their health club membership which includes an analysis of blood pressure, resting heart rate, body mass index (BMI), body composition (Fat), peak flow lung function, flexibility and …

Five of the best spas for fitness

Published by admin

Spas are turning high-tech when it comes to fitness, so now you can enjoy a fitness break, really working on your technique or taking time to hone your skills and then soothe any aching muscles with a relaxing, targeted massage in the spa. The Spa Man picks the best spas for fitness in the UK. * Picture credit above: courtesy of Champneys Champneys Tring Location: Wigginton, Hertfordshire Price per visit: Double bed and breakfast from £398, Single bed and breakfast from £224. Sports performance analysis from £45 Fitness focus: Recovery and rehabilitation, movement and gait analysis A comprehensive sports treatment menu provides a rounded approach to sports injury rehabilitation. Integrated screening techniques like gait analysis and Tensiomyography (TMG) assessment (a diagnostic tool used by Barcelona FC) helps to identify muscular imbalances, asymmetries and weaknesses to pinpoint the root causes of injury. The team then design a corrective training programme and can incorporate traditional sports psychology, such as goal setting and the motivational aspects of NLP to maintain a positive approach to recovery. Added extras: FIFA sized football …

Matt Roberts fitness retreats in Sardinia

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Combining spa with fitness and health is to my mind a perfect pairing. Forte Village Resort in Sardinia has just announced a new health and wellness partnership with Matt Roberts Personal Training, who will be running a series of new specialist Fitness Retreats this year. The Matt Roberts Fitness Retreats, led by Matt and his expert team, will offer individually designed programmes aimed at increasing fitness and boosting metabolism. The retreat will provide a mix of daily exercise sessions, carefully balanced meals and sports massages. Forte Village, in southern Sardinia, is set in 55 acres of sub-tropical gardens with outstanding sporting facilities, a leading Thalassotherapy spa and beautiful beach. It’s quite an incredible offering and to get top advice, daily massage and a week away in Sardinia, it’s well worth the upgrade. Fitness Retreat Itinerary: Daily exercise sessions including high intensity training, core strength and conditioning, cardio, mobility and flexibility Daily deep tissue massage Use of the Thalassotherapy pools Nutritional energising meals Evening talks and Q&A sessions with Matt and his team But note, that …

Maintain your motivation

Published by admin

The gym is still full of high hopes and expectation. There are new faces, all keen and eager to lose a few extra pounds and get fit for the coming year. I see it every year, new recruits, January is wildy busy, it’s hard to find space to workout and you end up waiting for equipment and kit. As February rolls around, the enthusiasm wanes, gym visits drop and it’s all back to normal and for most people that monthly membership is wasted. I wanted to get a few motivational tips from the experts to help maintain the good work, to keep people fixed on fitness for the duration of the year. It is hard, waking up in the dark pulling yourself out of a warm bed to face the freezing cold all before the sun has reared it’s pretty head. If it’s raining – then it’s worse. But the pay off is well worth it. My goal at the beginning of January was to lose 4 kilos (8.8 lbs) by 6th March when I …