Browsing Tag

Palm Jumeirah

SUP in the City

Posted on April 8, 2019

Living in the city, the beach is often just a weekend away, but it’s the perfect place to go for a little SUP after work too, even just to get a little perspective. There’s a few great places to rent them from in Dubai, from beachside hotspot Surf House, to Ignite Surface on the Palm Jumeirah. But they get booked up, so sometimes it’s nice to guarantee a board by investing in one of your own.

My favourite place to relax is out on the water and now that my new home has direct access to the sea, I’ve been looking for a new way to fully explore it. We’ve got a wealth of wildlife like jellyfish, stingrays and water birds all around, so actually being out on the water is without a doubt the best place to see them.

I used to have a SUP board here, but as I was living quite a bit away from the sea front, it took a serious 4×4 to transport to and frow, so I eventually gave it up. The inflatable SUP is of course a much more suitable city-living stand up paddle board as you can take it literally anywhere with you and you won’t need a car for it either.

It comes with its own travel case and a hand pump too, which didn’t take more than a few minutes to blow up fully. Known for their reliability and rock-hard rigidity when inflated, the blowup version is a real winner. I got mine from MTM Marine in Dubai who stock them from WOW Water Sports.

Fitness

The Fittest Hotel in Town

Posted on December 20, 2017

Let’s talk hotel gyms… now when you travel it’s common to find a fairly well equipped but standardised fitness studio that mayyyyybe offers a yoga class or PT session. Well Fairmont the Palm is making sure it’s the fittest hotel in town, as it opens another new studio, located adjacent to the North residences.

Already familiar with their full moon beach side yoga where a hundred yogi’s salute the supermoon? This time the Fairmont’s taking things up a notch mixing classes of high intensity training, endurance and mind training. I have tried and tested all their new classes and I recommend you give these a go…

Cardio Muay Thai
A high intensity, cardio blasting combat style work out that includes a mixture of boxing and kickboxing techniques, intense military style drills and a little touch of Zumba.

PRAMA, by Pavigym
a functional training system based on spatial references on the floor and walls brings fitness to life with lights, sound and sensors. PRAMA is a high-intensity, circuit-based workout that quickly improves muscle memory, endurance, strength, balance, speed, agility, reaction time and overall fitness. It is a high-energy workout that provides complete strength and cardio conditioning, burning up to 1,000 calories in just one 45-minute session

Aquaspin™
the latest revolutionary aqua exercise that’s kind to the joints and muscles, yet burns the calories and improves cardio vascular fitness. The 45 minute class involves cycling on state-of-the-art spin bikes submerged inside the water.

All classes are 75 AED, with packages of 10 available at 500 AED where you can mix and match your workouts.

Fitness

Getting To Grips With AnimalFlex Yoga

Posted on May 30, 2017

I thought i’d pretty much tried my hand at everything yoga wise, from aerial to Bikram and everything in between, so as soon as I saw we were trying AnimalFlex, I was intrigued…

Not your average workout I have to admit, but a lovely 7am start down in the Marina (why can’t all workouts be outside), with the crew from Fit Squad Dubai and Exclusive Yachts, aboard a double decker boat that carried us around the Palm whilst we soaked up the morning sun and tested out what’s sure to be the new fit trend.

AnimalFlex is a curious combination of yoga with what I can only describe as playing. It isn’t for kids though, oh no… this is a test of balance, core and agility with well-known yoga positions like the scorpion and crab. To top it all off, our mini-workout saw us racing in cat (or was it cow) from one side to another. The fun of it all certainly helped keep your body from realising the brutal ab and thigh practice too.

To continue the #MINDBODYSEA experience of the morning though, we headed downstairs to enjoy a little meditation. I have to say, trying to keep my mind aligned and body focused after all that running around was trickier than i’d imagined, but it was a thoroughly uplifting recovery. Here’s to more workouts on the sea!

fashion Fitness

When Speedo Got Sexy

Posted on February 14, 2017

No we’re not talking banana hammocks here either… the Speedo brand has long been synonymous with swimmers and the more athletic water warriors, but it’s had a bit of a refresh with its H2O Active collection and I have to admit, i’m a fan!

We jumped in to the nicely heated outdoor pool at Fairmont the Palm to put the collection to the test. They have an aqua-cycle class i’ve been dying to try out so it was a great way of seeing what all the hype was about.

The collection itself ranges from multi-strapped bikinis with spliced waistbands, to one-pieces with added bra tops and open backs and also includes water wearable leggings! I chose the one-piece for a bit of added warmth in case it was a bit nippy that early in the morning.

Check out the H2O Active range for yourself:

#GetSpeedoFit