Category: Journals

This month sees hundreds of people take part in the Standard Chartered Marathon around the streets of Downtown Dubai. With so much training put into getting your body ready for a marathon, we speak to our fitness instructor Derryn Brown on how the Move It classes at The Hundred can help your body prepare.

What are the fundamental things to bear in mind when training for a marathon?

Nutrition: Making sure your nutrition is on track and you are eating healthy clean meals with lots of good carbs making up the most of your diet. Another important point to remember is to stay hydrated not only to avoid heat complications but also to run effectively.

Shoes: Making sure you get the right shoes for your feet, taking into account pronation/supination. When buying shoes, make sure the staff is well educated to be able to help you select the correct running shoes.

Supplemental Activities: This being one of the most important ones to consider, without a doubt to run a marathon successfully, you need to make sure you log the necessary miles leading up to the event. It is important to include cross training activities (Move It Classes), along with regular stretching etc this will help reduce injury and to work on total body conditioning.

 

How can Move It classes incorporate into a training regime?  

The move it classes will go hand in hand with training for a marathon, helping to strengthen the opposite muscle groups so that an overuse injury does not occur during your running. It’s also great for developing strength and overall conditioning for the body, as well as good core strength.

Are there specific areas you should work on during marathon training, such as only leg training or core etc.?

The most important areas to be working on are getting those miles in, while simultaneously building strength and total body conditioning to keep your joints, ligaments and muscles super strong and healthy.

 How can Move It classes help with your body post marathon?

Building strength in the areas of the opposing muscle groups as I mentioned previously. The classes can help develop good core strength, strong lower and upper body strength as well. Move It offers a complete full body conditioning class at its best. J

 Are there particular stretches you should be doing in the hours after the marathon?

Yes, I would focus on active isolated stretches from head to toe, and some trigger point therapy to work through those niggly spots.

 

What are your top fitness tips for 2016?

My tips for 2016 would be:

1. Get involved in some kind of sport, whether it’s netball, swimming, soccer, walking, or running – just try any activity other than the normal activities that you do.
2. Do more Pilates, perfect to complement your training.
3. Try out Functional Training, which focuses on everyday movements we do on a day-to-day basis in a challenging way.

Whatever your strengths or weaknesses, are whether you are a fitness guru or have never done a class before, the move It classes are perfect for everyone!! Call the centre now and book your place!

 

As the New Year approaches each year, many of us start thinking of our “resolutions”. It can be very exciting to begin new plans like joining a gym to get fit, reading more books or even losing some weight. But, as most of us know from past experience, the novelty usually wears off leaving us bored and discouraged. We’re suddenly confronted with the day-to-day challenges of sustaining our goals, and unexpected events throwing us off course. Disappointingly, one day of missing our goals then leads to missing the next day, until we feel defeated and our goals are abandoned.

This process can be frustrating but it’s important to understand that change takes time, energy, effort, and a lot of patience. Patience allows you to commit to long-term results and outcomes, and helps you to not get discouraged by the short-term obstacles and setbacks. Long-term results will only come as a result of a change in behaviour, perspective, habits and, sometimes even, priorities. You therefore cannot just decide at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve to set your New Year’s Resolutions in motion and expect that you realistically know what it takes to achieve them!

To help you along the way, here are some tips on how to achieve your goals:

1. HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE

Tell others what you want your goals to be or write them down so you are always reminded of them.

2. KEEP IT REAL
The trick to sticking to your resolutions is to keep them real, simple and realistic. If they are too challenging or unachievable, you won’t keep them up!

3. SMALL RESOLUTIONS, BIG RETURNS

Make a list of easy resolutions that you can keep without too much effort so you stay motivated.

4. START A VISION BOARD

This is one of the most effective visualization techniques available to you. It is a representation of where you are going with your dreams, goals and life. It is a chance for you to set your focus on what you want to achieve in the coming months and years.

So this year let it be different. Close the book of quick NYE resolutions and turn over a new leaf. Set no start dates and make no promises. Let the New Year bring a focus on the process, not only on the result. Good luck and let us know how you get on!

 

As the New Year begins, we are all looking for ways to turn over a new leaf and improve our happiness and wellbeing. While many people focus on losing weight, changing jobs or getting fit, we question why everyone thinks things need to drastically change every January 1^st in order to be happier? Isn’t there a way for us to be happy all year long, without having to have a re-start every year?

To find out the top 5 habits of happy and healthy people, we spoke to family Doctor and creator of holistic blog, @ebbbndflow, Dr. Mariam Ketait for her advice.

1. Eat often: keep your metabolism running. Drink 8-11 glasses of water. Your body is your temple – make sure you take care of it!

2. Gratitude: start your day with a list of things you are grateful for and end it with recapping the things that made you smile.

3. Surround yourself with those who inspire you: you are the average of the 5 people you surround yourself with the most. Make sure your company is one that excites you and inspires your mind to expand. And remember: small minds discuss people, medium minds discuss events and great minds discuss ideas.

4. Get moving: count your steps, jog, run or find your own workout routine, just make sure it’s fun! As that way it will be sustainable.

5. Laugh, giggle and smile: remember that happiness is contagious! Make it a habit to find joy in your daily rituals, at work and with others…making others smile counts too!

By making simple changes to our every day rituals, being more grateful and generally having a more positive outlook on life, we can start to see a change in our happiness. Positive thoughts and a happy mentality lead to healthier people! We attract negativity if we have negative thoughts, which can in turn affect our health and wellbeing, so make sure you start your January off by following the above simple tips and soon you will see the difference in your outlook on life! 2016 is the year to BE HAPPY!

 

Dr. Mariam Ketait,
Holistic Family Physician

Living in a country that has achieved so much in such a short space of time is something to cherish every day. Our every day life is inspirational and there is nothing that is impossible in the UAE. This is a beautiful message to give to our younger generations, showing them that everyone can achieve their dream. With The Hundred, we are proud to be giving something back to the local community, educating people on health and wellbeing and encouraging them to lead a healthier lifestyle. As a female Emirati entrepreneur, I want to show how the sky is the limit for women in the UAE, and help budding entrepreneurs realise that with passion, love for what you do and determination, you can achieve your dreams.

 

“In unity we have strength, 7 emirates united 44 years ago. Everyone you meet has many differences as they do similarities with you. Focus on what you have in common and experience unity with ease, joy and glory.”

Dr. Mariam Ketait – Founder of Dubai Integrative Healing

 

 

 

 

 

“My UAE is my inspiration. Happy national day to everyone, and many more to come!”

Shamsa Alabbar – Jewellery Designer

 

 

 

 

 

“I can’t think of a better place to live right now. I came to the UAE in my early twenties and over the past 9 years it has been so kind to me, providing me with the right environment to fulfill my ambitions and realise my dreams. I always say it’s like the new, modern day American Dream. Here, in the UAE, if you can think it, if you can dream it — and of course if you have the talent and passion to match it, you can do it. It’s a “Yes” place, and what’s better than that? I am forever grateful to this country, my second home, its people and its leaders.”

Holly Williams – Founder of thehuntr.com and 22.agency

 

 

“A lot has changed in 20 years but it’s still home to me. It’s still my piece of Heaven. I love how I’m so close to the nature in the desert but still right beside the beautiful beaches. I never take it for granted – everyday I’m grateful that I’m here.”

Maria Dowling – Hair stylist

 

 

 

 

 

“I’m proud of my country because this is my homeland, and my love and pride for it is instinctual.  As an entrepreneur, being Emirati means living in a land of peace, stability, and a country that celebrates innovation. The air here is filled with the excitement of opportunity, and talent is universal while opportunity is not. Being Emirati has given me the background and platform to lead as an Arab woman and celebrated my vision for a greener economy through design and social entrepreneurship. I truly believe leading as the first Arab owned bio-disposable design solutions and supply business in the Middle East is working as well as it is here because this is the U.A.E after all; and we’re a nation built on a big vision and a true love for authentic contribution that some may call work.”

Lames Harib – Owner of BioD

 

 

“Today I am proud to be shaping the Emirati art scene and being able to reinvent my heritage and document our glory from an artist perspective.”

Zainab Al Hashemi – Designer

• What was your inspiration behind starting the clinic?

The Wellness Brothers overarching wellness mission is to provide safe and effective health and performance solutions to people who want them. We are convinced that one of the best ways of succeeding at that is to help people lose excess and harmful weight. Starting the Down-Size-Me Diet at the hundred wellness center was an important part of making our weight loss solution more accessible to people in the region who want personal guidance and support from us.

 

• Explain a little the idea of Down-Size-Me

People struggle with being overweight. They don’t like how it looks, feels, and what it does to their health. The thing is that living in Dubai makes gaining weight easy and losing it a real challenge.

From our experience we know that the ideal weight loss solution is one that cuts calories, works quickly, and is easy to follow and maintain. With this in mind, Sean and I developed the Down-Size-Me Diet, which is aimed at ticking the boxes of the ideal solution by producing great, rapid results through comfortably eating less. The good news is that the diet plan is doing just that.

The Down-Size-Me Diet is flexible and can be adjusted to fit individual preferences. The diet plan is practical and can slot into even the busiest of Dubai lifestyles. The diet also strongly promotes health through both the weight loss results and the use of the all-natural, meal replacement shakes – DSM750 and LEAN95. These raw, fruit and vegetable based formulas are loaded with high quality nutrients that support the body through the weight loss process.

All-in-all, the Down-Size-Me diet works to reverse the main cause of weight gain, which is overeating. That’s why it works as well as what it does.

 

• Why did you think the Hundred would be the best place for the clinic?

Having known Asma for many years and appreciating her passion for promoting health and well-being, her hundred wellness center was a logical choice for the home of The Wellness Brothers’ Down-Size-Me Diet. The center has a look and feel that we love and we believe it adds to the overall comfort, confidence, and motivation that people need for successful weight loss.

 

• What are your three top tips for people wanting to lose weight?

1. Eat less
2. Move more and more often
3. Be motivated enough to keep doing 1 and 2

 

• What are the three ‘Do Not Do’s for people wanting to lose weight?

1. Do not have unrealistic expectations
2. Do not start out on a plan you know you cannot stick to
3. Do not consider a single failure a complete failure – Don’t Quit!

Many people suffer from dairy intolerance or simply want to remove it from their diet for various reasons. Going dairy free isn’t as hard as you may imagine, with many delicious non-dairy options on the market. Being a fantastic substitute to cow’s milk, dairy free milk have an array of health benefits and can easily be made or bought from your local store in the UAE.

Here are just a couple of the reasons why we love dairy-free milk!

Almond Milk

• It has no saturated fats or cholesterol, meaning it is a great option for your heart!
• An average cup or almond milk has 30% of your daily recommended intake of calcium
• It barely impacts your blood sugar levels
• It contains a bunch of great B vitamins, which help your muscle development

Cashew Milk

• The primary ingredients are only cashews and water!
• A cup of homemade or unsweetened cashew milk has only 25 calories!
• A cup contains 50% of your daily Vitamin E needs, great for your skin and hair.

Coconut Milk

• a glass of coconut milk has 1.4g of protein
• Coconut milk contains natural fatty acids
• Coconut milk contains lauric acid, antimicrobial lipids and capric acid, which have antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral properties.

If you would like to taste delicious dairy-free milk for yourself, you can pick up our homemade Cashew or Almond milk from the center!

Easing stress, relaxing tight muscles, strengthening your core, soothing your mind…many things come to mind when you think of Pilates, but one thing that many people may not realise is that Pilates also can help your performance in a range of different, more active sports. As this week the Emirates Dubai Rugby 7s tournament kicks off, we are looking at how Pilates can help even the toughest of sports like Rugby. A game of power, speed, strength and stamina, all the core attributes in rugby can be learnt in the basics of Pilates.

An extremely physical game, there are many frequent injuries that occur in rugby. A large amount of the injuries are caused because two sets of muscles are not working well together. On one hand we have the ‘most obvious’ muscles, such as the hamstring, quads, chest and arm muscles and so on, which build up well using traditional forms of strength training, such as working out at the gym and lifting weights. However, on the other hand we have the less recognized local muscles, such as the Multifidus and Rotators muscles in your back, or the Capitis and Splenius muscles around the pelvis. These do not respond as well to traditional strength training, but are the ones that can really get damaged in physical sports, like rugby.

To build these important muscles up core strength training in Pilates can work miracles. The range of exercises and stretches can really increase the power and strength in these key muscles, which help with further elements like posture, breathing techniques and more.

To show how practicing Pilates can help rugby players, we invited Dubai Sharks player, Freddie Clifford into the centre for a private Pilates session with our very own guru, Walid Tebarki. After his first ever Pilates class, Freddie was left feeling relaxed and more flexible, and surprised at how challenging the session was.

“I have played Rugby and other high impact sports all of my life and have never realized how challenging Pilates could be!” Says Freddie Clifford. “I left with legs like jelly, but could really feel that my body had had a proper work out, using muscles I didn’t even know I had. The next day, although I felt sore, I was much more flexible and felt like the tension had been stretched out of my muscles. I would definitely recommend any of my team mates to try Pilates as part of their fitness regime.”

“Many sports players don’t know the impact that Pilates can have on their training and core strength.” Says Walid Tebarki. “During our classes we are working every single muscle, even those that are unknown by many, or unseen. Pilates is a slow process and a way of life, but with every class you will feel the difference and see positive changes to your body and mind.”

To book your class, call 04-3447333 now or visit www.thehundred.ae for more information.

 

Practicing Pilates is not just about getting fit or improving your figure; it is an all over health and lifestyle choice and when practiced regularly, it can really change your life. We caught up with our very own Pilates guru, Walid Tebarki, on how Pilates can help you with other sports and the great foundations it gives you for a healthy and strong body.

 

How can Pilates help you with other sports?

You can compare the body to a high-rise building; they look beautiful on the outside but we don’t know how strong the foundations are. The same is with the body; just because someone looks like they have a beautiful body, doesn’t mean they aren’t physically weak or suffering from back pain, knee pain or muscle problems. Having a strong body is the most important thing for not only sports, but also every day life. In our modern, busy lifestyle we are constantly sitting working, driving or rushing around and this can take a real toll on our body. When we then do sport, we are more prone to an injury as our body is not moving as much as it should every day.

Pilates gives you strength to handle yourself better in daily life and helps your body to become more balanced. This is vital when practicing other sports as most of the time more emphasis is put on one particular side of the body, for example you play football with one foot or tennis with one arm, meaning both sides of your body are not getting enough attention at the same time. Pilates allows your body to align and strengthen your posture, core strength, and muscle power, while also improving your breathing techniques and allowing your whole body and mind to unwind.

The vital source of energy, the Chi as is known in Asian practices, is strengthened in Pilates as every exercise involves the core, which also helps us feel grounded and whole. No matter what other sport you play, having this key foundation and grounding will enable you to practice harder, push yourself more and decrease your risk of injuries.

 

How do you think practicing Pilates differs from other sports?

In Pilates you get to know your body and your personal limits, which is a massive help when practicing other sports. In our slower exercise and constant stretching we are pushing our muscles to their boundaries, each time going that little bit further. It is done in a controlled manner, all the time breathing and focusing your mind, compared to pushing yourself in other sports, which may be harmful.

For a full 360 approach to Pilates, it has to be a lifestyle change and not just a hobby or a sport. Pilates helps you become better connected to nature and yourself, and can really change the way you think and act. For me, my passion for Pilates has made me improve my overall lifestyle, eating healthier foods, sleeping earlier and waking up earlier, curbing my stress levels and so much more. If you only view Pilates as a sport or something you do to keep fit, you will be missing some of the meaning behind the wellbeing side of it.

Pilates is also an ever-changing practice. There are over 500 exercises, and a mixture of different techniques such as Reformer Pilates, Mat, Barre etc, meaning that no class should ever be the same!

 

What would you tell sportsmen/women are the 3 main benefits of them taking up Pilates?

1. There is no ego in Pilates and no showing off, which we see in gyms or in many team sports. This is maybe the reason why we see a lack of men practicing Pilates, as no one cares how good looking they are even though with a serious training you will get a lean and strong body. The present moment while practicing is more important than the result. – you must be present right now. With Pilates you feel the effects before you see them, which is sometimes a challenge for men, as they want to see results straight away.
2. Pilates is all about your own personal world, and no one is in the class to judge others on their ability or prove that they are the best. It is simply a place to be yourself.
3. You have more energy at the end of the day. You teach your body how to do more with less effort, meaning that at the end of the day you have more time to spend with your friends and family, or on other hobbies.
4. Pilates is the perfect way to prevent injuries. If you find yourself at the Physio or the Doctor, then you are too late; you are already injured. With Pilates, when practiced correctly, the chance of injury is extremely low and you can even improve your body so you don’t injure yourself when doing other sports.

 

Are you seeing an increase in the amount of sportsmen/women that now practice Pilates?

Yes, most of my clients regularly practice other sports. They have realised that they need to get back to the source and build inner strength, in order to improve their sporting abilities. Some have also started Pilates for pain relief or to help with an injury. We are also seeing a lot of top athletes around the world take up Pilates and some major football teams are now incorporating it into their training programmes, which is great!

 

To see what Walid is talking about for yourself, book a class today!

 

Being a 360-wellness center, we not only care about the wellbeing of our clients, but also the wellbeing of our planet. Unfortunately, many companies in the UAE are not doing enough to combat climate change and our levels of recycling and saving energy are a lot lower than other major cities around the world, like London or Paris. We are determined to change this and educate the community on the importance of protecting the world we live in.

 

We have teamed up with, BioD, a Dubai grown company offering innovative bio-packaging and single-use disposables in the Middle East, to provide our clients with naturally biodegradable products. In a market focusing on petroleum, BioD has broken through to offer plant-based disposables from renewable sources and the best materials in their category worldwide.

 

Starting with BioD’s bioplastic cold cups and straws for our juicing needs, as well as their plant-based waste bags, which are used throughout the center, we will have even more of their environmentally friendly products in the future. The Espresso Lab located at the center also uses their fantastic 8 oz double walled coffee cups and bioplastic lids, along with their sustainably sourced stirrers, which support sustainable forestry and international taxation laws.

 

 

Making your business more eco-friendly is all in the little things. If you can make small changes, bit by bit, then your company will be able to be as environmentally friendly as possible. The best thing about choosing BioD is the fact that their products don’t require behavioral changes from our clients or our team members. They are exact alternatives to everyday items, but have an extremely different effect on the environment.

 

Here are just a couple of reasons why we love working with BioD and encourage all our clients to take time to appreciate their products:

• Their disposables are made from renewable sources, with a much lower greenhouse gas emission process in manufacturing than petroleum-based plastics. Their use cancels out the alternative influx of potential pollution their counterparts would have caused and negative effects, whether it’s on our health or on the environment.
• The BioD items are non-toxic, and do not harm animals or marine life if they come into contact with them or end up being eaten by them. Likewise they do not enter our food system in a toxic manner, which most harmful plastics do.
• The BioD items go 100% back into the earth as bionutrients, giving some much needed minerals back to the soil!

By using and promoting companies like BioD, and other environmentally friendly products, we can start to educate the population on the importance of living a sustainable and eco-friendly life. Living in such a fast-paced city, especially a city like Dubai which is continuously changing, it’s vital that we show that being ‘green’ doesn’t need to affect your lifestyle or day-to-day tasks. If you drink coffee, just choose an eco-friendly coffee cup or reusable coffee container; recycle your packaging at home, sorting out papers, plastics, cans and glass; and use products that are better for your health and do not release harmful chemicals into the environment. If you change one step at a time you will be able to adapt your routine without making too much of an impact. By using naturally biodegradable products, our earth can be our very own waste management system. Instead of constantly filling landfills or harmfully burning waste, we need to promote products that break down naturally into the earth and even provide essential nutrients to the soil, such as the BioD products.

 

To learn more about BioD visit their website www.biod-ae.com or head down to the center and see their range of fantastic products!

 

Burning more fat and increasing more muscle while working out for less…now this sounds like an urban myth. Is it really possible to reduce the time you spend in the gym while getting fitter and healthier even quicker?!

While many people who are trying to lose weight or get fit think that the longer you exercise for, the healthier you become, this technically isn’t true. Interval training is a fitness programme alternating high-intensity exercises with low intensity breaks, and according to the American College of Sports Medicine, these types of exercises burn between 6-15 percent more calories compared to other, more traditional workouts. It is a increasingly popular type of exercise that even top celebrities around the world are hooked on.

At The Hundred Wellness Center, we have teamed up with Derryn Brown, one of Dubai’s most sought-after fitness models and personal trainers, to get clients to Move It! The Move it training sessions are based around functional movements and are not for the faint hearted! There are 8 different stations around the Functional Play studio and each participant spends 30 seconds at each station, before having a 30 second rest and moving on to the next station. Having completed an entire round of the room, they then have a 1-minute break before going for round 2, completing 3 rounds in total. The stations are challenging and focused, including Kettlebell Deadlifts, Burpees, ladder drills and lunges.

These high-energy classes are great fun and are perfect for those who get bored easily while working out. It is an excellent way to burn fat and get in shape, as the exercises incorporate full body movements at a high intensity, plus you do get a break in-between. J

 

Why take a Move It class?

• You’ll burn more calories – As mentioned above, interval training has been proven to be one of the best ways to burn fat and shape up the body.
• You’ll improve your aerobic capacity – As your cardiovascular fitness improves, you’ll be able to work out for longer or at a higher intensity, improving your fitness regime.
• You won’t get bored – Interval training focus on undertaking short bursts of different activities meaning that you will never get bored of what you are doing.
• You will have fun and make friends – The Move It classes are extremely energetic and you will meet lot of people who want to improve their health and have fun while doing so.

 

With the 45-minute classes by Derryn at 10am every Saturday or classes with other instructors at 10am on Monday, 4pm on Tuesday or 10:30am on Wednesday, there’s a day to suit everyone. Give us a call today to book your class and move it!