Toutes les Newsletters - Archive

Wellness / Fitness

You&rsquod like to be fit and healthy without leaving the house?  Nothing could be easier with all the home fitness and relaxation equipment that is now available. No need to feel embarrassed at the gym or spend a fortune on spas!

The fitness market has exploded. Equipment that used to be reserved for sports clubs is now available to consumers. The top of the tops is designer-look multi-function equipment. Ergonomic, it enables you to do a maximum amount of exercise in a minimum amount of space. The Personality Gym occupies no more space than a small wardrobe. Yet it houses a complete home gym that replaces 16 types of  traditional fitness equipment. Its wood or leather-covered steel doors fit into any interior decoration scheme.  The Kinesis Personal, by Italian designer and architect Antonio Citterio, is both stylish and compact. With its numerous fitness cables, 3 handles and ingenious biomechanical system, you can work your entire body using more than 200 different exercise positions.  There is a price to pay, of course.

But there are many alternatives, to suit every budget. The very affordable Fitness Cube which is is only 50 x 50 x 50 cm converts instantly into a home gym.  With its many accessories, floor mat, ankle strap and bars, you can do about thirty different exercises. It&rsquoll certainly get you off to a good start !

Several recent creations have caused a sensation. Starting with the Power Plate. This vibrating platform comes in different prices depending on the manufacturer. The most stunning is the Kenzo Power Plate.  Fashion designer Kenzo Takeda, a great fan of this increasingly popular exercise machine, has dressed it up in flowers and super cool colours, which is highly unusual in the high-tech world. The more masculine Run Personal, also by Citterio, is state-of-the-art at its very best. Its Visioweb tactile screen can be used to surf the web, watch TV, plug in your mp3 and follow the advice of an on-line coach. No more excuses for not training.

With  the Waterrower, nature lovers can row to their heart&rsquos content without going out of their living room. Designed by John Duke, this naturally self-paced rowing machine uses a patented flywheel whose outcome is uncannily similar to the &ldquoreal thing&rdquo.

After the hard work, the reward. Converting your bathroom into a spa is now very affordable with the drop in the price of whirlpool bathtubs and hydrotherapy shower units. Whirlpool baths are based on a very simple principle: the air in the room is removed and reinjected into the water through small holes around the bathtub. The air jets create a whirlpool providing luxurious relaxation. The manufacturers have come up with all sorts of extras: aromatherapy, chromotherapy, shiatsu massage and personalised massage programmes are just a few.

Today, showers vie with each other to provide maximum comfort. Extra large shower rooms, hydromassage columns, saunas and hammams offer concentrated well-being in a small space.
To relax on a small budget, you can choose from various accesssories such as massage belts and mats. The Searthlife mat developed by physical therapists stimulates acupressure points with its rubber spikes. Ideal for getting rid of tension at the end of the day!

Will it soon be possible to achieve the famous &ldquomens sana in corpore sano&rdquo &ndash in our own homes?