As we are being told not to exercise as much anymore, have struggled to jump on the new health bandwagon. From watching ‘perfect people’ the film have started to realise it takes time.
One of my main problems, coming out of covid, is cellulite.
This blog is the continuation of cellulite diaries, as for me it is sadly a continual journey. WordPress is a great place to write diary entries, so will continue here with my notes and findings.
I have a real battle on my hands with it, so this topic is for fellow sufferers who are looking for answers.
To be honest I don’t think a lot of people are bothered about cellulite. This is fair enough, I wouldn’t strictly dictate people had to do something. It is mainly a personal choice.
Personally I don’t like it and prefer to keep it under control. If I could get rid of it I would, but not sure you can ever really get rid of it.
The other thing is I actually love how spa day feels and enjoy pampering myself.
As far as selling the concept of cellulite I’m not really bothered.
I buy products because I like them.
If you want to do spa day cheaply, it will probably work just as well, unless there is the magic product out there somewhere? hopefully cellulite diaries will discover it.
We discovered last year that we can loose weight without exercising. My research now is can you loose cellulite without exercising? did original spa’s include exercise?
WEDNESDAY FUNCTIONAL FITNESS
SPA DAY
From slimming calendar last year, (did a slimming calendar on pinterest to try and keep fit during covid restrictions), discovered functional fitness by Kathy Smith. This is the fitness concept that we can actually keep fit by doing household jobs, as long as we learn good form.
Posture and Joint MovementsMaintain good posture, especially in the spinal region, when you squat, lunge, or step. Keeping your back straight (not rounded), your shoulders drawn back, and your pelvis in a neutral position allow you to handle heavier resistances without compromising your spine.
Proper Form and Technique – Human Kinetics
This led me to the realisation that a home spa day actually burns a lot of calories as it is actually fairly arduous hard work.
(The more active we are everyday determines our fitness level).
If we go to a spa, the consultants do all the hard work for us, the main thing for the client is to relax. Relaxation is part of the cure.
If you don’t want to exercise at all maybe home spa will get you the results without having to do arduous misersble gym routines, like picking up medicine balls or pulling rope that hurts feminine hands.
Personally I do want to do some exercise, but nothing extreme.
Watching old 80’s videos, I realise what Racquel Welch was getting at in her video, Raquel Welch – Total Beauty and Fitness, Have to agree with her. Think her video is aimed at women fed up of 80’s aerobics.
Tried those sort of classes myself pre – covid and veered towards beginner classes. Apart from one that had this mad woman at the back. She kept shouting faster, faster, in a beginner step class, so me and this other beginner couldn’t pick up the steps. The instructer wasn’t in control of her class really.
Think yoga is more what we are being encouraged to do now.
Think I will try some of these exercises.
Swedish sauna spa
The swedish sauna keeps swedes warm in winter. They get so hot in them they can handle running out into the cold snow to cool down.
In my home spa today, I heated up my room to a high temperature and filled my washing up bowl, (as recommended in an 80’s spa routine), with piping hot water. Even though my room isn’t a sauna, after all the hard spa day work, was really hot, had to come running out of my room to the coldness of the kitchen, felt wonderful. It is definately a way to keep warm once a week during winter.
Heating your home spa day to be as warm as a sauna.
Before I started watched the fenjal advert, (created in Switzerland), and wondered if we had lost the plot with what a spa actually is.
The origins of spa
Where does the word spa come from?
Although there is no clear answer as to where the word spa began to be associated with healing practices, but there are two main theories about the term’s etymology:
– ‘Spa’ is an acronym of the Latin phrase ‘Salus per Aquam’, meaning ‘health from water’.
– ‘Spa’ is named after the Belgian village, Spa, where hot mineral springs were used by Roman soldiers to treat aching muscles and wounds from a battle.The history of spas and spa treatments
Today it’s fair to say that spas are at the forefront of the holistic health and wellness movement. People everywhere are discovering that the most effective approach to health is maintaining a balanced body and lifestyle – something spas are experts in assisting with. They are home to some of the latest pioneering treatments and research into nutrition, mindfulness and wellbeing. Offering everything from perfectly tailored treatments during refreshing spa breaks to intensive boot camps educating people across a range of topics.
However, the modern-day spa has deep roots, having grown from some of the most long-standing health practices in the world. So, whether you are interested in learning about the origins of treatments or want to learn more about how spas can differ around the world, read on to find out more.How old are spas?
Whilst many people associate traditional spas with Roman baths, there is evidence of spa-type therapies dating back thousands of years when there was a belief in the curative powers of mineral waters. Paul Joseph, co-founder of Health and Fitness Travel explains: “Spas, healing waters, thalassotherapy, hydrotherapy and hot springs date back thousands of years – an ancient practice conducted long before the Greeks and Romans!”
One of the first written accounts of bathing being used as a curative process rather than a simple hygiene ritual was by ancient Greek philosopher Hippocrates, who was alive over 2000 years ago between 460 and 370 B.C. Hippocrates proposed that the cause of all ailments was an imbalance of bodily fluids, and advocated that “the way to health is to have an aromatic bath and scented massage every day.”
This process, using bathing as a treatment of disease, is known as balneotherapy and is considered the founding principle of spa-going. Its influence can be seen today in everything from mineral-infused treatments or jumping in the hot tub after a swim to thalassotherapy – swimming in seawater to heal the skin.
In their early history, the primary use of curative baths was to heal the wounds of Roman soldiers during the reign of Augustus from 27 B.C. to 14 A.D. At this time, there were approximately 170 baths, known as a thermae, in Rome and it didn’t take long before all the city’s citizens began to view baths as a form of rest and relaxation. It was in 70 A.D. that the Romans built a thermae bath spa around the hot springs at Bath, the first of its kind in Britain.
In 1326, Collin le Loup, an ironmaster from Liège, Belgium, discovered the chalybeate springs in the town of Spa, Belgium. A famous health resort eventually grew around these springs and the term ‘spa’ came to refer to any health resort located near natural springs, with individual springs being associated with the disease they were thought to benefit.
However, it was not only in Europe that rituals associated with spa-going were developing. From Japanese ryokan to Turkish hammams and Finnish saunas/steam rooms, different healing facilities were growing around the world. By the Elizabethan era, spa resorts were fully ingrained into British culture and since then they have become more advanced but still stick to their humble, restorative origins.
Therefore in ancient times people didn’t exercise at spa’s, the healing process was nothing to do with exercise, it was the water.
Beth McGroarty defines this process as the development of spas as wellness centres.
This growing trend involves changes such as “adding everything from yoga, fitness or meditation classes,
edited from
champneys.com/blog/the-history-of-spas-and-spa-treatments
This could mean you could possibly, loose weight, tone up, get rid of cellulite and so forth, without even exercising, unless weight loss is a modern requirement, hence the addition of gyms and so forth. You might not have to do arduous workouts if the spa gets rid of problem areas. This would mean exercising for recreation as oppose to getting a small waist or fitting model fashion sizes. Just need recreation fashion for women who aren’t dancers.
So far discovered from cellulite diaries that cellulite cream and eating healthier definately worksworks.
This could be great news for people like me who haven’t got room in their homes for a home gym.
Instead of exercising at home, we could create home spas, at least until post covid gym and housing market restrictions end.
If our home spa days create youthfullness and slimming effects, we may have more energy from not exercising all the time.
Still want to do some exercise, just because I enjoy it, but quite happy not to go back to how much I used to do. Most of my free time was taken over by gym sessions, yoga, post 80’s aerobics, which wasn’t as mad or dangerous to health.
What are the negative effects of aerobics?
The old saying, “No Pain No Gain” can’t be farther from the truth. Current research clearly demonstrates that too much aerobic exercise may cause harmful effects such as impaired immune function, inadequate energy levels, muscle cramps, reduced peripheral vascular resistance, and overtraining.
Physiological Consequences of Extreme Aerobic Activity – NASM Blog
(Found Raquel Welch and Zsa Zsa Gabor just in time maybe?
Still suffering some pain from trying dance, wish I hadn’t bothered now).
getting in 10,000 steps a day. And all to make me smaller at the top, so I could be a perfect size 8 dress size.
If you stop exercising from highly active it is really hard to get it back. If you overeat, then try and get back to eating healthily it is more do – able.
Before I start exercising again, think I want honest answers about spa and exercise.
Even yoga can be extreme, although with this older people not only keep going with it, but it actually keeps them young.
Covid is therefore a good excuse to think through a lifetime exercise and spa routine that can be maintained for the rest of our lives.
Just started a new routine yesterday that was invented post 80’s aerobics, will blog it if I can do it without it hurting like waist forming ballet exercises.
Hopefully will learn more this year in cellulite diaries.
Will write up any interesting discoveries and products I find for you. One I’m going to try is superfoods. Got the healthy Chef checked out by my doctor, (who helped me heal from a dancing waist injuy so really good), like she tells you to do, and she came up good. Really glad as have been following her on instagram and her ideas look great.
Whatever I do will be the unextreme version as usual, so hopefully we will all do well from this journey of discovery.
Conclusion
Sitting back, relaxing and thinking things through. Makes you decide what you want from life, rather than what the world dictates and expects from us.
We may not achieve the ‘perfect’ requirements of a material world, with the model of what a woman ‘should’ look like, but we can live our lives how we want and on relaxation realise we ‘are good enough!!
Spa in essence is about healing, not hurting and overtraining to fit someone elses body type that we may never be able to achieve anyway, body types are when it comes down to it, to do with genetics anyway.
We need to love our own genetic structure and not someone elses.
Hope you found something of interest here.
Will keep blogging up my findings for you.
Keep warm and healthy!!!!
SAPHIRE LIFESTYLE BLOG 
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