Helicopteros Medical Assistance

When sickness or ill health strikes, you don’t want to be waiting around. Helicopteros Sanitarios provide medical assistance 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Their doctor and emergency team will attend you at home, school, beach, or road accident, with their intensive care ambulances. The English and Spanish speaking medical team attend any situation, from a common illness to a medical emergency, covering from Sotogrande to Torremolinos. The cover has no call out charges, no age limit and rates start from as little as 0.96€ per day for a couple. Having been established on the Costa del Sol for 20 years, members can be sure of a great service.

For more information contact Gary Neville – 655 218 437

TRX your workout to another level with Energia Fitness

In the May issue of InsideOut health magazine we featured news of the latest fitness craze hitting America, the TRX Suspension Training System. Always keen to keep up with the latest fitness trends, Howard Standring, head trainer of Energia Fitness on the Costa del Sol, is now using this fantastic piece of equipment with his clients in Marbella and along the coast, and getting great results! Using your bodyweight, the TRX will work every muscle in your body, and even some you didn't know you had! Created for the US Navy Seals the TRX suspension trainer will give you a unique workout like no other. Sessions are circuit based bodyweight exercises giving a challenging, yet fun, metabolic conditioning workout, providing the perfect workout to melt fat, build functional strength and give superior core fitness.
Energia Fitness Tel: 615 950 854
info@energiafitness.eu

Finca Cortesin opens new spa

Finca Cortesin, a fantastic 5 star boutique hotel and golf course, is opening a new spa centre this month. Finca Cortesin is one of the most exciting projects on the Costa del So, located just a short drive up the road to Casares, it boasts a fantastic reputation as one of the top golf courses in Spain. From 2009, Finca Cortesin wil be the home of the Volvo Golf Masters, currently held at Valderrama. The new spa will feature a gym and fitness area, indoor swimming pool, and a wide range of health and beauty treatments from their qualified thearapists.

http://www.fincacortesin.com/

Drop a dress size in a week!

I spoke to a friend of mine today who's currently working on the launch of a new weight loss camp near Marbella in January 2009. Karl Wall is one of the head trainers for The Camp, a 'Drop a Dress Size' womens weight loss retreat based in Scotland. He is working with The Camp to run similar retreats on the Costa del Sol. The weeks will be run by a team of health professionals, including personal trainers, a nutritionist and their own chef. The format is that of a 'boot camp', with the focus being on high tempo activities throughout the day. The camps have proved very popular in Scotland, with virtually a 100% success rate in relation to guests dropping at least a dress size. There are a number of health retreats in the Marbella area, yet there is currently nothing quite like this. I'm sure it will prove popular with Costa del Sol residents and also clients from the UK wanting to lose weight inthe sunshine. For more details on The Camp visit http://www.thecamp.co.uk/ and for Karl's webste http://www.commandofitness.net/

Who to blame - Sanitas or Hospiten?

Amanda and I are expecting our first baby in December (the 9th to be exact!). We're both very excited and everything is going well - or it was until a few days ago! Don't panic, the baby's fine! We took out private insurance with Sanitas about year and a half ago, largely because we were trying for a baby and wanted to have insurance. We've been going to Hospiten in Estepona, as we know a few friends that have had their babies there and they seem happy with it. The appointments and scans have been good, you need to hang around a bit for you slot, but that's no issue. So, back to the story... on Sunday a friend of ours called us to tell us that Hospiten were no longer taking clients from Sanitas as of November 9th. Naturally we thought this couldn't be as simple and surely they'd let those pregnant women, who had been seeing the Dr's there, continue until the birth - so gradually phasing it out. But no! That's it! So now we (well Amanda!) is giving birth in about 7 weeks and we don't know which hospital we can go to. It sems incredible that this can happen and it's difficult to know whose fault this is, whether it's Hospiten's or Sanitas', I'm sure they'll blame each other! the options seem to be to go to USP in Marbella, or use the Costa del Sol Hospital. While I'm sure both are fine, it's crazy that at 7 months pregnant we should have to change all our plans and be left in the lurch like this.

Week three of the IOH Fit Club

Yesterday was the start of week 3 in our IOH Fit Club. Stan Blair, the head trainer, had been away on an Inspa Retreat for a week in Ibiza, but he returned in time for the session yesterday. We started, as with each Saturday morning, with some healthy smoothies (this weeks strawberry and banana being particuarly popular!), then Amanda gave a talk on healthy eating habits such as the importance of breakfast, eating small regular meals and healthy snacks. The Fit Club members asked questions relating to their own eating habits and there was a good response to the talk. We then took the group outside to the tennis / volleyball area where we met Stan for the exercise session. This involved a fun warm up, with a game of 'get the tennis ball from out of the other person's trousers'. You had to be there to see it! We then did a group circuit session, with about 8 work stations, to build and develop muscle. The Fit Club is proving a great success and already some members have asked when the next one will be starting! We have big plans for developing the IOH Fit Clubs along the coast, so keep checking back for progress!

Finding good gym equipment on the Costa del Sol

I've always found it difficult to find a place to buy good quality gym equipment in Marbella or other parts of the Costa del Sol. Decathlon in Malaga sells some basic weights and machines, but nothing too flash. Fortunately, El Corte Ingles in Puerto Banus has opened a floor dedicated to fitness equipment. They seem to have a good range of weights, benches, and many exercise machines such as rowers, bikes and running machines. recently I've been in contact with a large company from London, http://www.gymcompany.co.uk/. They are a high end gym equipment distributor, dealing with well known brands such as PowerPlate, LifeFitness and Waterrower. The good news for fitness enthusiasts on the Costa del Sol is that Gym Company will be launching here in the Marbella region very soon. They will initially sell through their website, but have plans to open a showroom somewhere along the coast in a few months. Keep checking back here for more information and also in InsideOut Health Magazine!