Power Plates: Tried and Tested

Power Plates: Tried and Tested.

The lifestyle Institute

Location: Set in the heart of the pulsing financial City district, seconds from the Barbican Centre and within walking distance of Moorgate, Liverpool St and Bank. Perfect for busy city types to pop in for a lunchtime half hour class.

Facilities: Top floor studio, intimate and cosy. Low lighting, chilled funk music, candles. Four power plates located at front of studio in front of a floor to ceiling mirror.
Changing facilities partitioned off from room by curtains.
Poor bathroom facilities. Ladies and men's located on ground floor and first floor respectively. One ill-kept, grubby looking shower and very little space to change.

Class: Half hour class. Great tuition, guidance and encouragement from Jessica our instructor and owner of the studio. Easy to follow instruction and she tailored the class to suit our differing fitness levels and abilities. Ended the session by lying on our front then backs to allow the plate to intensely massage our quaking legs.

Overall: Once in the studio the atmosphere and staff are very welcoming. The instructors are very sympathetic to your abilities and are knowledgeable and informative. The lifestyle Institute would be particularly good for personal tuition due to the intimacy of the space and the care and attention the trainers bestow upon you. The only thing letting this wonderful business down is the inept showering facilities, however these are easily avoided by simply washing when you get home!


Power Tone – Mayfair

Location: A fairly unkempt entrance on Maddox Street, off Regent's Street. Less than five minutes walk from Oxford Circus. Clients must use the stairs off the street into the basement location.

Facilities: Although below street level the studio is very bright, airy and welcoming. It feels exactly the sort of place you could do some serious exercise. The main room houses four power plate machines in front of a floor to ceiling mirror. Beyond this is a smaller room with one machine for private instruction and located at the very back is a further room used for various massage treatments. The changing facilities consist of two spacious curtained-off areas in the main studio and a toilet upstairs, however there are no showers.

Class: My class was a one on one with personal trainer...... Although the basic preamble about the equipment was minimal, the session was fluid and very enjoyable. Because the focus was solely on me, we were able to go at pace and managed to fit a number of exercises into the 25 minute slot. The session ended once again with an intense thigh massage on the plate and finally a lower back massage.

Overall: The class was mid-morning and I had the studio to myself, my instructor was the only other person in the room. The direction was very good and I felt like I had a thorough workout. During the session the phone rang quite often and perhaps it would have been useful to have someone else manning reception.


Movers and Shaper – Vauxhall

Location: In the new development in Vauxhall opposite the bus and train station. Exit 6 if you emerge from underground. Easy to spot from the road.

Facilities: A very welcoming studio with funky wall paper in shades of mauve and taupe. Nice size and feels spacious. Flowers on the front desk add a nice touch. Four power plates in a partitioned-off area in front of floor to ceiling mirror. One further small room housing one power plate machine used for private instruction or an introduction to the club. A changing cubicle at the back of the studio and toilets by reception.

Class: The session began with a massage warm up on the plate, followed by a series of pulsing exercises. Positions adopted on the plate differed largely to those followed at the other two studios. My instructor Bob was very friendly and genial. He clearly has a wealth of experience and the session was very informative and fun. He radiated enthusiasm and motivation and finished with a vibrating thigh and calf massage on the machine.

Overall: Movers and Shakers is part-owned by Bupa and as such offers a nutrition and energy personal training service to every member in the form of 'Fitbug'. The Fitbug is a small electronic device which records your daily energy use and reports back to the Movers and Shaker's trainers. Combined with information on your daily calorie intake, you and your trainer are able to chart your fitness progress.
This studio had more of a gym feel, despite the elegant decor, this was probably due to the male instructors though. The music was motivating and despite the lack of shower facilities this is a great studio to come and use on the way to, or from work.


Good Vibes – Fitzrovia

Location: Situated on Little Riding Street, a quiet road hidden behind the hustle and bustle of Oxford Circus. Perfect for media types popping out for a half hour fitness blast.

Facilities: A very large reception area, decked out in white with orange bubble chairs, colourful chandeliers and large ornate mirrors. In the hallway between reception and studio are two changing rooms and directly opposite these, two toilets with one accommodating a shower cubicle. The studio is at the back in a fairly large room with five power plate machines. There are floor to ceiling mirrors on two walls and a pleasing glass roof. There are witty touches throughout the venue.

Class: The group class began with a warm up followed by a chunk of leg toning exercises, some brief arm exercises then a punishing abdominal work section, followed by a warm down massage on the plate. Of all the classes I've attended this felt like it had the best structure, although our instructor seemed slightly more 'light-weight' than those in the other venues.

Overall: Good Vibes definitely gets the girlie vote and the changing facilities here were amongst the best I'd seen. The studio appears to be more geared up for groups rather than personal training and despite knowing that we were all beginners there was little to no instruction about the power plates and how they worked.
This is the perfect studio for a fun workout session however more serious fitness types may turn their noses up.
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Cult Clubmaster

Anyone who keeps a beady eye on our blogs will know we're not averse to blowing Ray Ban's trumpet now and again. But hold the press, the Wayfarer's younger brother has reared it's meddling head to divide your affections. Known as the 'Clubmaster' this model features a 1950's brow line bar and was Ray Ban's homage to to the stars of the Fifties and Sixties. First released in 1986, the Clubmaster was an instant hit and proved very popular with America's burgeoning hip-hop and pop culture.

Following the massively successful re-release of the Wayfarer and it's continuing popularity, Ray Ban got smart and produced another ace with the re-launch of their equally iconic Clubmaster model. The original came only in black and tortoiseshell, however lucky Noughties kids can choose from 7 new colours.

As fitting a much loved star, it's relaunch was held with grand aplomb at The Bowery Ballroom in New York in December '08, with more celebrities in attendance than you could shake a stick at. Taking inspiration from their Fifties and Sixties theme, Ray Ban hired a host of hip American musicians, including The Black Kids, to perform re-worked popular tunes from the vintage era. The guest list read like a promoter's dream with everyone's favourite Gossip Girl stars; Blake Lively, Penn Badgley, Chace Crawford and Ed Westwick working the red carpet, alongside Hollywood sweethearts Diane Kruger and Joshua Jackson and even the elusive Kevin Bacon put in a rare appearance, perhaps tempted by the retro Eighties Clubmaster and nostalgic for his 'Footloose' days?!!

Of course now all the stars have their mitts on these toptastic shades, Ray Ban can rest on their laurels; surely the only way is up. And as for which style to go for... we say a little indulgence never hurt anyone, go on buy a pair of each!

Reveiw of Aqua Sculpture Day Spa in Hammersmith

I was given a £150 Wahanda voucher as a gift and having browsed the salons in partnership with Wahanda, settled on the Aqua Sculpture Day spa near Hammersmith, realising that I'd get more more for my money at a smaller local spa, than one of the more established one's in Mayfair.
The Spa is very well presented and easy to find. The reception area, has an Eastern influence and is very well appointed. I picked up the most recent Times Magazine while waiting and noticed the spa had received a very good review from The Times Salon Spy and subsequently felt glad I'd visited before the stampede!

I opted for the Inch-loss Universal contour Wrap, a facial and a basic manicure. To my delight all three were discounted in the New Year promotion.

My therapist Florence led me downstairs, along a beautifully dimmed corridor lined with lanterns to my treatment room. Once there we discussed what I hoped to achieve from the treatment and which facial would be best suited to my skin. She was very knowledgeable on all aspects and answered my endless questions regarding the treatments I was having and the ones they offered, very succinctly and with ease.

I was told to strip to all but paper knickers, whilst Florence took about 10 different measurements in order to compare my vitals before and after the treatment. I felt a little uncomfortable standing naked whilst she wrapped the bandages around me and thankfully she realised this and constructed me a bandage bra (!) before ensconcing the rest of my body with the wrap! Once wrapped from heel to neck she helped me put on a special silver suit to ensure the heat could work it's magic. Ordinarily at this point, the client would lie on a heated bed under blankets for an hour and do very little, which I realised could be a little dull, so opted to have my facial whilst the wrap went to work detoxing my sorry body...

The facial was wonderful and very relaxing. My skin felt amazing to touch and plump until the next day... The music was pretty good too, switching between generic spa music and a cooler more foot tapping sound with I couldn't begin to describe now.

After the hour's facial I was unwrapped mercifully quickly as the exposure made me feel very cold. Thankfully it was over quickly and after a brief towel down and more measurements I got back into my clothes. Apparently I'd lost a total of 10 inches all over, which I was slightly doubtful about, but my jeans did feel slightly more comfortable! Obviously in order to ensure the inches stay at bay a course of wraps is recommended.

Upstairs for my manicure, which was lovely and over all too quickly. Unfortunately my nail polish had chipped slightly the next day which I was a little disappointed about.

My only gripe was the sales talk and I eventually ended up buying 2 products due to the persistence of my therapist. I would have felt more comfortable if the sales patter was less incessant. However luckily for me, due to the incredible good value of the treatments I had almost enough credit left within my voucher to cover the price of the products and only ended up paying a minimal amount on top. Before I left I was actually given a few Matis sample products to try at home, which it turns out are excellent...

Overall it was a very good experience and I would definitely return for further treatments.

"The future's so bright I gotta wear shades"

Those fickle fashion designers and trend setters that dictate our yearly flings and love affairs with countless styles of sunglasses are to blame. We enter a new year and our much prized glasses from the previous season are cast aside, just as in years gone by, as we clamour to see what we should be buying in 2009 to keep up with the fashion crowd and stay one step ahead of the girl next door.

2008 was a colourful year for sunglasses, quite literally. British style was optimised by Lily Allen and her plethora of rainbow hued shades, just as Paris Hilton paved the way for our compatriots in the USA with enormous white rimmed sunnies. It was a year of kiddie style, joke glasses, that when worn amongst other trend followers seemed acceptable, yet worn in the wrong situation or within an ill-informed crowd, elicited sniggers and strange glances. These sunglasses were accepted, expected and rife throughout the long summer of festivals and frivolity, but like all fun trends were forgotten by the end of the year.
In the same year Ray Ban's Wayfarers showed no sign of lagging as the Eighties trend held strong. Similarly Oakley's limited release of their iconic frogskins filled a gap in the market and were embraced by celebrities and fashion followers alike. And who can forget Kanye West's 'shutter shades', which spawned a host of copycat disciples and ran away with the prize for the most ridiculous glasses of the year, despite a strong field of contenders.

2009 looks set to become a vintage year. Along with the re-emergence of bygone styles, those in the know are cautioning you to hold on to your ray bans and aviators as these classic styles are set to continue their steady growth. The big news though is 'round' mod-like sunglasses. Yes you heard me correctly and no, this time we're not channelling John Lennon. Think Jackie O and Audrey but smaller. These beauties were crawling all over the Spring/Summer 09 runways, leading the way were big hitters Ralph Lauren and Lanvin. Of course the celeb's are hot on the designer's heels and both Mary-Kate Olsen and Lily Allen have both been papped wearing them. Another surprising trend is classic horn-rimmed styles, which Chanel were sporting in their new season's collection. Colour wise it's all about tortoiseshell this season, which is a welcome change to those who felt left out in the cold by last years crayola colour shades.

And there you have it. Your definitive guide to this years coolest sunglasses. It's a bit of an odd-ball mix and there's some howlers in there, but wouldn't fashion be dull if we didn't shake it up a bit and look silly occasionally?!