Car: Lincoln MKZ

This month, my car of choice that I drove around the city for a week was the Lincoln MKZ. Being a person with a family that owns a Navigator, I’m much more familiar with the Lincoln’s larger cars rather than their sedans. I was impressed by how luxurious, clean and high tech this model by Lincoln was. Rather than going on and on about the car, thought I’d point out what I loved most about it…

-Sleek and Elegant exteriors, however quite a long one which I slightly struggled with parking spaces.

-Luxurious and clean cut interiors.

-Push Button shift – there was no shift gear, it was all by buttons – the screen was touch screen too. Super high tech!

-Blinker for Blind spots – there was a yellow light that blinked if there was a car on your blind spot in another lane. Helped heavily when changing lanes.

-SYNC service – everything was voice activated and the quality of the hands free calling was amazing. Convenient for someone on the go.

-Comfortable seats – super cushioned! It also supposedly has a massage option which I didn’t get the chance to drive.

-A smooth drive

-Parking assistance with the rear camera

-The only thing I wish it had more things being a large car – more compartments (there is one for the sunglasses) and the trunk was LARGE.

-Strong LED lights on the car, which help when driving on dark roads.

Yoga: Urban Yoga

There have been a whole load of Yoga studios opening around in the city so it’s easy to stop keeping up. However if you’re a yoga regular, this is one you have to check out. Chic Brick loft space, a range of classes all day every day with different levels, a Fitness boutique, clean studio & equipments, and experienced instructors from North America. I recently took an Urban Flow (Levels 1 & 2) class at the studio, and fell in love. They have walk in options, as well as packs. If Business Bay is too far for you (it shouldn’t be!), they also teach classes at The Archive, Safa Park so make sure to check out their schedule.
www.urbanyoga.ae

Functional Training: Technogym

I’ll be honest… Technogym never meant more than gym machines to me until this month. I’ve done two functional training sessions with Technogym over the past month. One at Motion Fitness (Boutique fitness studio in Jumeirah and Atlantis ShuiQi – a larger hotel gym.) Both training sessions would be described as Functional training. To give you an idea on what Functional movement is a current global fitness trend that is here to stay. The session is compiled of natural movements you do on a daily basis – that train your muscle strength, balance and flexibility all at the same time and allow you to perform day to day activities safely and more effective. During the training, you don’t end up isolating individual muscles but rather work on the body as a whole. We worked on passing a weighted ball back and forth whilst keeping my stability & balance on the bosu ball, using the Technogym machine station controlling weights like the Kinesis. They also have an Arke equipment range that aide getting a more effective workout – they are split into categories – Air, Earth, Water and Fire. At ShuiQi, I was super impressed with how high tech the machines were… How luxe and functional they were (some of them counted reps!) you had an iPhone charge, Skype to the Web on the cardio machines as well as a key that records all your fitness scores to compare your different sessions. They also have machine options for Low impact training if you have issues with your knees or ankles. Not to mention the best way to end a session would be with a Swedish Massage at the Atlantis ShuiQi’s spa for those tense muscles. Oh yes…

Technogym functional training is available at the fab Motion Fitness in Jumeirah and Atlantis ShuiQi Fitness & Spa.

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/63022265[/vimeo]

Fitness: FAST

I’ve been hearing about FAST for some time now, and finally got the chance to check it out. Dubai-based strength and conditioning performance centre – open to amateur and professional athletes. All the coaches at FAST are previous competitive athletes who have a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Kinesiology, strength and conditioning, sports rehabilitation and/or other degrees relating to the science of the human body. They currently have two performance centres in Dubai – one appointment-based in Al Quoz and one located on Sheikh Zayed Road – where they offer private and semi private coaching, athletic therapy and classes that compliment strength and conditioning (Power Yoga, Strength training, High Intensity boxing and strongman). They also offer classes and free access to the facilities through the “Black Card” Please find the maps to each location.

I booked in for a one on one session with Coach Oliver where we went back to the basics to make sure I was getting the most out of my workout whilst avoiding to injure myself. Learning how to do the push up correctly and effectively, working against gravity, working the smaller muscles we forget to use that help support the larger ones when doing day to day movements.

https://www.trainwithfast.com.

Website: The Curve

Being a curious person that is always up to learn about something new, or discover new experiences – I love this site thecurve-me.com – it’s an online marketplace for adults to take classes all over Dubai. They have everything from Fitness classes (booty barre, reformer to weight loss pilates), Dancing, Cookie and interesting niche ones like First Aid and Meditation. Their team are fab with doing an in depth research about everything Dubai has to offer. You can search for the classes depending on the category, location, or price – as well as reviews and ratings. Paying online is super easy too, and all you have to do is show up at the classes with the confirmation without having to pay anything on the day. Great concept!

www.thecurve-me.com