Extreme Wellness: A Spa Man Goes Spartan
Recently the Global Wellness Summit released the 2018 Global Wellness Trends in which they identified up and coming trends for the year that will have a significant impact on the $3.7 trillion wellness industry. According to the report:
“Each of the eight trends speaks to either entrepreneurial or personal wellness moonshots that push the health and wellness envelope in unprecedented ways. We predict that these very new directions in wellness will grow worldwide and become big businesses in the years ahead.” – Global Wellness Summit
#6 Extreme Wellness
According to the 2018 GWI report, Extreme Wellness is a trend for those brave enough to push the human limits with the focus of hacking our way to better brains, bodies and overall well being.
Extreme challenges and experiences will bring a wealth of super powers to
Our very own Doug Chambers, principal at Blu Spas, is an example of this trend in action. Doug recently competed in the Spartan Sprint Prado race – which is race over 3-5 miles where participants traverse over 20-23 obstacles. With a mission to get 100 million people of the couch, their official website says:
Spartan is more than a race; it’s a way of life. We believe that you can’t have a strong body without a strong mind, that you can’t grow without pressure, that obstacles help shift our frame of reference and make us more resilient. We believe that signing up for a race holds us accountable and keeps us motivated to train harder and eat healthier. With more than 200 events in over 30 countries, there’s no excuse not to take the first step.
Blu Spas partners, Kim and Cary Collier are also training and preparing for the Spartan Race, Montana Beast and Sprint Weekend May 5-6 in Bigfork, Montana. If you are interested, we’d love for you to join us in Montana and be a part of this epic event!
We invite all of you to participate in your own extreme wellness options and consider the idea that everything is possible if you try. We’ll see you at the starting line!
Here are Doug’s personal tips in preparing for this extreme wellness challenge below.
Spartan Sprint Prado Tips – by Doug Chambers
While it’s fresh on my mind from completing the Spartan Sprint Prado last week, I thought I’d offer a few observations that aren’t mentioned on the Spartan website:
I watched all the tutorials on the website, which gave tips on how to approach some of the obstacles. These were helpful, at least giving you a sense of what you may encounter.
• Bring a pair of gloves. I used a cheap pair which seemed to work fine. You’ll be glad you have some gloves, particularly when you’re doing burpees (failed / incomplete obstacles = 30 burpees).
• Practice burpees (see above note). Here’s a video of me doing a burpee 😉
• Grip strength plays into several obstacles. To improve grip strength, consider rope climbs, indoor rock-climbing, etc.
• Consider getting neoprene shin sleeves, such as these from Amazon . These will protect your shins during some obstacles, particularly guarding against rope burns.
• You will get dirty / muddy / filthy, so dress accordingly. I saw some folks wearing white shorts or shirts. Everyone was completely brown from mud by the end of the event. By the end, seemed like each of my shoes was filled with mud.
• Even though Sunday’s event was 5 miles, you’re only running / jogging about ½ mile or less at a time between obstacles. Note that there were several incline changes … up hills / down hills and some flat zones … but most times there was either an incline or decline.
• Don’t fret if you don’t excel at every obstacle; some will be easier than others and many found some impossible. It’s meant to be fun, so keep it light and enjoy it. It’s a certainty that there will be some participants more fit than you are and some less fit.
• Team members can and do help each other through obstacles, so there’s no shame in getting a boost.
Sunday’s event had perhaps 7 walls to climb over, each at different heights. It was like jumping a fence, although the last one was about 8 or 9 feet high (and many participants were benefiting from a friendly boost).
• Bring sunscreen. I forgot mine, but luckily a team mate shared theirs.
• Bring an old beach towel and some wipes for clean up at the end. They had communal ‘showers’ (garden hoses) with miserable water pressure. The beach towel works for drying off and for a wrap to change into dry clothes.
• Bring flip flops and a plastic bag for toting your muddy garments. Extra shoes would also be a good idea.
And just remember, all will be well and we’ll all help each other all the way to the finish line.
