CITY LIVING
HEALTH & BEAUTY
Brand New Digs For Spinback Fitness
Nyima Pratten
Our favourite spinning studio, Spinback Fitness, has relocated from Fahuazhen Lu to the more central location of Jiashan Lu, on the corner with Yongkang Lu. We couldn’t wait to check out their new spot and sweat it out on the bikes.
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stone’s throw away from the sociable bar street of Yongkang Lu, the studio could not have picked a better new location. The venue offers everything you would expect from a spinning studio, including pumping music, disco lights, energetic instructors and a large projector streaming videos of inspiring cycling adventures overhead. Spinback will also be taking delivery of brand new, state of the art bikes very soon, which will have the ability to hook up to the projector and let you cycle exciting routes from all over the world via Google Maps. A perfect activity if you are in need of a private spin one day. Spinback Fitness is China’s first dedicated spin studio, and we have been championing them ever since they opened in 2012. Spinning is an efficient way to burn calories and is extremely effective at working your core muscles. Spinback’s classes are suitable for a wide range of ages and fitness levels. Co-founder, spinning coach and Exercise Physiologist, Jon Robinson, along with his trusty and well-trained team, ensure that spinners do not over exert their bodies by checking that spinners are fitted into their bikes and that good posture is maintained, thereby allowing your body to stay in good mechanical working order. The instructors are also extremely friendly and are always on hand to
give you scientific and truthful exercise advice. We suggest that you head down to Spinback’s new studio to get fit, and genuinely have some fun while you’re at it. Whether you choose to get your head down, and listen to the energetic music thumping through the audiophile grade stereo system, or focus your attention on your instruction and giant projector at the front of the room, the class is sure to fly by before you even notice how much of a sweat you’ve broken. The high intensity cardio workout left us buzzing with endorphins, safe
in the knowledge that we had burnt through hundreds of calories. Classes last for one hour and cost RMB 120 per session, although this price is reduced when buying bulk classes. Alternatively, you can buy a six month or one year membership. Spinback Fitness. B416, 98 Jiashan Lu, near Yongkang Lu. Tel: 158 0186 9019. Web: www.spinbackfitness.com/shanghai
This month, we have the perfect antidote to dry and dull skin suffering from the effects of the city’s pollution. Scrub and moisturise your way to healthy looking skin with Lalu’s handmade, natural, chemical-free skin food.
Homemade Skin Food
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he first thing we noticed about Adja Sy, when we met with her whilst seeking a cure for our skin complaints, was her glowing complexion, the perfect advertisement for her brand. We were suffering from breakouts, dull looking skin and oily patches as a result of the extreme weather and pollution over the last few months. As many entrepreneurship stories begin, necessity was the mother of invention for this Shanghai expat. When Sy first came to the city, she found that it was almost impossible for her skin to stay looking healthy in the harsh climate, and many of the moisturising creams she found on the shelves of local stores included whitening ingredients. For obvious reasons, these products were not suitable, so instead she learnt how to make her own lotions from an aromatherapist friend. Sy only recently began to sell her cosmetic products after hearing friends complain about the poor state of their skin from living in Shanghai. Noticing that
10 TalkMagazine
March15
Nyima Pratten
there was a niche in the market, she decided to share her secret ingredients with others in the form of her Lalu range. Sy believes that it is possible to take care of your skin without the unnecessary chemicals found in traditional lotions. She urges others to look carefully at the labels and find alternative ways of giving their skin the nourishment it needs. She combines natural ingredients such as Shea Butter, cocoa, coconut oil, sugar and essential oils to create her chemical-free product line, and she is also able to create customised products to meet the needs of individual customers’ skin types. Sy has an intimate approach when it comes to customer service, “It is a personal touch that I think customers appreciate, and I love to give it. If they are happy, I am happy. And at the end, that is all that matters”. We got our hands on Lalu Cocoa Body Butter (from RMB 120). It had a rich chocolaty smell, which was so good that we wanted to eat it immediately after unscrewing the lid. The thick butter began to melt on our hands as our body temperature warmed it. The butter glided on easily to our skin, leaving it feeling soft and smooth, but not greasy as some rich body butters do. We also tried a Lalu Apple and Berries Sugar Scrub (RMB 88). The scrub’s scent is not as strong as the body
butter, but the thick sugar crystals work wonders to remove dead particles from your skin, whilst also leaving a thin film of protective oil. For people with less sensitive skin, you can also try it on your face. The Lalu Citrus Flower Oil Massage (RMB 140) had a wonderfully fresh aroma that left us wanting to slather more on as soon as it sank into our skin. Less greasy that other massage oils, we now want to use it as a moisturiser! Looking to the future, Sy is hoping to expand her product offering and increase her consumer base. She is already trialling spring concoctions such as Pina Colada and Margarita scrubs; you may find it tricky to get out of the shower. She is also hoping to make her products available in a yoga studio and shop next month, so watch this space. Right now, Sy is offering three of her products for RMB 300. The package includes one large body butter, one scrub and one massage oil. For more information, Tel: 13621929535. WeChat: AdjaLalu. Web: www.facebook.com/Lalufood4skin.