Welcome to the spa-rty

Now that the supposed Recession Era has hit, you would think that “luxury” and “exclusivity” are out and “plebeianism” and “austerity” are in. Especially right after New Year, you can’t feel more plebe than at the gym, when you and all the rest of the proles line up at the treadmill to work off the massive amounts of holiday ham you consumed.

But leave it to the creative minds at Fitness First to come up with a luxury angle even for such an egalitarian concept as the gym. First they thought up Fitness First Platinum, two more intimate, state-of-the-art gyms in TriNoma and the RCBC Plaza Towers.

“We’re the only one that has a swimming pool,” notes Ashley Skinner, club general manager of Fitness First Platinum RCBC. “The difference is that we’ve got the pool, we also provide the workout clothes for the members, and we provide the towel service, which you don’t get in the other clubs.”

Then there’s the exclusivity factor, “because we have less members than in a standard Fitness First,” he says. “There’s about 1,800 in this club; other clubs have 3,000, 4,000 and up. The price point (P3,500 monthly vs. P2,500 in the standard clubs) makes it such that not many people can enroll here.”

Now the Fitness First Spa has upped that feeling of exclusivity by upgrading its services and hiring local spa experts to develop new kinds of pampering you won’t find in any other gym. After that grueling workout, say goodbye to your plebe sports massage and hello to four different kinds of hilot and anti-aging vinotherapy.

“We’re launching totally different menus for them and a new look for the spa,” says spa consultant Liza del Rosario, who’s tuned in to the needs of athletes because she also happens to be a professional bowler.

“The new menu has very nice treatments,” adds her sister, veteran spa consultant Leah Dy. “It’s all traditional hilot. We have the hilot hagod, which uses long strokes, like Swedish massage, and we put a warm banana leaf on your back…”

“Instead of a sauna or steam there’s a transfer of heat so it relaxes you more and prepares the body to receive the actual treatment,” Liza chimes in.

“There were studies that said that once the banana leaf is put on your back and the therapist presses her hands on it, the tendency is it will tear,” notes Leah, “but if the banana leaf sticks to a certain area, the client is usually suffering from some aches and muscle tension.

“Hilot buga uses a herbal hot compress,” she continues. “Because Fitness First is from the UK and the tagline of the spa is ‘Enjoy a world-class health and fitness haven that blends the Western spa experience with truly unique Filipino flavor,’ we wanted to incorporate European treatments with local Filipino ones, so we integrated them.”

Two more spa treatments with a twist are hilot patong, a hot-stone massage; and hilot bintusa, in which cupping is used to draw out impurities. Recommended after a hard workout, Fitness First Spa offers both 60-minute (P700) and 90-minute (P1,200) versions of these massages, and there’s no price difference between the different hilots.

On the Western side, Fitness First Spa is the first to offer vinotherapy or wine therapy, an anti-aging treatment (sans massage) that includes a scrub, wrap, and wine bath (P1,700).

“We’re handling all 11 branches of Fitness First, starting with RCBC,” Leah says. “We redesigned all the spas, conducted training for the new menu and members get a premium in their spa reservations and a 10-percent discount.”

In order to get the full Platinum experience, I first had a session with personal trainer Ice Abellon, who, prior to any workout, asks potential clients about their medical histories via Fitness First’s PAR-Q questionnaire. You will be quizzed about your goals and expectations, whether it’s to lose weight quickly or to hone a six-pack.

Then he put me through the paces of a “light workout.” After warming up on the treadmill, he guided me through specially tailored exercises with light dumbbells and a medicine ball. Just from one session I could already tell that if I continued training with Ice, I would probably be able to meet my fitness goals within a few months.

Before I could fully appreciate the good kind of soreness that was sinking into my de-conditioned muscles, I was whisked upstairs to the spa.

Though I used to get regular massages at the handful of earth-toned rooms at Fitness First’s Eastwood branch, RCBC’s Platinum spa boasts a totally different atmosphere, with subdued greens and dark woods creating a soothing, modern Filipino atmosphere.

First I tried the vinotherapy, where they use a grapeseed scrub to polish your skin to a shiny softness before slathering on a velvety antioxidant cream. After you’ve been wrapped up snugly and left to relax on the spa’s heated massage bed, who could blame you if you dozed off for a few minutes? You’ll soon be woken up by the bracing fumes of red wine. For lack of a tub, this treatment’s wine bath had to be substituted with a wine splash. They hand you a wooden scoop and bucket filled with red wine, which you are supposed to pour on yourself, thereby absorbing all the good effects of the grapes’ resveratrol.

After the vinotherapy I highly recommend getting a hilot to address the muscles you’ve just worked out. I tried the hilot hagod, which I love for its free-flowing strokes (the Dy sisters made sure to take out any jarring or jerky movements) and that much-vaunted warm banana leaf on your back.

Afterward, when I couldn’t feel more relaxed, I mused that while health may be wealth, the hard body isn’t worth achieving unless you can score a bit of pampering along the way.

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Fitness First Spas are located at Fitness First ABS-CBN, Alabang, Fairview, Manila, Mall of Asia, RSC Makati, North Edsa The Block, Southmall, RCBC and Pampanga.