Monday Detox: 5 Reasons to Check Out the New Fitness Formula Club in the West Loop

Rebecca Taras — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 09:00:00 CDT

The chilly temps are already upon us, yet your workouts need not fade away with the Summer sun just because you have to move things indoors. To the rescue: the brand-new Fitness Formula Club (10 S. Clinton St., 312-902-2040) in the West Loop, the ninth FFC in the Chicago area. As with the newest addition to any family, it's easy to see why this newcomer is getting a lot of attention. Here's the scoop:

No Excuses: This sucker is positioned directly across from the Ogilvie-Northwestern transportation center, meaning the thousands of you who commute to and from the city each day have immediate access to the facilities making it easier to bypass the food court. Those who are city-bound can take advantage of free parking for two hours (the third hour is only $5.25.) Another perk? It's open 24 hours Monday through Friday.
Space: 52,000-square-feet of space means you won't be fighting for equipment. Because the work day was rough enough.
Equipment: State of the art cardio and strength training equipment from industry leaders like LifeFitness, Precor, Hammer Strength, and Free Motion. And to catch up on that fab reality television (we won't tell), there are personal viewing screens on the cardio equipment. There's also a six-lane, 75-foot lap indoor pool.
Classes: Truly something for everyone, you'll find everything from ballet sculpt, yoga, spinning, step, strength training. . . . I can tell you from personal experience that instructors Lois Miller and Antonio Coke had me sore for days after their challenging yet fun class style. No sense in wasting any of your precious time, right?
Spa: While you'll have to wait until next year for the outdoor sun deck, retreat indoors for a relaxing massage or Decleor facial within the cozy (think warm woods, fireplace) spa environs. I was impressed to see that the spa offers peels too! Unlike many other clubs that offer a lackluster selection of salads nutrition bars, FFC West Loop is home to the fourth location of Protein Bar, the popular health conscious eatery serving up a bevy of tasty (and satisfying) smoothies, sammies, salads, and wraps. Hungry for more? Check out the lowdown on the Protein Bar menu.

Source: FFC

Ortanic: Superior Custom-Blended Spray Tanning

Rebecca Taras — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 15:24:17 CDT

While you're ready for warmer temps, your pasty Chicago Winter skin isn't quite there yet. There's no reason to ban your bermudas or ditch those daisy dukes when we have Ortanic spray tanning services (available at all nine Fitness Formula Clubs). Not to be confused with the automatic, claustrophobic tanning booths of yesteryear, Ortanic is a custom-blended spray tanning experience that is applied by a highly trained technician instead of a machine. It launched in January 2009 after founders Kameron Jackson and David Faber noticed a need for superior spray tanning in Chicago. "The idea all came about when I was living in Los Angeles," says Faber. "I couldn't believe how many people were getting into spray tanning in LA, considering they had the sun so much more than we did in Chicago." What sets Ortanic apart from the competition? For starters, it only hires licensed estheticians with extensive makeup backgrounds, who have both an understanding of the skin and an eye for color. Your first visit takes approximately 30 minutes, and it includes: skin consultation, a custom-blended recipe developed to suit your needs and desires, and a body-contouring application finished with professional skin shading. There's no need to worry about looking like a streaky, candied yam either. Ortanic uses the latest airbrush technology available today, which atomizes the solutions into a very fine mist, creating an even application every time.

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Monday Detox: 5 Reasons to Check Out the New Fitness Formula Club in the West Loop

Ortanic: Superior Custom-Blended Spray Tanning