Oh head bumps!

How does time seem to pass so fast before I realize that I'm slacking on something? (or a number of things for that matter)  It has been such a crazy past two weeks that I have been behind in so many things!!

I continued on with a crazy job hunt, but was lucky enough to get a teaching job at one of the nicest health and fitness clubs here in West Knoxville.  It is a fantastic facility filled with great perks and TONS of awesome machines and really awesome group fitness classes. The facility offers a lot of Les Mills fitness classes so I have been getting to experience and learn these. If you haven't heard of Les Mills classes, you should check them out. The instructors receive pre-coreographed routines and music every three months and they teach those routines until they receive a new one. It is an interesting way of teaching, but fantastic for students and/or teachers who love to know their routines by heart.

I've also been slowed down a bit the past few days because of the stupid concussion I managed to give myself at the lake. I somehow managed to whack my eye on the back of my friend's head while reading jet skis and found a way to knock myself out. Late night trips to the ER on Memorial Day weekend are seriously not very fun (unless you are people watching, they get some crazy injuries at 2 in the morning!)

I am determined now though to get back to normal and keep everything in line :)

To keep you all going, here are some links to some of my favorite health and fitness posts I have found this week:

• How to Speed Up Your Metabolism (FitSugar)
• How To Make A Healthy Smoothie (PeanutButterFingers)
• Sandcastle Workout (ToneItUp)
• Beach Ball Workout (ToneItUp)
• Spring Shopping List and Recipes (VitalJuice)
• POP Pilates: Crazy Core Workout (Blogilates)

Summer!!

Summer has finally arrived!! The process of packing, moving, unpacking and job hunting has gotten me very behind on updating. I am finally settled back in at home, unpacked and on a mission to find a job. I interviewed earlier this week at my local gym for a front desk/teaching position (keeping my fingers crossed) so hopefully I will hear something soon. It's the job I've really been hoping for!

Now that summer has arrived and I'm not stuck to my incredibly routine schedule any longer (yes!!) I've gotten very excited to begin taking all new classes at The Rush. I took a cardio fuel class earlier this week and it kicked my booty in the best possible way. I'm excited to shock my body out of its usual routine and to get re-pumped about working out and staying fit.

Image from Pronto

I also celebrated a birthday this week (I'm now the big 22, yikes!) and received an amazing gift from my grandma: the essential Zumba kit!! The kit comes with 8 different DVDs, a music cd, the fitness concert DVD, a guidebook AND the toning weights. I have had sooo much fun with it! It is seriously one of the best kits/dvd sets ever. It allows me to dance to the Zumba I love even when no classes are going on in my town. You guys have got to check it out! I promise it is definitely worth every penny!

Are any of you Zumba fans? The latin fusion dance program is one of the most popular fitness crazes right now! The high energy choreography keeps participants energized while they get a great cardio and muscular workout. Classes are popping up all across the US as this fitness party is taking over the nation. It is great for anyone because the moves can be modified to fit any fitness level. The best part about the program is that it encourages you to just keep moving and have fun, perfecting the moves isn't the important part, its about having a good time while burning calories.

Check out this Zumba dance for Shakira's song 'Waka Waka' that was written for the 2010 World Cup.


I think everyone should try a Zumba class at least once in their lifetime. Let me know if you do!!

Pants vs. Shorts?

Now that we've hit warmer weather, I have  moved completely away from wearing pants or capris, and moved onto my shorts !!! (which I loooooooove) I have at least a couple weeks worth of brightly colored, eye-catching, printed shorts. And I can't stop myself from going into Dick's Sporting Goods every time I'm at the mall to scope out the latest short selection. Nike Dri FIT shorts are my guilty pleasure.

What do you guys think? Are you more favorable to shorts, capris or pants? Or does it depend on the weather or sport? As much as I love my shorts, I don't dare going to yoga in anything but capris (for personal comfort reasons.)

FitSugar posted an article today about the the athlete's equivalent to the little black dress: the little black workout pant. The stylish, comfortable and often sexy black workout pant is the perfect alternative to , as they say, the sometimes "sweat-exposure colored fitness pants."Though the color/sweat issue doesn't bother me, I can see how it would make someone uncomfortable and these pants are a great fix.

You can find these pants is a wide variety of different lengths and designs, tailored for any body size or shape.

Nike has a wonderful pair, the Nike Essentials Filament Capri Pant, that runs around $45.

CW-X has a 3/4 Stabilyx Tight pair of capris that you can find on Zappos for $86.

And Pearl Izumi has a Superstar Knicker in black on sale on Zappos for only $64.

What do you all think? Pants vs. Capri? Black vs. Color? What is your preference? Be sure to check out FitSugar's article for more info and capri options. Now go put on your shorts or capris and enjoy the sunshine!

Tunes for Toning

I feel like I talk about music a lot on here, but to me, music can make or break my workout. If my music isn't pumping me up and keeping me going, I'm gonna quit ASAP.

In my constant quest to discover new tunes to tone to, I discovered this great site called We Are Hunted and it is filled with tons of amazing songs. The site lets you listen to the hottest in remix music, new tunes and new artists. It opens you up to a whole world of music you didn't know existed.

Though you can't download the music for free or anything, the website does give you the option to buy the music or you can use it as a starting point to find more music you like. You can always buy these songs you find on itunes or something of the sort.

Inside the site you can choose to discover musical remixes, songs by genre, emerging artists or popular songs. With this site, you can tell them what you like and they will create a playlist for you. It is FANTASTIC!!!!!!!! Check it out here and tell me what you think!

Image from Musformation

Excuse me sir, do you happen to have the time?

Photo from FitSugar

Last week I talked about different ways you can motivate yourself to hit the gym. That means you have the time but are simply being a little bit of a lazy butt and not pushing yourself to exercise. But what if you just can't seem to find the time. Sometimes your just super, extra, crazy, insanely, unbelievably busy (like me!) and you really cannot find time to squeeze in even the shortest workout.


FitSugar posted a fantastic article today called 5 tips for finding time to exercise. If your one of those busy bees who is always running on a tight schedule, this article may be just what you need. Check out the link to read the entire article, but if your as busy as you say you are (wink wink,) then here are the five tips:

• Go during lunch. Swap out a leisurely lunch with a power workout a few times a month, and you'll be able to add a quick session into your day. If you're pressed for time, dry shampoo, face wipes, and an organized gym bag can keep your locker room time short and sweet.
• Put it on your calendar. Blocking out time on your calendar will help you schedule around your workout instead of just thinking you'll have time to fit in it in and then not being able to.
• Make a date with a friend. You know that exercise buddies can be the key to a keeping you accountable in your fitness routine, so if you feel you're in need of some catching-up time, then try scheduling a tennis session or a jog around the park with a friend instead of brunch or drinks.
• Make it short and sweet. There are many ways to fit in a 20-minute session that gets your heart pumping, including working out at home or going for a quick run. When we asked you, you had more creative ways to squeeze in some exercise. FitSugar readerGummiBears likes to break out the jump rope, while trinachka multitasks with free weights on the stair-climber.
• Change your bedtime. If you find yourself wasting the end of your day on mindless TV, going to sleep a little earlier could be just what you need to wake up early enough to exercise before the craziness of the day begins.

I hope these tips help you find a way to manage your time and sneak in a little bit of cardio or toning when you have a couple minutes to spare. Healthy living and exercise aren't things you can skip or push to the back burner. In order to live a longer, happier life, you must keep your body feeling great and fueled well. Pairing the right about exercise with a proper diet is all you need to help you feel better each day and to stay more alert, focused and efficient throughout your daily activities.

To exercise or not to exercise...THAT is the question

I'm thankful that today I'm teaching the hard core abs class because if I wasn't, I don't think I would be headed to the gym. Sometimes when the day is dark and gloomy, I find it hard to force myself out of bed to  workout. (I even find it hard to get up for food!) My motivations issues have had me wondering, does gloomy weather keep you away from the gym? And if it doesn't, what makes you go?


As I got to thinking about what motivates me, I thought I would make a list to share with you. Here are my top motivations:

• A friend waiting at the gym (I can't leave my friends there alone!)
• Cute gym clothes that I want to show off
• A FANTASTIC  new mix on my iPod (I don't allow myself to listen to it before I hear it at the gym)
• Treating myself with a small splurge for fighting laziness
• Finding a new printable workout that I'm dying to try

 If a new printable workout motivates you, here it Tone It Up's latest beach babe workout. And if you need more, you can work out like Colbie Caillat with her Super Slim Down Workout.

And if new music keeps you going, check out Shape's 10 Best Workout Songs of March right here. New music keeps you motivated and keeps you from getting bored mid-workout. And if remixes/mash-ups are your fitness tunes of choice, check out this playlist from Muscle Prodigy. 

I hope that some of these tips help to keep you motivated when you have a day when you just don't want to work. And keep me updated if you have any motivational tips or tricks that work for you!

Road Block!

After a (once again : / ) break from updating, I promise you all that I am back and here for good! Trying to finish up all of my projects for school and find a summer job has taken over every ounce of free time that I had left. But I am promising you all now that I will be making an effort to give you all of the best fitness info I can find every day!

How has everyone's workouts been going? Have you hit your road block where your workouts just don't seem to be making any changes to your body? ( I sure have!) Thank goodness Tone It Up was ready for me with a blog post about working through your plateau. You can check out the post here. They have great tips for keeping you motivated  when you hit that bump in the workout journey.

They also posted this fantastic Itty Bitty Bikini Workout that is specifically for your abs and love handles. Woohoo!! :) My love handles always seem to be a major source of trouble for me. No matter what I do they just seem to want to hang around. Here is the workout or if you want a printable version you can just click here

Remember, I didn't create these workouts, the fantastic girls at Tone It Up did. Make sure you all give them some love and thanks on their Facebook page. They are simply fantastic. I hope these workouts are helping you all get yourselves ready for that fantastic bikini  and warm weather, the pool and maybe even the beach :)

POP

After a very long (so sorry) break from updating my blog, I am not back to reality and back to giving you all the best healthy living tips I can find :) Relay for Life went fantastically well on Friday night, so far we've raised over $30,000 for the American Cancer Society. I slept most of Saturday after staying up until well past 6 am. THEN I got stuck in a TORNADO on Saturday! It was the absolute most terrifying moment of my life, I wasn't quite sure I'd make it back home alive! But somehow I managed to (Thank goodness!)

POP Pilates instructor Cassey

After recovering from my exceedingly busy and relatively terrifying weekend I was surprisingly able to get myself back into health mode pretty quickly. I was up and at morning yoga by 8 this morning! Such a great way to start my day. I also loaded up on fruit for lunch : pineapple, oranges, bananas and apples :) Then after classes today I headed back to the gym to teach an abs class and a guts, butts, and thighs class. I even fit in a little cardio cycling between classes. I do believe my week is off to a great start.

I have yet another fantastic website to share with you all. Blogilates is the fantastic blog site for 24 year old pilates instructor Cassey. She is an amazing pilates teacher and a designer of some fantastic yoga bags (you'll love them!) Cassey blogs about her class POP Pilates, fitness fashion and healthy living.

Cassey also has a wonderful YouTube page that features step by step videos of her POP Pilates routines. They are so great. She teaches to fun music and creates short videos to help you target almost every part of your body. This YouTube page is one you most definitely need to check out.

I hope this week I'll have tons of great new healthy and exciting bits of information to share with you ladies. Today has started the week off well, so be sure to keep it going great :)

Check out the video for Cassey's Bikini Bod routine here:

Getting Ready!

Why is that as soon as the temperature hits that 75+ mark, then it must give me a quick slap and hit the low 40's the next day? I was just starting to get used to sunny warm weather. :( At least it should be back by the end of the week. (thank goodness!!!)


I've been thinking a lot lately about how I need to really spice up my workout routine. I have gotten myself in a systematic day to day routine that I'm afraid my muscles are getting used to. (uh oh!) If you don't give your muscles a little shock once and a while, they are gonna get just as bored as you are with your same old same old regimen.

I know that once I'm back home for the summer, my local gym will offer me a new variety of classes that will be great to get my  body over it's slump. Right now I'm working hard and seeing zero results. So, I have decided to try and add something new to my days to help me before I get back home.

Vital Juice created a core fusion boot camp video that I'm so excited to try! The video is supposed to "sculpt every trouble spot with this speedy routine." Here is the link to this month's new video. If your interested in more videos like this, check out Vital Juice's YouTube channel here for more options. YES!!


Also, for those of you who have been keeping up with Tone It Up's Bikini Challenge,  they just released their arm pyramid workout this week!!!  Here is  the pyramid:

Lean Arms Pyramid!!

10 Push-ups (can be on knees!)

20 Dips (on edge of chair or bench)

30 Bicep Curls (light weights or water bottles)

40 Seconds Plank on hands

50 Tone It Up Tummy Tucks!!! (click here if you want to see an example of the tummy tuck)

40 Seconds Plank on hands

30 Bicep Curls (light weights or water bottles)

20 Dips (on edge of chair or bench)

10 Push-ups (can be on knees!) 

Try it out and let me know what you think :)

Sunny days!

Finally! Today I was able to experience sunshine and warm weather all at the same time!!! It seriously amazes me sometimes how quickly my entire day and outlook can change just by a bit of sunny weather.  As I hit the gym for my afternoon flex-n-pump class, I seriously realized (even though I say it all the time) that summer break is less than one month away. That means it is time for me to kick it into high gear if I want to  get into swimsuit shape.

Managing my time this next month is going to be extremely difficult as the end of the semester closes in. I'll have to keep up with my school work, social life, diet and exercise. It kind of scares me (ahhh!) But I figure if I map out my day the night before, I'll have a much better chance at keeping myself on track.

Photo from aisquared

To keep myself going strong I'm going to wake up a little bit earlier and start my mornings with 30-60 minutes of light exercise. This way I'll wake up my muscles and get my metabolism and mind moving. I'm starting tomorrow at 8 am with flow yoga :)  I think yoga is possibly one of the best ways to start your day. It allows you to use your muscles and start your mind in a calm, slow manner.

Yoga gives me the time to focus on controlling my body and creating power. It gives me flexibility, strength and a creative mind. Having an hour of silence lets me think about my day,  anything else going on in my life or absolutely nothing at all.

Yoga has been a popular exercise for the mind and body for years. To find some simple yoga poses you can do in your spare time at home, check out these links:

Image from DowntownFitnessWorld

• Yoga for Runners
• Poses for Back Pain
• Arm Strengthening Sequence
• Lower Body Poses
• Yoga Twists

You can also find tons of fantastic info on classes, poses, diets, clothing and more at the Yoga Journal site. It is a go-to guide for anything and everything yoga related. Yoga Magazine is also a great online counterpart for another yoga 'zine' that is full of info for the passionate yogi. 

Bikini Booty!

The latest addition to Tone It Up's Bikini Challenge is an amazing Beach Bum Workout. This routine focuses solely on your back side to tone it into a perfect swimsuit shape. I've already completed the routine once today and will be doing it a second time after tonight's super sculpt and Zumba classes. :) You can never work your back end too much.

You all already know that I firmly believe that a fitness playlist can make or break your workout. If the music I'm listening to isn't fast paced and keeping me pumped, I'm not going to work out at the level I need to. There are ton's of great places around the web where you can find and download (sometimes even for free!!) great tunes to spice up your ipod. 

• The Nike Women Facebook page has a link on the left side that takes you to their favorite workout songs and even lets you download a couple for free. 
• Certain artists, like DJ Lindsay Luv, offer free downloads of their mixes on websites such as SoundCloud.
• Other mashup artists, like Girl Talk, combine short bits of thousands of songs to create long, party mixes. Since they don't pay to use artist's songs, they have to offer their songs for free on sites such as Illegal Art. Here you add an album to your cart and when you checkout, you can pick the price you wish to pay (free if you want.)
• Other workout blogs post entries of their favorite workout songs.
• Fitness magazines, such as SHAPE, often have online or print articles that include great songs.

Those are only a few places to explore fantastic collections of music that will keep you working hard and enjoying your time at the gym. 

Here's another list of some of my current favorite songs:

1. Snoop Dog ft. The Doors - Riders on the Storm
2. Adele - Rolling in the Deep
3. DJ MZ- Rokin Blanks
4. Girl Talk - Triple Double
5. Tanlines- Real Life
6. Goldfrapp - Ooh la la
7. PILL ft. Keri Hilson - Pretty Girl Rock Remix
8. Nicki Minaj- Your Love (Danny Genius Remix)
9. Miike Snow- Animal
10. MillionYoung- Hammocks 
11. MGMT- Electric Feel
12. M.I.A.- Bingo

I hope you all are keeping your ipods full of the most fun and upbeat music you can find so your sure to get the most out of each workout!

Mini Workouts!

Today's schedule has been beyond hectic, but the majority of my hard work has been for a good cause. As fundraising chair for my campus Relay for Life, I've been busy lately gathering donations and setting up fundraisers--like tonight's at Rita's Italian Ice (sooo yummy.) On April 8th all of my teams hard work will pay off as we celebrate our Relay for Life event and raise money for the American Cancer Society. (hopefully we'll reach our $50,000 goal!)


After a busy day of schoolwork and fundraising, I was thankfully able to squeeze in a small, but powerful workout in my room. I completed Tone It Up's newest challenge: Lean Legs Pyramid and did my own personal booty workout.

For those of you who want to try these exercises at home, here are the workouts:

Lean Legs Pyramid

• 20 squats
• 30 lunges
• 40 toe touches (head forward, legs straight, bend town & touch your toes)
• 50 second wall sit (sit up against a wall, legs at 90 degrees and hold it!)
• 100 seconds jumping jacks
• 50 second wall sit
• 40 toe touches
• 30 lunges
• 20 squats

Kate's Booty Workout- begin on the mat in tabletop position

• 10 hydrants
• 10 hydrant kicks (hold leg at 90 degrees out to side and only kick from knee)
• 10 donkey kick bent leg (foot flexed)
• 10 donkey kick straight leg (abs engaged, foot flexed)
• 10 weighted donkey kicks (place hand weight behind the knee of the leg that is lifting)

Bridge with kick exercise

    Switch to other leg, repeat 2x

• 10 bridge with pulses
• 10 bridge with kicks (each leg)

These are both great workouts to target your lower body. And they are perfect because, aside from the weighted donkey kick, you don't need any equipment and you can do these exercises almost anywhere. Give them a try!

Tomorrow the Tone It Up girl's will be releasing their beach bum workout video and I can't wait!

Fantastic Fitness Fashion

Question time: When it's time to hit up the gym, do you do it in style or wearing whatever t-shirts and shorts you can grab?

Image from Buzzillions

As winter begins to turn into spring (finally!) brightly colored workout gear has taken over! From gym bags, to shoes, to running tops these fantastically fashionable fitness attire is everywhere. I tend to typically throw on any t-shirt I can find with my usually fun and bright gym shorts, but I did succumb to brilliantly blue new shoes for the spring :)

Image from CitySports

<--------I was able to find these amazingly bright shoes at the Nike Outlet for only $40! What a steal!

I also have these  purple shoes  that were a perfect ----->
gift from my boyfriend (he is so good sometimes!)

Having such fun colored items makes me excited about getting into my gym clothes and showing them off. I've had so many people stop me to comment on my shoes and it kinda gives me incentive to hit up the gym (hehe :) )

FitSugar has put together a couple of great slideshows showcasing some of this Spring's most colorful and fun workout essentials:

• Colorful Running Tanks
• Bring Running Shorts- I love rocking the Nike Tempo shorts in concord/green apple/spark :)
• Radiant Running Shoes

Pants from Lululemon- $98

If none of the workout gear you've found seems good enough for you, there is always the option of customizing your own personal gear. Nike ID lets you design new shoes and Yogamatic is a company that allows you to design your own yoga mats. How cool is that?!

Adding personalized flair to your workout wardrobe is a great way of pumping yourself up for your workout. When you look good, you feel good and in turn you are able to push yourself to work out harder.

Sometime's all you need is a pair of yoga pants with a splash of color on the top, but other times you feel the need to go all out with great shoes, tops and even brightly colored ipods. These extra splurges are worth the money if they are going to get you at the gym and working hard!

BTW: According to Tone It Up's Spring Into Bikini Season! calendar, tomorrow is officially a BOOTY call day!

• Be sure to set your alarm 30 minutes early and squeeze in some cardio before your day starts!

Kicking butt and taking names

I just got done teaching a fantastic guts, butts and thighs class.  I was called in last minute to sub the class and I'm so happy I decided to teach. I was feeling pretty lazy today and was going to skip my workout, but somehow my workout managed to hunt me down.

Guts, butts and thighs is one of my most favorite classes to teach. Its strictly a toning class that focuses on some of the hardest to hit areas. Your doing crunches, lunges, squats, twists, raises, planks and anything else you can imagine. (it really kicks your butt haha)

Plie squats are possibly my all time favorite thigh/butt exercise. Oh it burns so much but it works better than you could ever imagine. To do a plie squat you begin in a wide stance, toes pointed out and knees in line with toes. You suck your abs in tight, stand tall and then pretend your sitting down into a chair. Push your butt out, keeping that chest tall and open, all while not letting your knees pass the front of your toes. Think about holding your muscles tight and then push yourself back up.

Doing 3 sets of 20 plie squats along with your other exercises is a sure way to get your assets in shape. :)

Check out directions for this and other exercises at celebrity trainer David Kirsch's website.

Image from DavidKirschWellness

Rain Rain Go Away!

Don't you just love March? I woke up this morning to beautiful sunshine and warm weather and now I'm going to sleep with thunderstorms and the dread of tomorrow's cold weather. Boo!!! I'm ready for summer weather all the time!

Image from ToneItUp

The drastic change in weather makes it hard sometimes to keep myself dedicated to going to the gym. When it is rainy and cold I just want to cuddle up with a book and a giant blanket! I got lucky today because yesterday I signed up for Tone It Up's 8 week Bikini Season Workout Plan :) I signed up for the plan here and last night they sent me a 'morning booty call' to remind me to get up early and sneak in 30 minutes of fitness ( I did it :) )

Today I checked my e-mail and received my first workout video in the series and printable routine to take with me to the gym. (I am in love with printable routine btw) The email also informed me that tomorrow I will be receiving my printable calendar to keep track of my workouts and I can't wait.

I'm absolutely loving the idea of having updated workout plans sent directly to me! and the best part of the Bikini Season Plan is the huge amount of giveaways that the Tone It Up girl's have collected. Throughout the 8 week challenge they will be giving away over 100 gifts like Roxy gear, Physicians Formula makeup and Oakley sunglasses.

For those of you who are still unsure about signing up for this exciting challenge, here is the first workout in the program. Check it out, see what you think and then sign up for the 56 day beach preparation plan.

This is the link to sign up!

Why Should I ?!?!?

4 reasons to exercise from Michael Van Straten's The Little Book of Detox Tips For People on the Go:

Image from Amazon

1. Exercise builds muscles strength, which improves posture, prevents backache and reduces the pain of arthritis.
2. Exercise improves the health and efficiency of lungs, circulation, and the heart. And as your heart grows stronger, it's able to pump more blood with few beats and less effort, which reduces the strain of the heart itself and prolongs its healthy active life.
3. Exercise boots your natural immunity and increases the body's resistance to disease and infection.
4. Exercise makes you feel good emotionally, as physical activity releases mood-boosting hormones in the brain.

I hope these tips help encourage you to get up, get moving and get you looking and feeling great :)

Early Morning Exercise

I'm so glad that I woke up early enough to attend morning flow yoga (finally!)  It's such an amazing feeling to wake up with the sun and stretch your muscles to awaken yourself for the day. I am seriously (I know, I've said it before lol) determined to continue this and make it routine. I felt so much more  focused throughout my day. I highly encourage all of you to wake up a bit early and even do simple stretches in your room to wake yourselves up :)

Image from ToneItUp

I've found another new site for you girls that's full of wonderful exercise tips and nutritional info. Tone It Up has become my latest go to site for wonderful ideas and inspiring updates as I continue on my fitness journey :)  Created by girls for girls, this site has so many exercises, food ideas, beach body inspirations and lifestyle makeover tips.

Karena and Katrina put together their workout and nutrition plan in an effort to help themselves slim down and tone up. Their personal workout routine has now grown into a blog, fitness community, nutritional system and diet plan. And the site is so much fun! Reading it makes me want to work out and really gives me inspiration to get myself in shape and on the right path. Check out their Music Monday workout playlist here!

The site even has fun videos that help you as you learn new exercises to do at home. Their toned and slim thigh video shows a great routine that specifically targets your thighs. It's unbelievable. 



Check out their site for all kinds of fun innovative workout tips to help you get your sexy summer body!

Ballet Beautiful

Image from BeautifulBallet

It seems like we've had a burst of ballet beauties on the big screen in the past couple months. With Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis in Black Swan and now Emily Blunt in The Adjustment Bureau, these babes are taking over.

The long, slender, flexible figure of ballerinas have long been viewed as an ideal image of perfection and grace. With tips and moves from the trainers who got these stars into shape for their ballerina performance, you can work to become slim and toned.

Mary Helen Bowers, a former ballerina in New York City, worked with Natalie Portman for 5-8 hours a day, 6 days a week to achieve her new body. According to Mary Helen, exquisite grace, beauty and strength are the essence of a ballerina's form. In an effort to create a highly defined physique for Natalie, she created a method that was, as she says, "a highly targeted and effective approach to fitness." You can check out this article on Shape Magazine's website to see some of the moves Mary Helen used to tone Natalie's muscles.

You can also look at Mary Helen's website, Ballet Beautiful, to learn more about the method she has created to keep herself in shape while dancing with one of the world's most prestigious ballet companies: the New York City Ballet. She created Ballet Beautiful to ensure elegance with power in her technique and to polish and add precision to her form.

Image from BalletBeautiful

According to the website, Ballet Beautiful benefits include:

• Superb posture
• Graceful carriage
• Sleek micro-targeted 'ballet' muscles
• Elongated limbs
• Strong center and lean form
• Increased flexibility

Mary Helen's method is now available for everyone who desire to acquire the elusive shape of a ballerina's body. With no dance experience required, the method is suitable for almost everyone. You can learn more about the method and purchase instructional videos or personal classes on her website.

FitSugar has also posted an article that shares some moves Emily Blunt used while preparing for her role in the recently released film, The Adjustment Bureau. The article includes links to show you how to preform moves such as White Swan, Kneeling Hinge and Paso double lift, which help to lengthen and strengthen your muscles.

Is it food??

I happened to stumble upon something great/weird/fantastic/hilarious today and thought I should share it with you. Pilates guru Lisa Johnson posted on her blog a guide to help you figure out if the food your buying at the grocery store is real or not haha. 

Image from LisaJohnsonFitness

Lisa's site is a fantastic source for all things fitness. She is a well respected pilates instructor and owner of  Modern Pilates studio. She writes for her own blog as well as for AOL Health's fitness blog, That's Fit.

Image from ModernPilates

The Best of Lisa Johnson Fitness section on her site is a fantastic starting point to finding your way around her site and gaining new healthy knowledge (fitness for your brain :) ) One of my favorite posts is "5 Tips on How to Weigh Yourself." You'd be surprised at the number of women who weigh themselves wrong even though it seems so simple. Check out the post here to figure out what you can do to make sure you don't drive yourself crazy with those pesky numbers. 

Lisa's post "The 10 Things You're Doing Wrong at the Gym" is fantastic for those gym newbies or girl's who feel they aren't getting what they want out of their workouts. You can read this post here to make sure you're getting the most of your workout.

Book Club: French Edition

Photo from GoodReads

Taking advantage of spring break free time, I hit up Borders this evening to scan the shelves and use the last bit of money on a gift card I'd saved from Christmas (I didn't want to spend it!) As I browsed the books one by one (I could honestly live in a book store or library,) I stumbled across a fun little book that I think will soon be an addition to my favorite book of all time collection. Helena Frith Powell's All You Need to be Impossibly French: A Witty Investigation Into the Lives, Lusts, and Little Secrets of French Women seems like it will be an exciting and insightful adventure. 

Anxiously ready to begin reading, I took the book the gym with me tonight to read as I cycled away.I'm only two chapters in and already I've stumbled across some great tips to live the ever classy, sophisticated and sexy French lifestyle. The second chapter is called "Zen Exercise" and (no surprise here) it takes a look at the unusual fitness style of those impeccably perfect French fashionistas. 

The book puts it bluntly: French women want the greatest results possible, while putting forth as little effort as possible. (hmm...) They don't like to break a sweat and don't see the purpose in using weights to add bulk to your body. They take advantage of every opportunity to stretch and walk or cycle everywhere they can. They will wake up 30 minutes earlier just to walk to work and will always choose to take the stairs instead of an elevator. They walk to lunch and will work on small stretches and exercises while watching their children at the park. They do as much shopping as possible (all that walking and trying on clothes burns calories you know) and never drink to excess. 

Image by Inslee

French women also spend more time in the bedroom with their significant others (wink wink.) They know that all movement burns calories and tones muscles, so they are sure to use that to their advantage. I am now dying to be French. These women have such class and sophistication (though it is due to pure arrogance at times) and always seem to be beautiful and put together, no matter what the occasion. 

While we as American's may not always be able to follow all the routines these fantastic French women have, we may be able  to try and incorporate as many into our daily lives as possible. Only two chapters in,  this book already has me planning my trip to the city of love and lights and dying to find out what else these seemingly chic women have to offer me. I can't wait :)

You can purchase the book here or check out Helena's fantastic blog here. Au revoir!

Spring break? More like an everything break!

Well apparently for me spring break means take a break from everything. I haven't slacked totally though, I have been getting up early to take some aerobics classes at my local gym. This morning I took a class that is new to my gym, Cardio Fuel. It's a 60 minute high cardio circuit class. It was a mixture of step, kickboxing, general cardio and some focused toning. The class definitely pushed me to my limits, but I felt amazing afterwards. It feels great when you stick it out and finish a class that is really difficult for you.

I've been on the hunt lately for some new songs to add to my workout playlists. Especially since I finally started teaching some classes at the gym on campus (It was so scary!) I realized that I needed a serious iPod update. I'm not a big fan of mainstream hip hop and pop (except for the occasional Lady GaGa, my guilty pleasure) so sometimes it's hard for me to find some tunes that really make me want to get moving. 

Here's the lineup of my current fitness playlist:

1. Lights (Messed Remix)-  Ellie Goulding
2. That's Not My Name- The Ting Tings
3. When I Grow Up (Lissvik Remix)- Fever Ray
4. Pursuit of Happiness (Steve Aoki Dance Remix)- Kid Cudi
5. Dog Days Are Over (Breakage Remix)- Florence and the Machine
6. Heartbeats (Rex the Dog Remix)- The Knife
7. Born This Way- Lady GaGa
8. Ghosts 'N Stuff- Deadmau5
9. Through The Wire- Kanye West
10. Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger- Daft Punk
11. Summertime Clothes- Animal Collective
12. My Delirium- Ladyhawke
13. Little Secrets (Felix Da Housecat Remix)- Passion Pit
14. Waka Waka- Shakira 
15. Swing Tree- Discovery

Where do you ladies find your music? Do you search around for premade workout cds/ mixes or do you create your own? Or do you just listen to whatever is playing at the gym? 

Along with hunting for new songs to add to my mixes, I've also been searching around for some new exercises to add to my routines. It's so important to keep updating your workouts to keep your body guessing and working hard. I'm sure I've mentioned this before but new moves are great for making your muscles stay tight and toned. 

Trainer to the stars, Tracy Anderson, is wildly popular for her hardcore workout routines that work to strengthen and tone muscles without adding any bulk. Using no more than 3lb weights and mixing toning moves with cardio and dance routines, she has created the Tracy Anderson Method to transform bodies worldwide. 

Image from InNewsToday

You can check out Tracy's website, search for some videos from her on youtube or read about her workouts on a variety of workout blogs across the net. Her tips and workout moves are fantastic for both at home and gym workouts. I read an article about Tracy's routine and found a couple great toning exercises within:

• Ballet Grand Plies: Stand with hells together, toes slightly apart. With a straight back, bend at the knee as low as you can, then go back up again. Work up to 100 reps.
• Single Arm Overhead Pulse: Using 3lbs weights, stand with feet shoulder-width apart, arms at your sides. Raise one arm above your head with your elbow slightly bent and then straighten your arm completely over your head. Pulse like that, up and down. Work up to 100 reps on one side and then the other.
• Piking: Lie flat on the floor, arms at your side. LIft straight legs up to ceiling at 90 degrees and then gently lower. Without pausing, lift them back up again .Your upper body should remain flat on the floor.

For more information on Tracey's routine and workouts for the stars check out the article I read, Tracy's website, FitSugar's collection of articles or any of Tracy's workout DVD's.