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.