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