Interval Playlists: January

Welcome to 2012, everybody!

I hope your new year is excellent and that it'll be your best year yet.  Mine is great!  It's January 26th so far and I've been feeling extra inspired as far as working out/health and hope to inspire you to be the healthiest and happiest you can be!  It really is a pleasure to motivate you all and I thank you for the positive feedback!  It means a lot :)

Part of that motivation, of course, involves MUSIC!  Here is my most recent playlist.  Most of this month I used my December Playlist that I love, but I find this month's list to be a lot more versatile for strength training, cardio, and conditioning whereas my other playlists were more for cardio.

1. Bananza (Belly Dancer) - Akon
2. Gold Digger - Kanye West and Jamie Foxx
3. Drop it Low - Ester Dean and Chris Brown
4. Crazy in Love - Beyonce feat. Jay-Z (of course, because we all know I love Beyonce)
5. Stronger - Britney Spears
6. Le Freak - Chic
7. Love Will Find a Way - Christina Aguilera
8. Dirrty - Christina Aguilera
9. Electric Avenue - Eddy Grant
10. Unbelievable - EMF
11. Who's That Chick - Heartclub
12. Whine Up (feat. Elephant Man) - Kat DeLuna
13. Saleswoman of the Month - Richard Flemming (my big brother's old band!! Click here & press "see all songs")
14. 4 Minutes (feat. Justin Timberlake) - Madonna
15. Like a Prayer - Madonna
16. Material Girl - Madonna
17. Music - Madonna
18. Don't Tell Me - Madonna
19. Country Grammar - Nelly
20. Break it Off - Rihanna & Sean Paul

So yes, it's a long playlist.  But I typically keep my music on shuffle so I don't get 5 Madonna songs in a row (though that's fine if it turns out that way).  Mixing up your music/workout/running route keeps things fun.  Keep up your hard work and enjoy the music!


Need New Year Advice for Motivation & Tips? Click here for New Year Cheer

New Year Cheer

Like many of us, I am trying to stick to New Year Resolutions.  My resolutions don't stray too much from year to year (they typically involve doing my best in fitness, school, spending more time with family, and being a better human being in general).  Rather than getting off track during the year, I do my best to make sure every now and then that I'm keeping up with my goals.  Although, I added a new goal to the list: to do my darndest to eliminate procrastination (which is why I finally went to a Pure Barre class after buying a deal from livingsocial.com months ago ;) see here for Pure Barre post). So instead of starting all my resolutions from scratch, the New Year essentially acts as a "keep it up" check-in moment that has to be mandatorily put into place at midnight on January 1st of each year because, ya know, everyone else is doing it, too.  (Sure, sure peer pressure is a powerful thing.  If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you do it?  In my case, yes.  But it wasn't a bridge, it was a lighthouse.  Picture to follow).  I'm joking of course about peer pressure (but definitely not about the lighthouse.  That totally happened.  And I was totally eleven-years-old).

But I digress...

I enjoy this time of year whether I've kept my resolutions or not.  It's sort of like going back to work on Monday after a long weekend or walking in to the first day of school because it's a chance to make sure you're doing your best and I like that.  I'm sure everyone setting resolutions does, too!  No matter what your goals may be this year, do your best to make them habitual.  By doing so, not only will you achieve the goals you set, but by next January you won't need to add that same goal to your resolution list because it will already be a part of your life.  They say it takes 30 days to make an action habitual and there are 31 days in January .  That means you will already have your goal be a regular part of your life before the month even finishes!  Then you're all set for 2012 and for life, right? :)  If you didn't keep last years resolutions, now is the time to reassess your goals and tackle them.  If you did keep your resolutions, then keep on going!  

So be positive and realistic about your goals.  For example, if your goal is fitness, don't start by running a marathon.  Start by walking, then jogging, then running.  And have fun with it!  You are probably thinking that this goal will ultimately be pleasant in your life, so enjoy the process of getting there!  Have New Year Cheer, not New Year Fear.

Best of luck, everyone!  And let me know your New Year resolutions.  Have a blast!

As promised, a picture of jumping off the lighthouse.  That would be my brother in mid-air while my cousin and I were in the water...seconds before the Coast Guard came ;)

Pure Barre

It's 5:35pm on January 3rd and twenty-five minutes ago I finished my first Pure Barre class!

What a sweet addiction this is about to become.  

 This workout is a perfect example of a fun, effective, and difficult workout but not difficult in the sense that you dread doing it.  In fact, it's quite the contrary.

My videos mentioning Pure Barre: click here and also here :)

Pure Barre basically is a mixture of ballet and Pilates that exhausts your muscles and then stretches them out, creating long and lean muscles.  It's toning without the bulk.  The music was upbeat and fun and the classes are small so you don't feel the anonymity of being in a gym.  Now, even though this was my first class, I was SO surprised at how hard it was for me.  When I first walked in, my instructor told me to use 2 lb dumbbell weights.  I politely said I would, but inside I was thinking "oh I'm much stronger than that.  I'll go with 5 lbs."  I'm so glad I didn't.   Lighter was better, but in a week or so, I may attempt the 3 lbs ;).  Also, my legs were shaking during this workout and not even towards the end of the class!  They started shaking maybe 10 minutes into the workout.  It's MUCH more difficult than I had imagined but I haven't exercised to fatigue like that with my own workouts in a long time so it was GREAT to push myself.

Check here to find a Pure Barre near you.  I promise you won't regret it!  I'm going again tomorrow.  And the next day ... :)