For A Good Workout, Great Music is Necessary

Great Music = Good Workout!
Image: Shutterstock

I don’t know about you, but for me great music can be the difference between a good and a bad workout. Going for a run is nice and all that, but with music it feels inspiring. Lifting weights (for me) is incredibly boring, but add in some intense music and I feel way more powerful.

I recently joined a yoga studio, and one of the deciding factors was that this yoga studio in particular plays great music at a healthy volume.  I’m not talking about your normal flowy yoga music. I’m talking about Radiohead, Daft Punk, and a multitude of other music. It makes me feel strong, inspired, and ready to push myself. Sit me in a hot yoga studio without music, and I’m far less excited.

Running to a great song makes me feel inspired.
Image: Shutterstock

For me, the best music to work out to falls in one of two categories: current musical obsessions (Ellie Goulding, Robyn, Lindsey Stirling) and music from my teenage years (Blink-182, Foo Fighters, Third Eye Blind). Sometimes the two categories cross over, if I still listen to the same band from back then (Radiohead, Daft Punk, Muse). And sometimes I just like some random song—this often happens with electronic music, since I don’t generally listen to that genre as a whole (I’m very picky when it comes to liking techno).

What kind of music gets you up and moving? Is it heavy metal? Hard rock? Pop? Techno? Dubstep? 90s? We all have our different musical tastes and preferences, but I’m always looking to add new tunes to my repertoire. Share your favorite tunes and artists in the comments!

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Fitness Tip: Do What’s YOU

What makes you happy? Do that.
Image: Shutterstock

I have some confessions to make: I hate lifting weights. I hate doing pushups. I hate working out while I’m isolated.

I don’t “do” treadmills; I prefer going for a jog around the neighborhood. When it’s just me, it’s a 50/50 whether I will follow through with a workout; but when I have a workout buddy, I’ll happily go 99% of the time. 

Does the fact that I have all these dislikes mean that I just need to suck it up and adjust my attitude? I don’t think so. I think it means my body and mind are trying to tell me something.

You see, I have a philosophy on how to live life: happy. If a workout makes me miserable and I have to force myself to do it five days a week, that’s five hours of happiness that I’ve cheated myself out of. The solution lies in finding the activity that’s right for me. Something I can enjoy. Something that makes me happy. Something that makes me love myself, not something that makes me miserable.

I do hot yoga because it makes me happy <3
Image: Shutterstock

If you follow me on Twitter, you might have seen my tweet earlier about my newfound love of hot yoga. I’ve posted about it before, and I finally tried it last week—and let me tell you, I’m completely hooked. In a week I’ve been back three times, and I’ve no intention of slowing down. The best part is, I absolutely love it. I love the challenge, the group mentality, the calming effect, and hell, even the heat and sweat.

Is hot yoga right for everyone? Maybe not (although I do suggest trying it sometime). But I do believe that there is something out there for everyone, if not many things for everyone. Some people get in shape doing one specific type of workout, and others mix it up to keep things interesting—do whatever works best for you!

Jessica Alba mixes up her workouts.
Image:Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com 

I was just reading about a woman named Kelly O’Malley Mattone, M.D. She was trained at Mount Sinai, owns her own Boutique Cosmetic Practice called O_MD Med Studio, and is married to Carl Mattone, a successful real estate mogul in New York. But what caught my eye about her was her pursuit of passion. She ice skates, kick boxes, rock climbs, skis, plays tennis, and loves ballroom dance. What’s more is that she’s opening up her own ballroom dance and fitness studio to share that love with others. To me, she’s a great example of figuring out what it is that you love and then just going for it.

Another great example is Jessica Alba. She mixes up her workout routine with a variety of workouts, from Bootcamps to the gym to swimming to yoga. She also constantly eats “clean” all the time. She also founded The Honest Company, which specializes in baby, bath & body, cleaning, and health & wellness products that are safe to use in the home and around children.

What are you passionate about? Is it running, lifting weights, doing yoga or pilates, dancing, playing sports, or something else? If you don’t know, find out! It will make leading a healthy, happy life so much easier. 

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Scrap the Bagel and Grab A… Doughnut?

So this is happening.

Dunkin’ Donuts has announced that it will be adding a new menu item to its breakfast offerings: the doughnut breakfast sandwich. Yes, you heard that right—the doughnutbreakfast sandwich. And no, it’s not just doughnuts and jelly; it’s an actual breakfast sandwich, but the "bread" is a glazed doughnut rather than a bagel or english muffin. This thing has eggs. It has bacon. It comes with hash browns on the side. It’s legit, and it sounds totally disgusting.

At least they're not fully frosted doughnuts?
Image: Shutterstock

I like doughnuts, I like eggs, and I like bacon, but this new “sandwich” just makes me shake my head ruefully. This is why we’re struggling with obesity here in the U.S. and in many other countries. Why do we have to drown everything in oil and sugar, frying it just to be sure? Can’t we just save doughnuts and other sugary desserts for once-in-a-while snacks? Why do we have to add them to every meal?

I’ll concede that for people who normally just grab a doughnut or two with coffee for breakfast, this is probably a better choice than their normal meal—since it adds some much-needed protein and probably means they’ll eat at least one fewer doughnuts. If this were an in-betweener type of meal that was set up to wean people off of doughnuts and onto real food, it would have some merit to it. But I get the feeling it’s not one more way to get the good stuff it—it’s one more way to get the bad stuff in.

I’ll quit my whining for one moment to point out that the new sandwich does actually have fewer calories (360 calories) than the chain’s turkey sausage sandwich (390 calories). However, it also probably has a load more sugar, which in my book is far worse than a few more calories.

To be honest, it probably doesn’t taste too bad. Bacon goes well with sweet things, as do eggs. But the real problem is that, once again, a fast food chain is promoting the kind of eating that is causing major health problems.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Obesity is the #2 cause of preventable death in the United States. According to Get Fit America, there are 58 million people in the U.S. who are overweight, 40 million of which are obese. Three million of those are morbidly obese. Eight out of 10 people over the age of 25 are overweight, and nearly 80% of Americans don’t meet basic activity level recommendations.

Those are frightening statistics.

And this new gimmick is only going to contribute more to them. I understand that Dunkin’ Donuts is not meant to be healthy food, nor will it ever be. It is a doughnut shop, and its specialty is just that. I respect that, and hey, I eat my weekly doughnut with delight (yay Fridays!). What bothers me is the fact that the company is making what should be a special treat into something that seems like it’s okay to eat every day, when it is anything but.

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How Fit Is Your City?

The American Fitness Index yesterday released its annual report of the healthiest & fittest cities in the country. This third consecutive report lists the top 50 most populated metropolitan areas in the United States and then ranks them from most to least fit in the country. “Fitness” is based on personal factors like smoking, exercise, obesity rates, chronic health problems, and health care access. Other factors that figure in include parks and recreational facilities, walking trails, farmers’ markets, and more.

Elements of fitness.
Image: tinareale.com

Do you live in a city (most of us do)? If it’s one of the top 50 most populated, check out where you fit in. It’s interesting to see which cities tend to have more health-focused people and available facilities! Here’s the list, provided by The American Fitness Index:

1. Minneapolis-St. Paul

2. Washington, D.C.

3. Portland, Ore.

4. San Francisco

5. Denver

6. Boston

7. Sacramento

8. Seattle (YAY Seattle! Good job!)

9. Hartford, Conn.

10. San Jose

11. Austin

12. Salt Lake City

13. Cincinnati

14. San Diego

15. Raleigh, N.C.

16. Pittsburgh

17. Baltimore

18. Virginia Beach

19. Cleveland

20. Richmond, Va.

21. Atlanta

22. Providence

23. Buffalo

24. New York City

25. Philadelphia

26. Milwaukee

27. Chicago

28. Kansas City, Mo.

29. Los Angeles

30. Columbus, Ohio

31. St. Louis

32. Nashville

33. Phoenix

34. Orlando

35. Riverside, Calif.

36. Charlotte

37. Jacksonville

38. New Orleans

39. Las Vegas

40. Tampa

41. Birmingham, Ala.

42. Miami

43. Houston

44. Dallas

45. Indianapolis

46. Memphis

47. Louisville

48. San Antonio

49. Detroit

50. Oklahoma City

Here's the list in map form (also from AFI):

Walt Thompson is a professor of exercise and physiology at Georgia State University and creator of the index. He praised Minneapolis, saying, “What Minneapolis has done brilliantly is put their resources where residents can use them effectively to maintain a high level of physical activity.”

“We really believe that if people don’t have the environment to exercise, they probably won’t,” he added.

Minneapolis spent about $227 per capita on parks, which is about double that of some cities on the list. It also had lower rates of smoking and death from heart disease. Thompson recommends that less fit cities take simple steps to improve overall city health, like implementing smoking bans in public places and requiring P.E. for kids throughout high school. 

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To All the Angelina Jolie Haters: Mind Your Own Business

Jolie was criticized for "ruining her looks" when she got
a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery.

 It’s been two weeks since Angelina Jolie announced that she had gotten a preventative double mastectomy. Jolie’s mother had fought a decade-long battle with cancer and died at age 56 from the disease. And now, just a month after the completion of her own preventative procedures, Jolie’s aunt has passed away from breast cancer. She was 61.

In her op-ed for the New York Times, Angelina Jolie explains her reasoning behind getting the procedure done: her genetics left her with an 87% risk of breast cancer and a 50% risk of ovarian cancer. She carries the BRCA1 faulty gene that raised her risk by about 65%. Her mastectomies brought her chances of developing breast cancer down below 5%. The procedures and following reconstructive surgery left her with some small scars, but that’s a small price to pay for your life.

I was dismayed and shocked to hear of the people who had criticized Jolie’s personal medical decision. It is her body and her choice. Her family supported her. Her children will grow up without having to worry about their mother dying from cancer. These are all fantastic things.

Some women unable to afford reconstructive surgery
have covered their scars with beautiful tattoos.
Image: Bodies of Subversion

But instead of congratulating her on being strong and intelligent about the matter, people lamented that she had “ruined” her looks. They said she got what she deserved for “stealing” Brad Pitt from Jennifer Aniston. Essentially, they told her she should have taken her 13% chance and kept her breasts.  

Are we such a superficial and cold-hearted society? I guess in some ways, we are. It’s inexcusable that someone’s entire worth as a person be judged completely on physical appearance, but occurrences like this remind me that not everyone believes the same as I do. Why can’t we set our judgments aside for a moment and consider a person for who they really are—for what they do and what they affect?

Jolie’s personal decision and openness about it will hopefully encourage other women to get the facts and make an informed decision when facing the prospect of breast cancer. The choice belongs to each woman—but it’s sad that it is a decision tainted with societal constraints. It’s sad that a woman would choose the 13% chance because she was more afraid of being judged than of dying.

Gwyneth Paltrow suffered a miscarriage and stroke scare
before taking on a more proactive role in her health.
Image: barakonews.blogspot.com

For someone in a position like Angelina Jolie’s, the decision becomes even harder. With a career that is often focused on physical appearance and the entire world as an audience, there are far more judgments coming in. I personally applaud her decision. Not only was she making the difficult decision to have a painful and lengthy procedure, but she was also doing so knowing that millions would be judging her for it.

I hope that others will find courage in Jolie’s decision—whether or not they like her as a person (at least as the person the media portrays). Socioeconomic status, celebrity, and looks do not make us immune to disease or misfortune—a fact that Gwyneth Paltrow knows as well. Know your risk factors, and be informed.

WebMD is a wonderful resource for those seeking information about breast cancer, causes, risk factors, treatments, and more. Please check it out—you might be surprised at some of the risk factors, preventative practices, or other information available. Be safe, not sorry.

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