Ten Tunes Tuesday (Dance, Dance)

"Let us read and let us dance - two amusements that will never do any harm to the world." -- Voltaire

When life hands you lemons, slice those babies up and make a margarita! Life has a weird way of working out sometimes. Last week was a good week, but a stressful week. I got some of my workouts in while I was away, but I'm still in a funk - I just can't seem to find my groove, and it's just adding to my stress level. What gives?

When I was in college, I had a habit of dancing in my bedroom whenever my mind would be uneasy. I would pick out some good tunes, turn up the music, and just sing and dance until I couldn't feel my legs. If that didn't work, I'd pack up my CDs and go for a long drive to the foothills of the Sandias... getting out to hike for a bit until I could breathe again. I lost this habit when I moved to the gulf coast, and I'm not sure why.  For whatever reason, I found myself dancing again suddenly when The Weekend's song, "Can't Feel My Face" came on my radio while I was cleaning house this weekend. I'm not sure what spurred it - I just let my music play as I danced and cleaned my little heart out. It reminded me of how helpful this habit was in college, so I figured I would employ this stress relieving tactic for the rest of this week too. As an added bonus, my little 30 minute dance session apparently burned 485 calories, so it doubles as a workout too! Score! 

Here are some of the jams I danced to this weekend:

1. The Weekend - "Can't Feel My Face"
2. Natalie La Rose - "Somebody"
3. Nicki Minaj - "The Night Is Still Young"
4. Skrillex & Diplo -"Where Are Ü Now"
5. Silentó - "Watch Me"
6. Tove Lo - "Habits"
7. Zedd - "I Want You To Know"
8. Pitbull - "Fun"
9. Sage the Gemini - "Good Thing"
10. Prince Royce - "Back It Up"

I'm hoping I can get a better handle on my stress this week. It's hurting my sleep, and that's never good. What tactics do you employ to relieve stress? Do you like to dance like nobody's watching too? I hope your week is filled with more calm than mine! Until we meet again, my friends....

Cheers!

Becky

Goodbye Cardio!

"If you always do what you've always done, then you'll always get what you've always gotten."

-Tony Robbins

So, most of my friends know that I have been running for almost 20 years.  It's something that I started with my oldest best friend for no reason at all.  There wasn't a whole lot going on in Santa Fe at the time and we were always guaranteed to place because there weren't that many 13 and 14 year old entrants.  Fast forward to today.  I still love to run.  It's mostly because of the endorphins and the stress relief.  Most recently it's because I just enjoy the companionship of my MRTT running buddies.  Also, you can do it anywhere and any time with minimal equipment and preparation.  

But wait a second!  Why the hell do I look exactly the same?  Three miles, or 5 or ten and no change.  WTF?!?!  I've been forced to accept the fact that despite the many benefits of running, muscle sculpting and weight loss are not part of it (for me anyway).  What's the point in hitting that 13.1 if you can't bounce a quarter off your booty? (I haven't actually tried this...yet)

In light of this discovery, I recently joined a weight lifting/figure shaping competition.  It runs for 90 days and to my surprise includes minimal cardio.  I'm back to body weight exercises and good old fashioned heavy lifting.  I didn't expect to enjoy it, but it's not too bad.  Frankly, it's preferable to trying to get in miles with humidity in the 80 and up percentage range.  So farewell to our old friend cardio.  I am on to short runs and HIIT.  

Stay Tuned!

Natasha

P.S.  This post is dedicated to my daughter Olivia who maintains that I look like Beyonce no matter what even thought she has no idea who that is.  

P.P.S.  If you are looking for a running group try www.momsrunthistown.com.

Ten Tunes Tuesday (On the road again... also known as, Becky's never home anymore)

"The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." -- unknown

Hello, friends! As you can probably already guess, yes... I am on the road once again! I'm back in the San Francisco Bay Area attending a leadership class for work. While I've missed my morning mile already once (more on those in a later blog post), I am happy to report that I kept up my evening strength training and cardio workout. I even managed to get a 3 mile walk in this evening! Woohoo!

I contemplated challenging myself to do a run this evening... I wanted to see if I had improved at all, and figured that the weather this evening was perfect for it. As soon as I laced up my sneakers, however, I decided to take it easy instead. I wanted to actually take my time and get to know my temporary neighborhood in San Ramon. My work commitments have been very stressful over the last 24 hours, so I really just wanted to take it slow, calm down, and relax a bit.

I've taken a number of these "chill out" walks in my adult life, and have found that having soothing accompaning music usually helps prevent me from speed walking and enjoying the feel of the earth under my feet. Tonight's music is just the sort of music I would normally have on my playlist for a walk like today... or any time I just want to slow down, calm down, and relax.

1. John Mayer - "3X5"
2. Al Green - "Take Your Time"
3. Sade - "Mermaid"
4. Ray LaMontagne - "Let It Be Me"
5. Sam Smith - "Lay Me Down"
6. Colbie Caillat - "Droplets"
7. Smokey Robinson - "Tracks of My Tears"
8. James Bay - "Let It Go"
9. Justin Nozuka - "Sweet Lover"
10. John Legend - "Show Me"

Exercising is great. It can make you feel powerful and strong, challenging you to become a better you. It's also a great tool for days like today... when you need to take a step back, relax, reflect, and frankly... just breathe. This music isn't likely to rev your engine, but I hope you find it (or the idea of it) helpful. While it's great that we try to push ourselves daily in our workout routines, it doesn't hurt to take a day off now and then to just regroup too. Remember... even a slow walk is still better than lounging on the couch too!


Anyway, I'm already up too late and have a long day ahead of me tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get my morning mile in before class! Wish me luck :)


Cheers!


Becky