Category Archives: Playlists
Spring into Summer
Summer is coming and we can’t wait! We LOVE summer almost as much as we LOVE music. Check out our “spring into summer” playlist to help push your through your workouts and get beach ready! This is what we use for our long runs and tough workouts.
- Just Give Me a Reason: Pink
- Madness: Muse
- Beam Me Up (kill mode): CAZZETTE
- Dear New York-Original Mix: Firebeatz
- If I Lose Myself: One Republic
- Dancing In My Head: Eric Turner
- Blurred Lines: Robin Thicke
- Can’t Hold Us-feat. Ray Dalton (we often listen to this a few times in a row)
- My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (light em up): Fall Out Boy
- Killin’ It: Krewella
- Starry Eyed-Russ Chimes Remix: Ellie Goulding (WE LOVE HER)
- I Wanna Dance With Somebody: Whitney Houston
- If: Janet Jackson
- I Need Your Love: Calvin Harris (with ELLIE!)
- Marchin On (Featuring One Republic): Timbaland
- Safe and Sound: Capital Cities
- Breathe, Stretch, Shake: Mase featuring P. Diddy
- Here It Goes Again: Ok Go (best song to get you to the finish line)
- Song For Zula: Phosphorent
- All I Need: Matt Kearney
FLEXfocus: DO Something!
2013 is here and we couldn’t be more excited! This is the time of year when everyone sets resolutions and determines what they want to be different. We all make them; some people just don’t say them out loud. So what’s the difference between the people who actually make changes that get to where they want to be and those who don’t?
They DO something. Annoying, right? But it is only annoying because it is true. It is not enough just to think — or even write down — your resolutions. You need to do something.
If you continue to do what you have always done, you will be the way you have always been. This is especially true with diet and exercise. Tell yourself every day that you have control over your health and well being. You control your level of success.
Our team lives by this philosophy. We have some exciting resolutions for FLEX, which we’ll be sharing over the coming weeks!
So let’s make this a different year and actually DO something. Read what Kelly had to say about that here.
To say goodbye to last year, here is our “Best of 2012” playlist:
· Somebody That I Used to Know: Gotye
· Some Nights: Fun
· Back in Time: Pitbull
· Rack City-Album Version (edited): Tyga
· One Direction: What Makes You Beautiful
· Glad You Came: The Wanted
· Lights: Ellie Goulding
· Call Me Maybe: Carly Rae Jepsen
· Shake Senora: Pitbull
· We Found Love (feat. Calvin Harris): Rihanna
· Sweat (Snoop Dogg vs. David Guetta): David Guetta
· You Da One: Rihanna
· Don’t Wake Me Up: Chris Brown
· The Motto-Album Version (edited): Drake
· You Lost Me: Christina Aguilera
Happy FLEXoween!
As we write this post, Halloween, and its candy-filled free-for-all, has come and gone. And you know what that means. As of tomorrow morning, it’s time to GET THE CANDY OUT OF YOUR HOUSE. And your car. Definitely out of your purse. And, for your own good, quit sneaking into your kids’ room and snagging a piece every thirty minutes.
Unless, of course, your goal is to gain weight or just feel cruddy. We are already living in a world that makes eating healthy a challenge, don’t make it worse!!
Donate all that candy to a shelter or throw it away. Whatever you do to get rid of it, remember it’s not helping others for you to eat all the leftovers. And keep in mind that two fun-size candy bars will take almost 15 minutes of running to burn off. Think about that if the temptation to keep a stash of candy around rears its ugly head.
Believe us, we’re not saying we hate Halloween. We like dressing up and dancing to celebrate what is a really fun and festive holiday. We just encourage you to remember the “celebration” doesn’t need to involve gluttonous amounts of sweet treats. Everything in moderation. And remember Halloween is just one day. It shouldn’t last until New Years!
With that, here is a playlist to help you burn some fun size goodies off!
- Come Back Down: Greg Laswell (feat. Sarah Barelillies)
- Anything Could Happen: Ellie Goulding (this is our favorite right now!)
- Pound the Alarm: Nicki Minaj
- B#tch City: 3LAU Bootleg
- Carried Away: Passion Pit
- Love Today: Mika
- Work Hard, Play Hard (Radio Mix): Tiesto
- Vava Voom: Bassnectar
- Daft Punk is Playing at My House: LCD Soundsystem
- Underneath-Josh Harris Edit: Alanis Morissette
- Brooklyn is Burning: Head Automatica
FLEX, sweat, stretch…repeat!
If you want to eat healthy, you have to have healthy food available. Seems simple enough, yet so many people fill their pantries, refrigerators, office drawers, glove compartments (and the list goes on) with crappy snacks.
Why?
Doing so is only setting you up to fail. If the junk isn’t around, it makes it much harder to eat it. So quit setting yourself up to fail. This not only benefits you, but your family too — kids don’t need junk food, and if they have access to endless supplies of it, they’ll be set up for health issues down the road. Give your kitchen and wherever else you keep food a makeover and in turn, the way you and your family eat will get a makeover too.
Here are our favorite quick go-to foods:
- Fruits (all)
- Veggies (all)
- Hummus
- Nuts (Trader Joes has great pre-packaged nut mixes)
- Coconut water
- Natural peanut butter
- Lara Bars
- Greek yogurt
- Avocado
- Chia seeds
And to get you pumped up to clean out the junk, here’s a great new mix!
- The Lion, The Beast, The Beat: Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
- Walk Over Me: All American Rejects
- Beachball (Vocal Radio Mix): Nalin & Kane
- Motivation – Rebel Rock Remix: Kelly Rowland
- Dance Again Feat. Pitbull: Jennifer Lopez
- Run – Feat. RedFoo of LMFAO: Flo Rida
- Mr. Tambourine Man: Bob Sinclair
- Hypnotico – Bonus Track: Jennifer Lopez
- Some Nights: Fun
- Stars: Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
Think Positive, Again!
This time of the year seems to leave people feeling frazzled and overwhelmed, so it’s appropriate to re-run this very important post, with an updated and uplifting playlist. Something this simple WILL change your life, becasue if you want things to be different YOU need to be different.
While it may sound super Pollyanna, thinking positive really is important! Think about the healthiest people you know. Are they positive or negative? Mostly likely, they’re positive thinkers. If we spend all of our time looking at what’s wrong or dwelling on the “why not,” it’s easy to miss out on the good things in life — and get stuck in a negative space!
If you’re just going through the motions and not feeling like you really can make changes to your body and lifestyle, then you’re setting yourself up to fail. Visualize your new self every day — it truly does increase your likelihood of success! We also challenge you to replace the “awfuls & shoulds” in your vocabulary because that act alone will help make you a more positive person!
With that, here’s a new playlist to uplift and inspire you this week!
- Beautiful Day-U2
- Touch the Sky-Kayne West
- Elements of Life-Tiesto
- Invincible-Muse
- Float On-Modest Mouse
- Ready For The Weekend-Calvin Harris
- Hella Good-No Doubt
- Love Today-Mika
- The Middle-Jimmy Eat World
- Pump It Up- Elvis Costello
- What a Wonderful World-Loius Armstrong
Find Greatness
We love the Olympics and have been watching daily. It’s awesome to watch people who work so hard and who are so incredibly talented! Olympians have to put in hard work for years and make a lot of sacrifices to accomplish their dreams. Most people won’t even skip dessert at one meal, let alone put in the blood, sweat and tears that are required to be the best in the world. While Olympic glory will happen for such an unbelievably small percentage of people, that shouldn’t stop you from doing everything you can to be the best YOU that you can be. We all have the power to be great!
Just think about Oscar Pistorius, the 400-meter runner and double amputee who competed in the Olympics, nearly making the finals. He’s said, “You are not disabled by the disabilities you have, you are able by the abilities you have.” This is so true! We focus too often on what we can’t do instead of what we can. So we challenge you to focus on the “cans” in your life, and take control of your health and well-being.
This ad from Nike about finding your greatness is awesome. Check it out and then download our Olympic-inspired playlist as you train to be the greatest you!
Everybody is an athlete. #findgreatness
- London Calling: The Clash
- Born in the USA: Bruce Springsteen
- Don’t Stop Believin: Journey
- Push The Button: Sugababes
- On a Night Like This: Kylie Minogue
- I’m So Excited: The Pointer sisters
- The Best: Tina Turner
- Take Me Out: Franz Ferdinand
- Viva La Vida: Coldplay
- Chariots Of Life: Synthesizer Syndicate
FLEX, sweat, stretch…repeat!
When Exercise is Over, the Work Isn’t
A lot of people have a great pre-workout and workout routine. We drink plenty of water before and during exercise, warm up properly go through our program. Then, after the last exercise, we are done.
What so many exercisers do not realize is the importance of what you do after you work out. You may have done the majority of the work, but how you treat your body in the minutes and hours after you exercise has a direct effect on muscle soreness, muscle strength and growth, and staying hydrated.
Cool Down
After your last exercise, your workout is not over. The first thing you need to do is cool down. No matter what your activity was, you still should do light cardio for a few minutes. This brings your heart rate down at a slow and steady pace, which helps you avoid feeling sick after a workout.
Stretch
This is one of the most important things you can do. After a workout, muscles naturally contract. Stretching again prevents them from shrinking. It allows your muscles to rebuild, growing bigger and stronger, and thus allowing you to get the full benefit from your efforts.
Stretching also relaxes your muscles, helps speed circulation to joints and tissues, and helps remove unwanted waste products, which reduce muscle soreness. If you come to one of our classes you know we ALWAYS stretch. Make sure you do it when you are on your own.
Drink Water
When you finish your workout, you need to keep replenishing your fluid levels. It’s recommended that you drink another 2-3 cups within two hours after you have finished. Then, drink water regularly afterwards. You may not feel thirsty anymore, but you still need to drink up to avoid getting dehydrated.
Refuel
Eating is one of the last, but one of the most important post workout activities. You have not only burned hundreds of calories and lost carbohydrates, but you have also actually torn your muscles (in a good way). You need to repair your muscles and boost your energy level, and you need to do it fast. It’s recommended that you eat within 90 minutes of your workout, but the sooner the better. Look for foods that are packed with complex carbohydrates and high in protein. The carbs will re-energize your body, while slowly turning into calories – so you have plenty of time to burn them before they turn to fat. The protein helps repair your muscles, so they grow stronger while your body rests until the next workout.
Next time you put down the dumbbells and think your work is done, remember these after-workout necessities to maximize your efforts and get the most out of exercising.
PS – a song we have been loving lately, a blast from the 80’s past is Dancing in Heaven. Add it to your playlist – you will not be dissapointed!
Get in the Habit
How long does it take to make a habit? The answer varies. Some people suggest the standard 21 to 28 days, while we’ve seen others suggest as many as 66 days. The bottom line is it takes times and it requires that you stick to it.
If you work out once a week or eat well once a week, that will not a habit make. It needs to be regular and consistent if you want it to stick. Think about brushing your teeth. When you were a child, it wasn’t something you did regularly — you had to do it repeatedly before it became a habit, and hopefully now it’s something that you do every day (if not, start!). So keep on keeping on until your lifestyle is full of regular exercise and healthy eating!
This one step — choosing a goal and sticking to it — changes everything. – Scott Reed
Here’s the “I think I can” playlist to help you keep up those good habits:
- Born to Run: Bruce Springstein
- Here it Goes Again: OK Go
- Eye of the Tiger: Survivor
- The New Workout Plan: Kayne West
- Lose Yourself: Eminem
- Stronger: Kelly Clarkson
- Get Up Stand Up: Bob Marley
- Firestarter: The Prodigy
- Pump It Up: Elvis Costello
- She Wants to Move: N.E.R.D.
- Runnin’ Down a Dream: Tom Petty
- Around the World (Radio Edit) Daft Punk
Weight and BMR
Losing weight and keeping it off takes time, which is frustrating when we live in world of instant gratification. But you didn’t gain it overnight, therefore it will not be shed that quickly either. And unfortunatley, as most people have experienced, putting it on is MUCH easier than taking it off. So what should your weight loss goals be? Ideally, a half pound to two pounds per week. That may not seem like a lot, but losing weight faster than this is difficult, dangerous and unsustainable — the goal is to KEEP it off.
Losing weight is a math equation — if you burn more calories than you consume, the scale goes down. It’s easier to create the deficit when you combine physical activity and proper nutrition. So lets break it down: one pound of fat = 3,500 calories. To lose one pound a week we need to create a deficit of 3,500 calories or 500 per day. This graphic shows additional options:
Your basal metablic rate (BMR), is how many calories you burn just existing. Note the bigger you are, the higher the BMR. For example, someone who weights 200 pounds will burn more calories than a 100 pound person, simply due to the fact that they have more mass. To figure out your BMR use the following formula:
- Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) – ( 4.7 x age in years )
- Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) – ( 6.8 x age in year )
So lets say your BMR is 1,500 calories and you exercise and burn 500. Your deficit is already 2,000, so if you consume 1,500 calories, the net calories would be 500.
There are additional factors that impact BMR, and everyBODY responds differently. Some people just have faster metabolisms; however, this is a helpful tool to aid in your weight loss efforts.
With that, get out there and burn some calories! Here’s the playlist for the week to help motivate you to do so!
- Turn Me On-David Guetta
- Never will Be Mine-Rye Rye
- Revolver-Madonna
- Love You Like A Love Song-Selena Gomez
- Wonderland-Natalia Kills
- Cry When You Get Older-Robyn
- Brokenhearted-Karmin
- Papi-Jennifer Lopez
- Dance With Me-Jump Smokers and Pitbull
- Slow Dancing in a Burning Room-John Mayer
All About Weight
What is weight?
Simply put, it’s the pounds of pressure we’re putting on the planet. The number is important, since as a country we’re the biggest we’ve ever been. However, it’s not the only indicator of health and improvement. Many people get too hung up on the number on the scale and allow it to derail their efforts. When you’re changing your body through exercise, you’ll have weeks the scale may not change — that doesn’t mean your efforts are wasted. Muscle weighs more than fat and can impact your weight.
Everybody is different, so in addition to weight, you should focus on how your clothes fit, how you feel and your overall energy level. If you’re eating well (this is big) and exercising regularly, the results will happen — you just have to be consistent. You didn’t get to where you are overnight and you can’t expect to change in such a short time frame either. Meaningful, lifelong change will take time. If you’re not eating well, exercise will make you more fit, stronger, etc., but weight loss may not happen. The picture below shows the difference between fat and muscle. Clearly, we’d take the muscle any day, since it burns calories all day, while fat is just that, and does very little for your overall well being.
So keep stay focused and keep trying to base your success on indicators of change that are in addition to the scale.
Lastly, here’s this week’s motivational playlist!
- Push-Madonna
- Get into the Groove-Bandido
- Memories (feat. Kit Cudi)- David Guetta & Kid Cudi
- Like a Prayer-Madonna
- Toyfriend-David Guetta &Wynter
- Breakin Dishes- Rihanna
- Kickstart (radio edit)- Example
- Party Girl- McFly
- Lets Go feat. Neyo- Calvin Harris
- I Remember- Deadmau5, Kaskade
- Stay With You- John Legend
FLEXcity Fitness 