Empire State Of Mind Part II (Solo) by Alicia Keys

Stretch before & after you work out for at least 5 minutes each.  It is well worth your time and will stop you from looking like this when you age.

Strive to do amazing (and very possible) things with your body like this 




This song a great with Jay-Z.  This song is AMAZING with Alicia Keys solo.  She puts me in the right mind set after I work out and head home. 

Bikram Yoga. Just Do It........

Let me start this post by saying I am the least flexible person in the world!  I have NEVER been able to bend over and touch the ground.  Literally never, not once, not even when I was 5.  The picture below shows how far I can reach.  What it doesn't show is how much pain I am in just going that far.  Don't mind Squiggy in the background.  You'll notice him in may of my pictures.  He is very curious.......

By changing up my workout with Bikram Yoga the goal is.......

I am someone who likes instant gratification.  Hence why I am in sales.  I've always disliked yoga because it didn't conjure up the same amount of sweat that it does when I'm in a spinning or weight lifting class.  I need that instant gratification of sweat to feel satisfied with my workout.  Until now......

I love, love, LOVE saunas, steam rooms, desert climate and working out.  Why not mix the two?  And so it begins......my addiction to Bikram Yoga was born.

Now, if you've read the beginning of this blog and aren't quite digging the concept of working out + saunas then maybe you should skip the rest of this blog.  If you've somehow become excited and are jumping for joy at the thought of sweating out your entire existence read on....

You know that feeling you get on the first warm day of spring or summer when you jump right into the swimming pool (or any body of water for that matter) and come up for air?  That refreshing feeling when you hop out and dry off solely from the heat of the sun?  That is Bikram Yoga!  I swear you will sweat out every terrible thing you have eaten (loads of chocolate for me) from the last 24 hours.  It is a feeling that is rare and hard to explain.  You should just do it.  This absolutely will give you the best get up and go.

If You're New To Bikram Yoga:

1. Stay well hydrated for the 24 hours leading up to the class.  
2. Don't eat 2 hours prior to the class.  Too much food or water will create nausea.
3. Give it more that one chance!  It took me about 3 classes to really get into it.  
4. Find an instructor you like.  Not every instructor is the same and the best instructors make a clear difference in the enjoyment level of your class.

If you are a Bikram Yoga pro or attend the practice regularly I would LOVE to hear any tips you have on how to get the most out of your class.  Enjoy and happy hot yoga!

How You Like Me Now by The Heavy

Get your agression out while pumping iron to this song.  If it sounds familiar you must have seen the move The Fighter with Mark Wahlburg.....



Loser Like Me By Glee Cast

A song you can run and sing to at the same time.  Put this at the beginning of your playlist and it will totally kick off a great workout.  You'll thank me later.  I promise.

Strip Me by Natasha Beddingfield

Think spin class doing jumps.  Did I tell you I am a spin instructor who uses this song for jumps?  Enjoy!  Also good for running on a treadmill doing hills.  

Moneygrabber by Fitz & The Tantrums

This song is so cool and I'm always happy when I hop on the treadmill and get going to Moneygrabber.  Also a great summer BBQ song when friends are over. 

Don't Be In Denial! Tell Yourself The Truth......

POUTINE IS SOMETHING I REFUSE TO GIVE UP!

Some foods are just worth the calories. Poutine for example. Fries with cheese and gravy on top. What's not to love? You can thank Montreal for this invention: www.montrealpoutine.com/recipes.html

I like to think I'm a healthy eater. But I was confused when my once favorite skinny jeans no longer zipped up without me doing crazy yoga positions while stretched out across my bed looking like an idiot. That is when I decided to stop lying to myself and start writing down what I was eating. I just couldn't imagine that I was the reason for my most recent weight gain. Well, I realized right away that I was running to the candy jar at my office and having one fun size candy bar everytime I was under pressure.....which was often. In my mind I thought a handful of fun size candy bars were safe. Well they are if you go to the candy jar once. Not 6 times like I was doing. This made me wonder how healthy I really was. So I found a website that tracked my calories, fat, protien and sodium. Low and behold my consisted of many office work day snacks that I just didn't think about. By writing down everything I ate I was able to identify a that my carb intake was too high and my protien intake was too low. As a result I was impulse eating and choosing all the wrong foods. I was in DENIAL! After 6 months of tracking what I ate I lost 20 lbs and have been able to maintain it for over 3 years. Writing down what you eat is the best way to tell yourself the truth. It has changed how I approach food and anytime I feel like I'm no longer fitting in my clothes I write things down. I'm not saying anyone should give up their favorite things just don't lie to yourself. Eat the appropriate amount of calories and work out regularly and you should be able to maintain, lose or gain weight appropriately. If you eat a bacon cheeseburger on Monday go for egg whites on Tuesday morning.

I've used 2 sites that have worked for me:

www.livestrong.com & www.fatsecret.com

Livestrong is great and I love the way the site is layed out. The food database is much larger which makes it easy to find dishes at your favorite restaurants. The downside: No Driod or iPhone ap.

Fatsecret is also helpful but the website is not as user friendly as Livestrong. What I do like about this site is the phone ap and barcode scanner. You can scan any item found at the grocery store and 80% of the time the item will automatically populate in your tracker.

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The Ultimate Dilemma: Watch American Idol or Go To The Gym?

The answer........BOTH!

I often set big goals at the beginning of my day with the intention of checking everything off my to do list.  But sometimes I just can't muster up the energy to get my butt to the gym.  This is when I implement something called Random Sporadic Exercise.  This concept is essential when you want to find your get up and go but also indulge in some American Idol with a side of crazy Steven Tyler.  What is Random Sporadic Exercise you ask?  Let me explain.........

What do donkey kicks, rockstar hair flip, herkie pikes, planks and wall sits all have in common?  They are the foundation to Random Sporadic Exercise!

Not only are these fun to do during American Idol commercial breaks they also burn calories without leaving the comfort of your living room.  The moral of the story is not to feel guilty for eating that extra piece of chocolate cake someone left in the office breakroom.  Or for having mozzarella sticks with a friend at happy hour then proceeding to skip the gym.  Just participate in a little Random Sporadic Exercise and everything will be alright.

Please feel free to suggest your best calorie burning Random Sporadic Exercise moves.  Below are a few examples for you to start off with.  Big fat cat not needed to do these exercises.

Herkie - Doing this for 3 entire commercial break burns one glass of red wine!  

Rockstar Head Flip - This is a one commercial type activity because you can get a little dizzy. 

Simple Wall Sits -  If you can do a wall sit for a full commercial break than you are well on your way to the best quads in town.  For more of a challenge use weight.  I use my cat sometimes and he weighs which is some serious weight (18 lbs)!

Perky Tatas + Sleek Arms = Feeling 22 Again

Get up and go rule #1:  Always strive for perky tatas & firm underarms!

 

I love this clip from the movie The Sweetest Thing with Christina Appelgate & Cameron Diaz.  It sums up in 34 second how gravity takes a toll on your boobs and arms.  Don't be a victim to gravity.  You are NEVER too old or too out of shape to have your best breasts & arms.  Here is my secret to fighting gravity head on.....PUSH UPS!  Yes folks, it's that easy.

Every night before I go to bed I do push ups.  That's right.  Every night, no excuses.  You don't need a gym.  You can do them while you are on travel.  It takes less than 2 minutes.  I dropped one bra size (cup size stayed the same YAY) from a 36 to 34.  It took me only 30 days to drop a size and only 10 days to see a difference.  

My goal was to be able to do 15 full push ups (no wimpy on the knee push ups). So far I've been going strong for 4 months and have seen such a HUGE improvement in not only my arms & tatas but in my abs.  Even if you can't do even one push up you can build to 15 pretty quickly.  My upper body strength was pretty weak and I started only being able to do one.  Now I'm up to 10 full push ups and 5 lady push ups.  Once I get to 15 I hope to continue growing that number.  

Form is critical.  Don't cheat yourself.  I've linked a video below on how to do the perfect push up.  Good luck!  Please feel free to leave your comments!

Welcome To Grecco A Go-Go

Hello & Welcome to Grecco A Go-Go!  

The place to find a little daily inspiration on how to find your get up and go.  I can't wait to share my favorite tips on how to eat healthy and burn calories in the most fun way.  It should never require giving up your favorite foods (hmmm....bacon) or feeling guilty you skipped a the gym because you just didn't feel like going.  Fitness is something that should feel therapeutic  (if it doesn't you're doing it wrong) and create more energy in your life.  Same goes with food.  Deprivation of things you love isn't good for you and actually makes you want it more.  I'm not saying you should eat cheesecake for dinner by any means but there are ways to feel satisfied without overdoing it.  Here are the 3 life changing reasons I love working out and eating right:

1. My life is stressful (who's isn't right?).  Working out makes me a nicer person to everyone.  Anytime I am being grumpy my husband tells me to go to the gym.  We always get along better afterwards.

2. I haven't been sick in 2 years.  Literally.  No cough.  No runny nose.  No flu.  I fully credit this to my combination of working out & mindfully eating (i'll give my awesome vitamins credit too).

3. You will never hear me say I'm tired.  This is because I actually never feel tired.  When I do feel a little spent I spend 30 minutes doing some kind of exercise (even random sporadic exercise which you will learn about soon) and voila....I have enough get up and go for the rest of my day.

Thanks for reading my blog & please oh please share your get up and go secrets.

Let's make every day better than the last!