cup of jojo

Kathryn Budig: Tripod headstand to crow and back again. Impressive.

Monday Motivation to get up and MOVE!! Sunny weather and a fancy gym are clearly not a necessity for these guys. I am in awe. Check out the other videos below—looove the Girl Talk one on the Staten Island ferry, also a must-see.

5 Mind-Blowing Dance Videos

Michelle Obama on fitness, health and investing in ourselves.

Read more.

(via fitvillains)

Looking forward to a weekend of yoga workshops with Jason Crandell—weekend 4 out of 6 for yoga teacher training! Gettin closer…

Tonight’s workshop with Jason is called “Shoulders and Hips—Exploring Lotus, Splits, and Arm Balances.”

yea…those three items are like my yoga kryptonite. Guess it means I will learn a LOT—and my hamstrings will looove me tomorrow.

whoa. who knew this is how the Olympic torch gets lit.

reuters:

PHOTOS: Lighting the Olympic torch in Greece

(via npr)

“What good is a positive body image that results in a spiral that leads toward metabolic syndrome and, ultimately, death? What good is a fit physique if it comes along with bulimia and other baggage?

Having a healthy body image means appreciating the beauty you have now, and any beauty you may acquire while you are taking care of yourself. You love the body you have, and you make that love an action verb by taking care of it: you feed it what it needs, you do your best to avoid what it doesn’t, and you keep it engaged.”

-Erika Kendall

EXCELLENT debate on fit vs fat in the NYT today: Women, Weight, and Wellness. I personally think Erika Kendall summed it up with this quote above. What do you think—can you have health at EVERY size? With predictions that 42% of Americans will be obese by 2030 (we are at 36% right now), this is an issue we have to face.

tree pose!

How to fly: Tara Stiles blogs on crow pose

Interesting new research on combining strength training and cardio in the same day—can’t tell you how often as a trainer I get asked these two questions:

1. Can/should I do weights and cardio on the same day?

2. If I do them on the same day, which should I do first?

According to these studies, it doesn’t matter!! Lead researcher:

“It appears that you can set up a workout regimen that happens to be convenient for you,” in terms of how and when you shuffle the endurance and resistance elements, says Dr. Phillips, “and you’re not going to get less training response.” Your physiological response will be the same in any scenario.

I agree, but these studies are definitely limited. First of all, no women were studied. (it’s unreal how often this is the case for exercise science studies.) Secondly, they just looked at the response immediately after the exercise bouts, and did not follow the subjects over weeks of training. I think for serious athletes, training cardio & weights on the same day repeatedly will not yield the best results long term, because athletes have very specific outcomes they are looking for. But for the average person looking to get stronger, build muscle, lose some body fat, and stay fit & healthy, it is likely that you WILL see great results either way you prefer to train.

So, if you prefer to work out 3x/week and do your cardio & strength training all at once each time, knock yourself out. If you prefer to work out 5-6 days a week and alternate between cardio and strength days, more power to you. Don’t sweat the details, just get out there and move!

If this is the only thing you use a foam roller for, it will be worth it. My quads and hip flexors are perpetually tight from running—and I have discovered that foam rolling is a hell of a lot cheaper than physical therapy for preventing & fixing knee pain!

madsweat:

Avoid a painful Patella

Petellofemoral pain is one of the most common types of knee pain. Usually characterized by pain beneath the kneecap (patella) that gets worse after working out. A lot of runners have weak or tight muscles which can usually be the cause. With more people getting out and…