Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

For the next few weeks every Monday, I’ll share a playlist of songs that I have in my Workout Playlist on my iPhone. I’ll include clips to listen to, where you can buy them and why I have them in my list. Just so you know, I do get a portion of the sales of these songs from Amazon, so if you buy them, you’re helping me out.

Less Talk More Rokk by Freezepop: I love this song because of the title. I do A LOT of talking about weight loss and fitness just because I write here and I need a constant reminder that I need less talk and more ACTION. Plus, I love Guitar Hero and playing this song reminds me of the game.

I Like To Move It by Will.I.Am: This song was from the movie, Madagascar. If you haven’t seen the movie, then this song might not be as inspirational to you, but seeing all those meerkats dancing to this song made me want to get up and dance myself. I truly DO like to move it!

Destination Calabria by Alex Gaudino Feat. Crystal Waters: I love the lyrics to this song, “Follow me and lets go to the place where we belong and leave our troubles at home. Come with me we can go to a paradise of love and joy a – destination unknown!” I also like the sound of cheering in the background. Sometimes I pretend they’re cheering for me.

Thin! by SkinnySongs: This week’s song from the Skinny Songs album is a good reminder of all the things I need to do to be thin.

Working Overtime by New Order: Sometimes I let work get in the way of the things that I want. I especially don’t want to get to be like the person in this song, so it reminds me that I need to focus on my complete self.

I Can’t Stop by When In Rome: This song is great to listen to when you’re thinking of quitting your workout before it’s completed. The chorus keeps repeating “can’t stop” over and over. It keeps my feet pounding on the treadmill instead of pressing the stop button.

Walk Down by Kyau Vs. Albert: I love this song. It sounds pretty, has a good beat and encourages me to walk a little faster to “try and touch” the singer of the song.

Beautiful Day by U2: The version of this song on my playlist is a Paul Oakenfold remix that is much more upbeat and a great song to run to, but this one has the same lyrics and is just as positive. I like to listen to it toward the end of my workout because by then, I actually believe that it IS a beautiful day!

Wonderful Life by Gwen Stefani: This song is a good cool down song because it’s a little slower in tempo. Here’s the history behind this song: Gwen wasn’t the first lead singer of No Doubt. John Spence was the original lead singer of No Doubt and in 1987, he committed suicide, leaving the Gwen to pick up the pieces. This song is about John and how he should have stuck around for long enough for him to see the success that they achieved.

Listen to the clips for these songs. If you find just one song this week that motivates you to exercise, then buy it and make it your powersong when you’re working out this week. I bet you’ll find that you’re more willing to get your butt to the gym and your workouts are easier.

As excellent as the Cool Running Couch to 5K Podcast [iTunes Link] is, I have to admit that I would MUCH rather listen to my own music. I dreamed of an iPhone app that would let me program intervals that would break into my workout playlist and tell me when it was time for me to run.

I got my wish with UltraTimer.

• UltraTimer [iTunes Link]

With UltraTimer, I was able to program in the Cool Running Couch-to-5K Running Plan so that it would tell me when to run. I could even record my own voice saying, “Increase speed to 5.0 mph.” This has been so helpful to me because I don’t have to look at the iPhone screen while I’m doing my workout. I just listen to the prompts that I recorded for myself.

I was worried that it might be difficult to use, but I found it incredibly easy and I was running with a program that only took me about five minutes to program, and that included recording the voice prompts. At the end of the workout, I even have a voice prompt that tells me that I did a good job and that I’m proud of myself.

There is even a way for me to export my workouts, so soon, I will share my running plan with you (since the Couch to 5K basically leaves you wondering what the heck to do if you’re a REAL beginner). If you own an iPhone, creating and downloading a running program just got a lot easier. Try out UltraTimer today!

A special thank you to Braidwood at Authentic Threads for reminding me of Alanis Morrisette’s song, Thank You.

In the first verse, she sings, “How ’bout stopping eating when I’m full up.” In fact, everything she says in the song is a healthy way of living, no matter who you are (unless those antibiotics are keeping you alive).

When that video came out, I remember thinking that Alanis was so brave for being willing to show herself to the world, nearly naked. She has said that she fought anorexia and bulimia when she was in her teens. She wrote the song, Perfect, to express how it felt to struggle with eating disorders.

She is a runner and completed the New York City Marathon last year in 4 hours, 28 minutes. She said running a marathon is, “An unbelievably harrowing and beautiful and moving and serene experience.”

Thank YOU, Alanis, for giving me another hero to remember when running and eating healthy gets difficult.

I remember being really worried about sweating too much when I first started working out. I had almost completely forgotten about that time, but a girl at Weight Watchers the other day reminded me of how I used to feel. She said:

I can think of any excuse not to exercise. Sometimes I think, “I’m too gross. I have to shower before I go to the gym.” Then after I shower, I think, “I just showered, I don’t want to get all sweaty and gross by working out.”

Hearing her talk about her excuses for not exercising reminded me of when I first started exercising at the gym during my lunch hour. I never had enough time to shower, so I followed this plan so that I wouldn’t end up being super stinky for the second half of my day.

• Wear fresh workout clothes: I always had clean workout clothes every day. When I was in high school, we used to take our gym clothes home once a week, but that never worked for me because by the second workout, they would be too stinky. I always work out with CLEAN gym clothes.

• Use antiperspirant: This might sound like a no-brainer, but you can’t believe how many women I would see at the gym head out to their workout without a fresh spray of anti-perspirant. Additionally, I would spray it on my trouble areas like the crooks of my arms (why do I sweat so much there?!), right under my jogging bra and other non-traditional areas.

• Wash my face: I always sweat a lot on my face and hair. My hair is actually worse and the sweat will drip down from it onto my face. I always wash off my makeup before I workout to prevent breakouts. Plus, I don’t want my mascara running because of sweat.

• Bring a hand towel when you workout: I was required to carry a towel around the gym at all times, so I used it on my face and neck to prevent too much sweat from collecting and starting to stink. It’s not the sweat that causes body odor, it’s the bacteria that grows in the damp areas. If you mop up as much sweat as you can, it will prevent the bacteria from growing.

• After the workout, change as quickly as possible: Don’t sit around in your sweaty gym clothes. I was under a lunchtime constraint, so I would rush to the locker room so I could change quickly. This prevented any smelly bacteria from growing.

• Dry off as much as you can with a towel: After I had taken off my gym clothes, I would go over my body once more with a fresh towel to dry off any more sweat on my body.

• Reapply antiperspirant: After I dried off, I would reapply antiperspirant and even add perfume.

• Drive back to the office with the window wide open, even in the winter: To keep myself from sweating in my office clothes, I would cool off by allowing the air to rush in the car window. In the summer, I turned the A/C on full blast the whole way home.

You can workout during your lunch hour, even if you don’t have time to shower. If a sweaty girl like me could do it, then you certainly can. Let go of all your excuses and fit that workout into your day!

Animated GIF via: three frames: The Lonely Guy starring Steve Martin

Shame on The New York Times for saying that Christina Hendricks is anything but the totally hot babe that she is. For their review of the red carpet for the Golden Globe Awards, their fashion critic wrote, “You don’t put a big girl in a big dress.” Apparently, only size zero is good enough for The New York Times.

Christina Hendricks is one of the stars of Mad Men and her curvy beauty makes all the men’s heads turn. What the frak could that fashion critic for the New York Times have been thinking?!! Just look at her give Betty the low down on the office here:

• Mad Men – Joan (Christina Hendricks) gives Peggy the 411

I first saw Christina Hendricks in the excellent science fiction series, Firefly, over eight years ago. She played the evil genius, Saffron, who nearly wiped out the brave crew of Firefly and almost outwitted Captain Malcolm Reynolds.

You can see her in her evil and busty glory here:

The next time a comment from someone makes you feel like your body doesn’t quite measure up, remember the idiotic fashion critic at The New York Times. There are always imbeciles out there whose sole goal in life is to bring other people down. Don’t let them decide how you feel about your body. Walk with the grace and swagger of Christina Hendricks and keep your head high.

• ran 1.61 mi on 2/12/2010 at 4:40 PM with a pace of 22'17"/mi http://bit.ly/9i4iBD #
• ran 2.07 mi on 2/10/2010 at 5:34 AM with a pace of 18'43"/mi http://bit.ly/bXeLHX #
• ran 2.17 mi on 2/8/2010 at 3:24 PM with a pace of 18'32"/mi http://bit.ly/aa9nrW #

For the next few weeks every Monday, I’ll share a playlist of songs that I have in my Workout Playlist on my iPhone. I’ll include clips to listen to, where you can buy them and why I have them in my list. Just so you know, I do get a portion of the sales of these songs from Amazon, so if you buy them, you’re helping me out.

Running by No Doubt: This is a great warmup song. It has a slow beat and it says the word running over and over, so it actually makes me want to start running. Plus, nothing beats Gwen Stefani at waking me up in the morning.

Time To Start by Blue Man Group: This song has the words, “It’s time to start” right at the beginning of the song, so I like to play it at the beginning of a workout when I need to run. It was even my powersong for a while. I love it when they say the Rock Concert Movements. It makes me want to jump and yell and bob my head to the music. “Ready Go!”

Around The World by Aqua: I love this song because she talks about cooking healthy food. A while back, I was adding my treadmill mileage up and imagining that I was running around the world, so the phrase, “around the world” means that to me as well.

Zero by Seven Red Seven: I know this song is supposed to be about someone who feels worthless, but it really doesn’t represent that to me. I might never get into a pair of size zero jeans, but I like to work toward that goal. With lyrics that say, “I am zero,” over and over, it helps me imagine myself thinner.

Shake Your Bon-Bon by Ricky Martin: I don’t care what anyone says. No one can shake their bon-bon like Ricky Martin. When I feel like I can’t run anymore, hearing this song puts a little kick in my step. Plus he says, “Go around the world in a day,” which reminds me of the miles that I’m racking up to go around the world.

Blowing’ You Off At 8 by SkinnySongs: This week’s SkinnySong is about a woman who has the best day of her life when she meets up with a past boyfriend who dumped her. He notices how hot she looks now and wants her back, but she doesn’t want anything to do with him. It’s the perfect revenge song for anyone who has been dumped because they’re too fat.

TiK ToK by Ke$ha: This is just a fun bit of fluff song that just makes me want to get up and move. It’s got a great beat and it talks about going out on the town. It says the words, “Don’t stop, make it pop!” so many times that I just can’t stop my workout!

Running Up That Hill by Placebo: Although not as run-worthy as the Kate Bush version from thirty years ago, this song is a great workout song, if only because it says, “running up that hill” so many times. I like to play it toward the end of my workout when I need to slow down, but keep on running. “It doesn’t hurt me!”

The Youth by MGMT: I like this song because of the lyrics, “The youth are starting to change, are you starting to change? Together, together, together, together!” I like to imagine all the changes that I’m making to myself and how they will help me be a better person. This is also a slower song that good for your cooldown.

Bandy Bandy by Zap Mama: This song is so mellow that it’s really only good for stretching at the end of your workout, but I love it because it urges me to “wave” my body. A bandy bandy is a type of cobra, so imagining my body like a lithe and agile snake is a great way for me to get my post-workout stretch done.

Listen to the clips for these songs. If you find just one song this week that motivates you to exercise, then buy it and make it your powersong when you’re working out this week. I bet you’ll find that you’re more willing to get your butt to the gym and your workouts are easier.

A special thank you goes out to Johnny Wander for showing us all the Ultimate Clementine Peeling Technique.

Here is the Ultimate Clementine Peeling Technique:

• Gently puncture around the top of the peel with your thumb.
• Start peeling in an even spiral.
• Continue to peel in a single ribbon until complete.

That’s a little different than the technique I usually use:

• Pull off the peel in a star shape around the fruit.

Clementines are so easy to peel that you CAN pull them off in one single ribbon. I’ve talked about them many times before, so read up on these great fruits.

• Starling Fitness » Clandestine Clementines
• Starling Fitness » Clementine Season
• Starling Fitness » Clementine Season Is Here Again

I don’t usually write running shoe reviews because they all feel the same to me. I don’t have the foot problems that a lot of people have, so pretty much any shoe works for me. With that, I don’t end up LOVING my shoes the way other people do. Since the shoes from anywhere would work for me, I rarely fall in LOVE with shoes, not even enough to clean them.

That was until I got my Nike Zoom Sister One Limited Editions.

You are looking at my beloved running shoes. Not since my ill-fated Nike Air Zoom Moire+, who only lasted one year at the Nike Store, have I found a pair of shoes I love enough to CLEAN.

I like them because they are light-weight. They feel really good on my feet and don’t do that annoying thing other shoes do that make my socks fall off my feet and bunch up around my arch. Even though they are quite plastic, they allow my feet to breathe. They even look good when I’m just tooling around town with jeans and a sweater, but since I’ve cleaned them, they aren’t allowed to go outdoors anymore.

I love them that much.

Once I realized that they were the perfect pair of shoes for me, I immediately ordered two more pair from the Nike Store. Since the Air Moire+ were canceled so quickly, I refuse to be left hanging like I was last time. I’ll have two pair in waiting so that I can keep happily running for the next few years.

Now, if I could only get Nike to realize that fat people need workout CLOTHES as well as shoes, then I wouldn’t have to hate them…

I’ve talked about music that can make your workout easier, but here are some free MP3 downloads of Marine Corps Cadences that might help you run a little faster as well.

• Marine Corps Cadences

I put them in my workout playlist and when I listen to it on random, these cadences jump in between songs to give me a boost. Something about the chanting while running is very helpful, even when I’m not the one doing the chanting.