Living Well — lifestyle

The Best Spotify Playlists for Your Workout: Part Two 0

We shared with you in our last blog the top Spotify playlist for yoga, lifting, and running. As promised, here are the best Spotify playlists for spinning and CrossFit:

Spinning

Spinning is an insanely difficult workout that burns an intense number of calories in a single workout. If you are in a class, it is helpful to gain motivation from the people around you. You instructor is there to help keep your legs pumping. But what happens if you are spinning from home? Having the perfect background music can help you keep going even when your legs are starting to feel like noodles. Here are some great Spotify playlists for spinning.

• This playlist created by Spinning Workout, has 3 hrs. 42min of songs to keep your legs pumping. Check it out

• This playlist was also created by Spinning workout. It has the top songs for spinning for 2017. 37 of them to be exact. Check it out

• Created by Marcel Tholen, this playlist has over 22 hours of music. Everything ranging from Rihanna to Duck Sauce. All that you need to keep your workout going. Check it out

CrossFit

CrossFit’s nature of using workout techniques from a wide variety of sports is ideals for getting an amazing workout. This workout will help to increase more than one area of your physical fitness. This workout needs the right songs to motivate. Here are some of the top Spotify playlists for CrossFit:

• This playlist created by Flitr Sweden has a great list of music that will let you experience the tunes of Sweden as well as some other artist. Check it out

• Created by Spotify, this playlist has a great for keeping you pushing through the toughest workouts. It has over 1 hour worth of songs. Check it out  

• This playlist was carefully crafted by Faeni Mogavero. It has music from Fall Out Boy, T.I. and many more. You will no doubt find something you like on this 12-hour long playlist. Check it out   

The Best Spotify Playlists for Your Workout: Part One 0

Music can be what distinguishes a bad workout and a good workout. It can be exactly what you need to go that last rep or run that extra mile. Being able to find the perfect playlist to motivate you can keep you moving through the workout is essential. That being said, not every song is great for every workout. Different workouts need motivation from different locations. Here is the best Spotify playlist for you based on your workout.

Yoga

Yoga is an incredible workout that requires mental strength as well as physical. It helps to reduces stress and anxiety while also toning and stretching muscles. When it comes to creating the ideal environment for Yoga, choosing the correct background noises is important. Here are some of the top playlists on Spotify for all the Yogis out there:

• Created by Yoga Girl, This playlist contains a variety of music from East Forest to Drake. This playlist is 1hr 10 min long and contains 17 songs. Check it out

• Created by Spotify UK, This playlist is meant to allow its listeners to sink into deep tranquility. It is 30 songs and is 4hr and 31 mins. Check it out

• Created by Yoda Music, This array of songs is meant to help create a sense of please can allow you to absorb all the spiritual aspects of your yoga workout. Check it out

Running

Running is a workout that requires its participants to really focus on their endurance. When your mind and body are telling you to stop, you need to push through and keep moving. This endurance capacity can be greatly motivated or discouraged based on music. Here are some of the top playlists on Spotify for runners:

• Created by Filtr UK, this playlist has what you need to keep pushing your body to take one more step. Containing everything from Sia to Pitbull, you will be able to keep pushing through this 3 hr. 32 min playlist. Check it out  

• Created by Spotify, this playlist is meant to be your metronome. Keep in pace in while listening to this 3 hr. 23 min playlist. Check it out

• Created by Filtr Espana, This playlist is created to help you stay motivated and on track. This playlist contains music from Meghan Trainor, Justin Timberlake, and many more. Amongst the 70 songs you are bound to keep moving. Check it out

Lifting

Lifting is one of those workouts that require you to really put mind over matter. As you complete your final reps and your limbs are starting to shake, the last thing you want to hear is a song that makes you want to relax and stop. What you need is a song that will help keep up your energy and motivation. Here are some of the best playlists for lifting:

• Created by Jeremiah J Wilt, this playlist is full over 300 song to help motivate you to do that extra rep. Check it out

• Created by Nick Keali’i Jorgenson, this playlist has over 12 hours of music ranging from Eminem to Childish Gambino. Check it out

• Created by Lance Vesper, this playlist has over 100 songs to keep you going through your workout. Check it out

No matter the workout, having the right playlist is what you need to aide in you reaching your fitness goals.

Get SMART About Your Fitness Goals 0

You won’t get anywhere without setting calculated, meaningful goals. We can all say we want to go to the moon, but without the right preparation, planning, or training we won’t ever get there. Making goals with working out or weight loss work the same way. That’s why you should create SMART goals. This stands for specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic, and time-bound. These restrictions allow you to give yourself goals that you’re better equipped to achieve.

Specific

If your goals are too broad, you won’t be able to determine how well you’re doing. If your goal is just to “work out” and you go to the gym once every two months, then congratulations, you’ve completed your goal and “worked out”, but you haven’t really achieved any meaningful goals. And we’re guessing that wasn’t what you meant when you made your goal. Make your goal specific to push yourself further and really get the best results. Instead of “work out”, try “run on the treadmill for 30 minutes”.

Measurable

Giving yourself an end goal that can actually be measured yields far better results than those that are broad. Your goal may be to lose weight. Well, weight is certainly something that can be measured, so give yourself a number that you can continuously check yourself against and gauge your progress in relation to it. If your goal was to “lose weight” and you lost 5 pounds, that would technically fall into the completion of your goal. But by giving yourself a measurable goal, like 30 pounds, you can see how much that 5 pounds really contributes to your true intention and how far you still have to go.

Action-Oriented

Goals that are action-oriented may involve a specific event or an action to take place in order for you to feel like you’ve completed this goal. Having a concrete action-oriented goal is also a great way to make sure your journey or progress along the way is making you prepared for this goal. For example, your action-oriented goal may be that you want to run a 5k. Every step that you take towards that goal, whether it be increasing the duration of your running time, running on different terrain, etc. will have the endgame of a 5k in mind. You then know which actions you need to take to complete this goal, which leaves you better prepared to complete it successfully.

Realistic

Oftentimes, when we create goals for ourselves we really shoot for the stars. Which isn’t always a bad thing! But, if your goal is to drop 7 pant sizes in less than a month, you’re probably setting yourself up for failure. Part of the reason why we don’t always achieve our goals is because we set an unrealistic goal to start with, and get frustrated when we don’t see ourselves obtaining it. Really think about your goal, and prepare for any setbacks or unexpected turns. Be honest with yourself, do you see your goal as something that is realistic and achievable given the circumstances, time frame, etc.? If so, you’ve gotten yourself onto the path for success, go for it!

Time-Bound

The most important part of a goal is arguably the time-bound aspect of it. If there is no sense of urgency, what incentive do you have to push yourself to complete this goal right now? ‘I want to lose 10 pounds, but I have as much time as I want to do that, so I’ll skip the gym today’. If your goal is to lose 10 pounds in 8 weeks, however, you would definitely think twice about skipping that gym day (and we hope you wouldn’t!). Creating a goal that is time-bound will give you the push to achieve your goals, because it makes you responsible and accountable. If you haven’t lost 10 pounds in 8 weeks, you can clearly see that you did not achieve your goal.

Now that we’ve talked about SMART goals, let’s see what one actually looks like. Some examples would be:

Lose 20 pounds by June 1st.

• 20 pounds is measurable, June 1st is time-bound and specific.

Complete a 5k by the end of the year. 

• Completing a 5k is action-oriented and specific, the end of the year is time-bound and realistic.

Fit into your old skinny jeans within the next two months.

• Your old skinny jeans are specific, the next two months are time-bound.

A SMART goal is simultaneously all 5 of these components in one simple phrase. Here’s a visual example.

We think you probably get the idea now. An organized, well crafted goal instead of a broad unrealistic one makes all the difference in achieving your goals. So go create some SMART goals for yourself on your fitness journey and immediately see the better path it puts you on. 

Make This Valentine's Day Healthy and Exciting 0

For most Americans, every Valentine’s Day brings the trite and cliché; a night out at dinner and a box of chocolates. Maybe if you’re lucky, you receive those chalk flavored heart candies. When you think about it, Valentine’s Day has taken on the characteristics of an unhealthy and boring day with no special meaning. It doesn’t have to be that way! Here are some exciting tips that will keep you thinking about your health on a typical day where splurging and monotony are the norm.

Take your partner out for a walk or a hike on Valentine’s Day.

This can be as creative and as fun as you make it, not to mention very healthy. This doesn’t mean to just take your hubby around for a neighborhood walk that lasts ten minutes. Instead, try going somewhere with your significant other that you two have never been before. This could include a park, a mountain, a lake, a beach, or some other natural landscape.

Spend Valentine’s Day doing some sort of physical activity.

Valentine’s Day may be more romantic if you participate in activities that are appropriate for the season. For example, a good calorie burning source of entertainment would be ice-skating. Many people have never even tried ice-skating before. It makes for a good activity because it burns calories and can be very romantic.

Plan a Weekend Getaway

Valentine’s Day lands on a Tuesday this year, but that doesn’t mean you can’t plan for a weekend trip. Perhaps you could go to a trip to a ski lodge or a nice hotel somewhere. Make this year’s Valentine’s Day interesting and healthy! Don’t recycle the same idea because then it seems like you and your partner are just running through the motions of what conventional Valentine’s standards demand of you.

Be authentic. Be healthy. Be active. Be original.

12 Quotes to Drive You to Fulfill Your New Years Resolutions 0

2017 is here! That means everyone is doing their best to stick to their resolutions, some being far more difficult than others. As we know by now, resolutions aren’t always a one-stop fix. They’re an uphill climb, hard to stick to, and you will most likely face many steps backwards while trying to move forward. When your resolution involves making healthier choices and getting your body in better shape, you’ll need some motivation to push you through those difficult times. We’re here to help motivate you — after all, we’re on this journey of health together. But some motivation from those who are more wise than we are can be immensely powerful. Here are 12 quotes we think represent this journey to a better you. We hope these quotes free you from what was holding you back in 2016, and get you in the healthiest mindset for the trials and triumphs of 2017.

Delicious and Good For You: The Benefits of Green Tea 0

Green tea has to be one of the healthiest drinks out there. If you’re looking to give your immune system a boost, speed up your metabolism, or improve your brain function without moving a muscle (except to grab your favorite mug), then green tea could be the secret ingredient you’ve been needing in your life.

Green tea helps with the best of both worlds, because it can help improve your outside by starting from the inside. Green tea is also completely natural. What more can you ask for? With how many benefits are jam-packed in this tasty little drink, you’d wonder why absolutely everyone hasn’t taken advantage of it yet.

Let’s start with the basics green tea is loaded with antioxidants and nutrients. You’ve heard it all your life, I’m sure— these things are awesome for you. But let’s break it down a little for those of you interested in the details. How do these things actually affect the health of your body? Antioxidants are nutrients and/or enzymes, meaning they play a huge role in fighting free radicals, substances that attack your DNA and other healthy cells. Antioxidants boost up your ability to fight off these free radicals, and push back against things like visible aging and cellular damage, and reduce the chance of disease. Antioxidants mop up these unstable free radicals to repair and limit cell and molecule damage that comes from our everyday contact with them.

Green tea contains a superpower called Epigallocatechin Gallate, which we’ll call EGCG. This compound has been tied to numerous studies that show it is effective in treating various diseases, making it a big contributing player in green tea’s health-boosting reputation. Green tea has also been known to increase fat burning and boost the metabolic rate.

Green tea also helps to keep you awake. Are you someone that needs your morning coffee in order to make it through the day? Green tea is likely a better alternative for you. Although it doesn’t contain as much caffeine as coffee does, green tea doesn’t contain the added cream and sugar that many of us coffee drinkers love. Instead, you get an all-natural option with all the aforementioned health benefits. Green tea contains this active stimulant, but because it does not have the same amount that you find in coffee, you won’t get the same jittery effects, which is oftentimes our least favorite part about getting our morning java. Instead, you’ll have a more productive, stable buzz. You’ll still reap the benefits of being more energized, but you won’t find yourself tapping your foot against your desk all day.

Hate drinking your tea plain? You can add some natural ingredients that serve up excellent health benefits themselves. Boost up the flavor and nutrition with lemon or honey.

Lemon is packed with nourishing elements like vitamins C, B6, A, E, and iron, magnesium, potassium, and protein, among others. Lemons also help to restore balance to the body’s pH, and is known to fight infections and cold through flavonoids.

Honey will add a sweetness to your tea that rivals sugar in your coffee. Besides its delicious taste, honey also aids in soothing things like allergies and sore throats. Honey will also help you to get yourself off to sleep, as it is a natural sleep aid. Honey is additionally overall anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, regulates blood sugar, probiotic (meaning it contains friendly bacteria!), and helps to strengthen the immune system by way of producing immune cells. How’s that for a super-packed drink?

We've only just begun to scratch the surface when it comes to what green tea can do for your body. It's all-natural, has a comforting taste, and produces a multitude of beneficial changes that will become visible after adding a few cups to your diet. What's not to love? Now go ahead and brew yourself a cup, you can thank us later.