Top 10 Workout Songs for January

Need new songs to update or add to your workout playlist? I know I am. Give or take a few songs I've swapped out because my iPod ran out of space, I've had the same core playlist for years and it's the shuffle option that saves me from hearing the same selection every time. I can't help it, I'm a creature of habit. But even the best lists need a little refreshing; it's just tough when you're blindly deciding which songs will be the most motivational for a run or a workout. I've made the mistake of adding a song, only to find that I skip over it every single time it hits my ears when I'm running. What I needed was Run Hundred, the internet's most heavily trafficked site for workout music, to help guide me.

The site polled its readers to find out their favorite, current workout songs to compile a top 10 list to keep people motivated during the time of the year when it's hardest to get up and exercise. And what's even better is that they've broken down the tunes to their beats per minute. You know, in case you need faster beats to add a spring to your step--something this runner has yet to experiment with. As for the list, Chris Lawhorn, who operates RunHundred.com, says that the top 10 contains a mixture of songs you'd expect and some surprises.

These Stairs Are Going To Hurt: Step Up for Kids

It seemed like a good idea when I told my teammates that I’d join them at the Step Up for Kids, a stair climb race where participants climb 38 or 80 floors of the Aon Center. My tentative plans to ski fell through, husband had to work, and this stairclimb was one that I wrote about more times (four, I think) than I had actually participated (a big fat zero). Add in the fact that it benefits Children’s Memorial Hospital—a spot near and dear to husband’s heart—and the more than 148,000 kids that will visit the hospital for treatment, and I was sold. Not only because I never turn down a workout, especially one with as rewarding a view (promised by ABC 7 reporter John Garcia, who I’ll be climbing with) but also because it was my way of supporting my husband’s daily toils.

There’s one problem: I forgot how strenuous stair climbing can be…especially when you NEVER climb stairs. I live on the 13th floor—the only stairs I’m climbing are when the elevators break down.

As I was so kindly reminded, stairs offer one heck of a calf workout (and glutes and quads, too). That’s good for anyone who wants killer legs when they’re sporting heels and skirts, but most of my running injuries, er ailments, stem from tight calves. The last thing I need is to put them into overdrive and curtail my running season after it barely has started.

I Spy...a Lululemon Sale

You know something has to be big when a Twitter account is created for it. That's exactly what Lululemon expected of its warehouse sale when the company created the Twitter handle @lululemonWHUS. And big is only half of it.

Lululemon's no stranger to hosting massive sales, but this is the first time that such an event is hitting the U.S. But not just anywhere, the lululemon athletica Warehouse Sale opens in Chicago on January 27 at 9 a.m. and runs until 9 p.m. on January 29. Granted it requires a trek out to Rosemont to take advantage of the slashed prices and piles of products--and either paying for parking or the El to reach the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center--but it sounds like it's worth it. As long as the discounts are more than 25 percent off--I passed up a pair of pants at Core Power Yoga because $73.50 was still too much for me to spend. And as long as it's somewhat controlled chaos. With the Facebook attendee list pushing 5,000 and counting, that's a lot of people to push through, no matter how good their pants make your butt look. But it sounds like lululemon has addressed all my fears, provided I can tolerate being patient in line. That's manageable considering the payoff of new workout gear. Hooky-worthy, too!

What's your plan of attack at the warehouse sale?


Photo grabbed from lululemon athletica at flickr.

The Daily Feed: Sites We're Surfing 1/22

Ah, Sunday. Not to be followed by fun day. You see, I'm avoiding changing into my cycling gear and entering the pain cave to sweat and pant my way through the bike workout I should have done yesterday when I opted to snowshoe instead. I'm ignoring the growing pile of laundry (I go through a lot of workout clothing in mere days!) and the to-do list I wanted to tackle. Nah, I'll save that for Monday. Instead I'm doing the usual: puttering around online. Here's what I'm reading:

•  Kids aren't the only ones saying the "darnedest" things. Videos following the theme of "S*&t insert-group-here say" have gone viral, but I got a chuckle--and a chance to blush with embarrassment--when I read this list that applies to triathletes. How many have you heard yourself, or your friends, utter on more than one occasion?
• Have you ever found yourself absolutely hating a yoga class? It's not the instructor or the music that's always to blame: your expectations could be stuck in the wrong style.
• You don't have to be a mama to benefit from the Fit-Bottomed Mamas 20-minute workout. Its 12 moves will challenge even the fiercest competitor.
• New year, new workout gear? Check out these DailyCandy picks to upgrade your collection.
• This Chicago event could be the toughest 15-minute workout I'll do all winter. The view from the top is totally worth it, it's the getting there that scares my calves. Anyone want to join me?
• Muscle mass might be on the down and out as we age, but exercise, triathlon especially, could be responsible for lean muscle preservation--even when you're 74. Here's to hoping my body can hold out that long.

Any other share-worthy sites that I should check out?

Learn Bike Fit from a Pro

Steinmetz has helped Rinny and Crowie with their bike fit.

What do Craig Alexander, Mirinda Carfrae and Julie Dibens have in common? Aside from being world-class triathletes with 70.3 wins under their belts, they're all connected to Mat Steinmetz. Mat who? Steinmetz might sound like a nobody when you line his name up with the likes of these A-list triathletes, but he's certainly not one to be forgotten...once you look him up like I had to (yeah, I'm clueless sometimes when it comes to who's working with who unless I revert to Google). The reason being: Steinmetz works with three-time Ironman World Champion Alexander as a training advisor, coaches Dibens, and has helped Carfrae with her bike fit through his work as a Retul bike fitter. And he's an accomplished triathlete in his own right. According to his bio, he was the 2008 USAT Age Group Long Course National Champion in the men's 25-29 age group.