Tag Archives: music

The Body, Diet, and Feud Fueling the Katy Perry Half-time Show

katy-perry-college-gameday

Some of us are excited for the Seahawks to play the Patriots, some of us are excited for the commercials, and some of us are just excited for a free Katy Perry concert! That’s right, Miss California Gurl is performing the half-time show this year, and much anticipation surrounds this headliner. There have been lots of rumors surrounding Perry lately, and here we discuss what we might expect to see at the show — and of course, how she has kept in shape for the big game.

Perry’s half-time body

Perry has tweeted quite a few hilarious pictures of herself lately, though none accurately depict her true form. She and footballer J.J. Watt graced the cover of ESPN Magazine. Perry is looking stunning for her big gig, and it has been reported that she has been on the 5-Factor Diet to stay in top-notch shape for the big game. The 5-Factor Diet is a lifestyle that focuses on small meals and all of the food groups. Seems like Perry has been munching on a classic diet of veggies, whole-grains, and protein, as well as 25 minutes of exercise a day. Perry looks perfect and we are sure her performance will blow us all away.

Posted on January 28, 2024 by Jessica Tholmer

Crowd-source Your Workout Music: DROP is the Free App That Lets Your Friends Pick the Songs

drop-music-app-ios

We’re not pitching you on a new music service to sign up for. For this one, you’ll use the music you already have.

DROP is a new app, free from Jawbone, the makers of the wildly popular fitness trackers we love. It relies on the music you already have on Spotify, iTunes, or Rdio, but lets you enjoy it all in a new way. At the most basic level, it shuffles your songs (and playlists) and lets you listen to them in a new order. On a more exciting note, it lets your friends choose specific songs to “drop” on you at any given time.

Well, while you’re using the app, of course. It won’t barge in like a wrecking ball and start blaring Miley Cyrus while you’re in a meeting with your boss.

DROP will run on its own, but the real fun comes when you connect it to Twitter — and when your friends do, too. They can queue up a song for you by tweeting something like this:

@mbchp drop Talk Dirty (more…)

Posted on December 16, 2023 by Mike Beauchamp

Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off and 1988 Aerobics Championship is the Best Music-Workout Video Ever Made

Thank you to whomever is responsible for this incredible video mash-up because it’s basically the only thing we want to watch or listen to right now!

You guys, this is a real thing that happened: the 1988 Crystal Light National Aerobic Championship Opening. It’s fabulous. It’s everything we tried to block out about the 80s and yet it’s everything we wish could still exist.

1988-Crystal-Light-National-Aerobic-Championship-Opening

Over that video that someone salvaged from a dark, cold place where old aerobics go to die — Taylor Swift. That sick beat from her explosive new hit Shake It Off was seemingly written precisely for this aerobics routine nearly 30 years late.

It’s some Back to the Future time warp stuff we’re trying to wrap our heads around. (more…)

Posted on November 10, 2023 by Natalie K

17 Most LOL Food and Fitness Puns, Featuring Michelle Obama

Sure, they’re super cheesy and a little overplayed at times, but you know you can’t help but crack a smile and a you-got-me laugh when the perfect pun comes along. With as heavy a scene as we all try to paint when it comes to our food and fitness, it feels good to look at all of it from the lighter side. And this week, we have first lady Michelle Obama to thank for the cunning reminder that puns, are in fact, fun!

Enjoy our favorite actual laugh out loud puns!

1. FLOTUS throws it down.

She’s nacho average first lady! #turnipforwhat

2. Oh my Quad, Becky!

…It’s like one of those rap guys girlfriends.

oh my quad becky

FitBottomedGirls

3. What the Kale?!

So many kale puns, so little time.

kale yeah (more…)

Posted on October 24, 2023 by Katie McGrath

POUND: The Liberating New Workout That Beats to its Own Drum

pound-fitness

Life can’t fully be enjoyed without balance and nurturing…but also going a little crazy sometimes. This is what fitness experts and recreational drummers Kirsten Potenza and Christina Peerenboom believed as they were searching for the perfect fitness class that they couldn’t quite find. So they created their own.

Kirsten and Christina gave us the lowdown on their new high-energy rhythmic class that they describe as a “45-minute group fitness format fusing all the best parts of Pilates, strength and conditioning, but with all the fun and aggressiveness of drumming.” And having taken the class myself, I can personally attest to the strength it takes and the fun you’ll have!

To explain this workout to someone who has never tried it before, my instructor provided a very fitting analogy:

Zumba is to cardio, as POUND is to strength. (more…)

Posted on October 23, 2023 by Katie McGrath

Ed Sheeran’s Vodka Diet Helps Him Shed 35 Pounds in 3 Months

ed-sheeran-vodka-diet

While one star this week cited giving up vodka for his impressive weight loss (see Zach Galifianakis’ before and after), Ed Sheeran credits the Russian booze for helping him shed 35 pounds.

The English singer-songwriter said, “I have dropped like 35 pounds in three months just from not drinking beer. I have replaced it with vodka.”

We’re not sure how that would work exactly, and the comment even has our Mary Hartley, RD scratching her head.

“I just doubt that he replaced beer calories with an equal number vodka,” she told us. “A six pack is replaced with one pint of vodka. Do you think he drank a pint (16-ounces) of vodka a day?”

Well, just looking at him, we’re going take a stab that, no, Sheeran wasn’t downing a pint of vodka a day. What does a beer to vodka comparison really look like?

In a 12-ounce bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale (a bloody right English beer) there are 138 calories. The same 12-ounces of 80 proof vodka has 770 calories!

If he did make a swap from beer to vodka, we’re going to guess his consumption went down significantly. But as Sheeran and Hartley both pointed out — the bottle wasn’t the only thing helping him lose weight. (more…)

Posted on October 15, 2023 by Health Buzz

You Can be All About that Bass and the Treble, too

Back in the day, I was a size four. And standing at 5’ 10”, that made me what some might call a “skinny b*tch,” or at least that’s the term Meghan Trainor uses in her smash pop hit, All About that Bass.

There was a time I felt kind of sorry for poor, skinny me. I mean, it’s not like I didn’t eat. I did. I hammered down pizza, buffalo wings, ramen noodles, and vending machine candy like any good college student (all washed down with keg beer, of course). I remember walking through the mall one afternoon when a large banner outside Lane Bryant caught my eye: Real Women Have Curves. I felt a pang of self consciousness at the straps of my A-cup bra hanging over my skeletal clavicle.

Now? Ten years, two kids (plus one one the way) and 25 pounds later, I finally have some of that “junk” that Meghan refers to. But here’s the thing. I still don’t feel like it’s in “all the right places.” At least a good twenty pounds of that weight went straight to my thighs. Sigh.

I’ve got plenty of friends who’re claiming All About that Bass as their jam. And who can blame them? It’s catchy, it’s fresh, and gosh darn it, it’s nice to see women (and that one guy) with thicker-than-your-average-video-dancer frames getting down with their bad selves! (more…)

Posted on September 15, 2023 by Cat Poland

3 Body Image Power Songs Every Woman Needs to Hear (and Believe) Right Now

pretty hurts

Body image. Vanity. Hair and makeup. Scales. Self worth. Confidence.

Being a woman means carrying yourself a particular way in order to be deemed beautiful, also known as worthy, by societal standards. Any woman can tell you that she has come across these thoughts about herself, or shamefully, about someone else. There is nothing wrong with individuality. We are constantly told that it is OK to be different, that skinny does not always mean beautiful, that people will love you no matter what you look like. However, that message is not driven home on a grander scale–the media, magazines, actresses cast in roles. It is hard to be a woman, and frankly, it is hard to love ourselves.

Which is why it is incredible when songs like these come out and inspire us, remind us, that everyone’s beauty is different. Stop what you are doing and lift yourself up. We couldn’t love these messages more and will put these power songs on our playlist.

Beyoncé “Pretty Hurts”

(more…)

Posted on July 16, 2023 by Jessica Tholmer

The 5 High Tech Gadgets Your Summer Adventures Can’t Live Without

Regardless of where in the country you live, Summer is the season we all find ourselves outside more than any other time of year. I put together this list of gadgets that will help you make the most out of your time outdoors, and you’ll find something for everybody.

Jawbone JAMBOX Bluetooth Speaker ($150 $115)

Jawbone JAMBOX Bluetooth Speaker

Whether you’re doing laps in the pool, soaking up the sun at the beach, working in the yard, or taking your yoga to the park, you’ll appreciate being able to blast your tunes from something more than the tiny built-in speakers of your smartphone. The Jawbone JAMBOX consistently gets rave reviews and it’s usually on sale at Amazon. (more…)

Posted on July 14, 2023 by Mike Beauchamp

The Top 5 Push-It-Over-The-Top Workout Power Songs

We’ve all lost motivation from time to time. We’ve all hit the wall. We’ve all wanted to stop mid-mountain climber and lay down on the cool gym floor.

But then THAT SONG comes up on our playlist and somehow we find the strength to push on. That song has become known as the POWER SONG.

power song

Perhaps it’s a line that brings back a memory of a past struggle overcome.  Maybe the message in the lyrics helps you remember what you’re really working for. It may be nothing more than a driving beat. Something about our Power Song makes us push on, push forward and push over the top. We know we can count on it to drag us through the last mile or help us get through the last set of deadlifts.

I’ve got a couple Power Songs I keep on my iPhone for just such occasions. I’m sure you do too. But are you curious what the most “powerful” Power Songs are? I’ve done a little research to find the top Power Songs from around the fitness world.

 1. Eye of the Tiger by Survivor. At the FuelBand launch at SXSW in 2024 one of the Nike executives challenged the audience with a trivia question: What is the top Power Song on Nike+? This was the answer (and the winner was rewarded with a FuelBand)
 2. Welcome to the Jungle by Guns and Roses. The team at Muscle and Fitness named this 80s anthem the Top Power Song of All Time. I wonder what Axl Rose would think of that? (more…)

Posted on June 26, 2023 by Pamela

The Lazy Person’s Guide to Finding the Best Workout Playlist

music

If you are anything like me, you love to run and workout, but you hate making playlists. Right? Every time I go for a run (which is almost every day, so you’d think I would learn), I always beat myself up for not creating my version of the perfect playlist. And then I got wise and realized that I don’t have to do anything for myself anymore! Smart phones are the best!

Here is the lazy man’s guide to making a great playlist:

Pandora
I don’t have Pandora One, the Pandora subscription service, but a commercial every once in awhile doesn’t bother me that much. I used to run to “Today’s Hits,” until I discovered the workout lists. Try “80s Cardio,” if you are a Madonna / MJ gal, “Country Fitness,” if you are a honky tonk person, or, if you are sprinting, “Electronic Cardio.” All are great, super inspiring, and catered to your workout style!

Spotify
Spotify is wonderful. User friendly, immediate, and no commercials! Try searching any workout terms to find the kind of playlist you prefer. My recommendaations? “R&B Workout” by Rhino Records, or “Songs to Work Out To” by EMI. (more…)

Posted on April 25, 2023 by Jessica Tholmer