The majority of the workouts I do are either accompanied by the cheesy synth-pop exercise video soundtrack (Jillian Michaels, I’m scowling in your direction), or whatever’s blaring through the speakers at the gym. When I run, though, I’m addicted to listening to the loudest, most upbeat stuff I can find. I know, I know, safety rules dictate you leave the iPod at home when you go for a jog, but what can I say, music makes the difference for me between “running” and “collapsing in a heap on the cement”.

I recently huffed and gasped my way through a 5K, and these are the songs kept me going:

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As a sort of follow-up to the topic of home workout DVDs, let’s do one more post on the subject of exercise and health, if you can possibly stand it. It’s still January, after all, and I don’t know about you but I’m still 1) trying to work off the epic number of cookies I consumed in December, and 2) baking more cookies because what else am I going to do with the leftover bag of milk chocolate morsels, other than eat them by the handful, not that, ha ha, I have done such a thing less than 24 hours ago. (MMMPH.)

I’m not sure there’s really anything that makes exercise easy, at least for me, but I do have some go-to items that make it more fun, or comfortable, or . . . well, I don’t know. Less sucky? Let’s go with that.
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As I write this I’m feeling something less than the perfect picture of health and fitness: I’m traveling for work, and nothing does in a diet quite like 24/7 access to room service. After a long day of standing around a tradeshow booth smiling vacantly at people, the notion of chocolate cake being delivered to my king-sized bed at 10 PM is just too tempting to resist.

As soon as I get home, though, I plan to get back in the swing of things diet-and-exercise-wise, and since January is traditionally the time of year when most of us re-visit our health goals, I thought I’d share my favorite workout DVDs with you guys. I prefer the accountability and challenge of an exercise class, but it can definitely be challenging to find the time to get out of the house and to a gym. Sometimes it’s all about jumping around the living room like a dork in order to work up a sweat, and for those times, here are my go-to videos:
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I recently received a request to cover gym bags as a topic, which made me happy because O, how I love looking at bags. Diaper, laptop, purse, it doesn’t matter — bags are one of my favorite things to web-window-shop.

I actually could use a new gym bag, since I’ve just been carrying my purse when I go to work out. It’s a tote shape so it works decently for carrying the things I need (iPod, towel, water bottle, keys) but I do notice I’m the only person mincing around the weight room with a, you know, purse. I have a largish duffle bag I could use, but that seems like overkill — I don’t change at the gym, so I don’t need to bring along clothes, shoes, and toiletries.

Don’t you think I need a new bag? COME ON TELL ME I NEED TO SHOP FOR A NEW BAG.

Ahem. Anyway, here are some bags (big and small) I’ve been looking at:
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Happy New Year! Not that you’re even reading, because surely you’re all recovering from your various thrilling New Year’s Eve festivities, which probably included bubbly beverages and steamy midnight kisses.

My own evening featured an illicit 5 PM Red Bull, so I’d have a fighting chance at staying awake to watch the Space Needle fireworks at 12 AM, at which point I kissed my bottle of Tums for helping to keep the worst of my pregnancy-induced acid reflux at bay.

Yeah, don’t try and tell me I don’t know how to party.

Anyway, I have been thinking vaguely about New Year’s resolutions, and how being a giant third-trimester whale on January 1st really goes a long way towards getting you off the hook on those damn things. My resolution for 2008: have healthy child, maintain sanity afterwards.

I know there will come a time, though, when my thoughts will turn from the daily chaos of newborn + toddler to the state of my body. While I have no plans to make life even more stressful by fretting over the inevitable postpartum disrepair, I know from experience that getting back in shape will make a huge difference in my emotional well-being and overall productivity.

With that in mind, and the fact that most New Year’s goals tend to involve dealing with our waistlines, forgive me for going the predictable route on this post and recommending some fitness products. Earlier in 2007 (before I got knocked up and everything went to hell) I was in a really good exercise groove, and I’d like to share the things that worked excellently for me—as a busy mom with not a lot of time to invest in gym visits. If working out is the last thing you want to be thinking about right now, please enjoy this great forum thread instead.

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