Preparing for Summer

 As summer is approaching, I am starting to be more conscious of what I am eating and beginning to exercise more regularly to get my "beach body" back, and StumbleUpon is a great website for finding new exercise ideas and tips. My normal gym routine consists of thirty minutes of cardio and thirty minutes of strength training, followed by ten minutes of stretching. While this routine is effective, I am starting to get really bored of doing the same old things every time, so I made it my mission to find new ways to get my cardio and strength. One article I found really stood out to me because it tells you different exercises you can do to tone any and every part of your body! The article is entitled "5 quick fixes for anything that jiggles". This article is perfect for anyone who has a "problem area" that they want to learn how to tone up and feel more confident. Another article I found that interested me was entitled "Song Workout for Abs and Obliques". Basically, you choose 5 songs and do the "a" exercise during the song until you reach the chorus, then you switch to the "b" exercise. This is fun because I love listening to music while I work out, so incorporating it into the workout is perfect! Doing the moves along with the song makes the workout seem faster and less painful, so Ill definitely be doing this one often! Lastly, StumbleUpon is perfect for providing that extra little bit of motivation you need to keep you going during your workout, with inspirational quotes and pictures. Some are cute, some are funny, and some are inspirational. One of my favorite motivational quotes/pictures I have found on StumbleUpon is of a girl running on a beach, with a quote encouraging you to keep going and not to get discouraged if you don't see results right away. When ever I don't feel like going to the gym I just look at this picture and immediately my mood is changed and I'm ready to work out :)