iTrain.com...

I'm tired of working on real stuff (though today, I did tons of real stuff: edits of internship essays 1 and 2, AND my first draft of essay 3! Woot! Of course, all essays are still 200 words too long, but I'll deal with that later. Also, if you don't really know what I'm talking about, consider yourself blessed), and owe you all a post about something other than butter, so now, for something completely different, allow me to tell you about an awesome website, iTrain.com.

I don't remember how I discovered iTrain, though I wish I could give credit where it's due. I do know that I found it when I was on my uber-diligent healthy lifestyle/weight loss kick in the months leading up to my wedding in 2007 (*sigh* those were the days!). Anyway, iTrain provides tons of downloads (300+) that you can buy, download, put on your iPod (or other mp3 device) and listen to/follow as you sweat yourself healthy! Back when I was trying it out, the company was pretty new, and their website was a little janky, so they ended up charging me about 6 times for my 3 month membership, which I fussed so much about that they gave me tons of free download credits that were supposed to expire but never did and ended up (accidentally, I think) refunding all the charges and never charging me anything, ha! It turns out I got lucky, because over the past two years, the price for individual workouts has soared to an average of $10/workout, which is kind of insane, but the workouts are really good, so...I still recommend giving it a try if you're looking for a new workout technique to try, especially if you use the gym alot.

My favorite workouts are the iTread and iClimb workouts, which give you awesome music and really good routines for the treadmill and elliptical machine. They also give you a lot of motivation to push through the horrible pain (can you tell how much I despise working out?), and make the workout a lot harder than it would be if you just walked/jogged while you watched TV (ahem, not that I would ever do that, of course :p ) There are downloads for every kind of workout imaginable: iRow, iStretch (which goes through yoga and pilates moves), iSculpt (both Traditional, which is more calisthenic-type stuff, squats, lunges, push ups, etc., and light weights, and Ballet, which I've never tried, but is probably awesome), iCycle, iStrength (weight training) and various packages that are tailored to specific goals. Each different type of workout usually has options for working out home or at a gym. In short, it's pretty much a go to place for kicking your workouts up a notch, without paying for a trainer or buying the Wii Fit :o).

It's serendipitous that I joined a gym last month, and remembered that I had a library of iTrain workouts, since I'm now learning the joys of cooking meals require two sticks of butter, so hopefully it'll all balance out!

EA Sports Active...

So, as I mentioned a few posts back, we're borrowing hubby's friend's Wii Balance Board, Wii Fit, and the exercise game EA Sports Active. I've now tried the "game"three times now (I'm attempting to do the "30 Day fitness challenge"), and though I like it, I also hate it!! It's hard!!

Every time I've done a workout, on medium intensity, I've been drenched in sweat by the end of the 30 minutes. Very intense. The trick, I think, is that the "trainer" who's constantly talking you through the exercises on screen makes you hold a lot of things (like squats and lunges) much longer than I ever would, which I guess is why it's good (and bad)to have a trainer. Ugh. It's also alot of circuit training-type stuff, doing short bursts of different exercises and quickly moving on to the next one. The Wii remote and "nunchuk" can also sense when you're not doing an exercise the right way, so it really forces you to do it right, and thereby forces you to be in pain. Good times.

With all that bitching and moaning aside, I do think it's a really good way to motivate yourself to work a little harder, which I know I needed. I'd gotten into the habit of doing a Leslie Sansone Walk Away the Pounds DVD on mute while I watched TV, and, though I did work up a sweat, sort of, it was cleary the lazy person's workout. With EA Sports Active, lazy people are not allowed!

So, give it a try if you're looking for something to kick your workouts up a notch. I definitely find myself pushing a little harder when the "trainer" can sense that I'm slowing down and makes snide comments about "getting rid of any distractions that are interfering with my form," (in other words, "move it lard-o") and a little anger always helps when you're trying to get your butt in gear! So for that, I think EA Sports Active is a pretty good bargain...it definitely beats paying for a gym membership and a real life trainer, and this way, no one has to see you sweat :)

(p.s. you don't actually need the balance board for this "game" after all...if you do have it, you can use for a few exercises, but for most of it, you don't even use it).

Wii Fit...

Hi people!
My next post was going to be about The Sims 3, but I just tried out the Wii Fit, and I must rave!

Okay, so I've been very curious about the Wii Fit
ever since it came out, but for the price, I knew there was no way we'd be getting one until we'd heard RAVE reviews, but it turns out we don't really know anyone with one who could tell us how awesome it is, so it remained on my Amazon.com wishlist (another ever growing page) and I moved on.

But then! At a random barbecue a few weeks ago, one of hubby's friends mentioned that they have Wii Fit AND EA Active (a new-ish fitness "game" designed to go with the balance board) which I've been very interested in since I saw the first commercials (disclaimer: I am extremely susceptible to commercials...it's a bit sad, really) but of course, there was no point in looking into buying EA Active w/o having the balance board, so...add it to the wishlist, move on with life.

Anyway, long story short, this friend of hubby's said that they never actually use their Wii Fit etc., so would we like to try it?? Um, yes please! The hand off happened today, and when I got home, all haggared and exhausted from the clinic, there it was, a brilliant white hunk of plastic in the middle of my living room floor...

Now, the one thing I had heard about Wii Fit was that it is merciless and shaming. It does this Body Fit Test when you first use it that weighs you (oh, joy) and calculates your BMI and tells you if you are "Underweight, Normal, Overweight, or Obese." Normally, this wouldn't scare me, as I'm clearly not obese, but! I'd heard horror stories about it calling people obese who aren't! And I have been a bit slack lately, indulging in all things cake-related, so I was nervous. It also calculates your "Wii Fit Age," telling you how old your body really is, you pathetic loser. So, as I stepped on that hunk of plastic, I was nervous, I won't lie.

But then...then. Guess what it said? It said that my Wii Fit Age was 23. 23!! Ha! I'm 27 (almost 28) suckahs! I literally whooped and hollered and it was the best part of my day. *whew* And then I had a glass of wine. 'night!