BuzzSugar

Buzz In: What Album First Spoke for You?

BuzzSugar — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:33:10 -0700

I was lucky enough to catch Liz Phair's live show here in San Francisco this week, one of a handful where she's performing Exile in Guyville in its entirety to promote the album's re-release this month. While the 1993 album originally dropped a tiny bit too early for a then-preteen me to catch on right away, this CD found me by the time I had gotten my first taste of romantic angst. I felt (in that slightly melodramatic, teenage way) as if she'd opened my diary and added some guitar. She was singing about stuff I'd never heard a woman sing about, and it kind of blew my mind.

Thursday's Ani Difranco interlude on So You Think You Can Dance also reminded me of how much my friends and I related - or at least thought we did - to her 1996 album Dilate. And for a while, everything out of Tori Amos's mouth seemed so right-on and true. Oh, to be young and whisked away by the lyrics of a rock star!

Tell me: Which album first gave voice to your inner thoughts and dreams? What singers articulated everything in their music that you couldn't yet?

Source

Multitasking Move: Burning Squats

FitSugar — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 03:00:20 -0700

Strengthening your quads not only prevents injuries to your knees when running, but it also makes you stronger and faster. Not to mention, toned thighs also look great in a bathing suit. Here's a squat sequence I love to do because it instantly burns my thighs. When you do squats holding weights, it'll also work your upper body, so this exercise is super challenging. You're guaranteed to feel sore the next day.

Music: "As is," by Ani Difranco

For details on how to do this squat sequence, read more.

Stand with your feet together. Place a dumbbell in each hand, bend your elbows and rest the weights gently on your shoulders. Do 10 squats here.
Then separate your feet hips-width distance apart and straighten your arms overhead. Do another 10 squats.
Next, bend your elbows at 90-degree angles and separate your feet even further. Point your toes out slightly and do 10 wide squats.
Bring your feet back in so they're hips-width distance apart. Straighten your arms overhead and do 10 more squats.
Step your feet back together, bend your elbows, and rest the weights on your shoulders for the last 10 squats.
Repeat sequence a total of three times.

No Equipment Necessary: Running Plank

FitSugar — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:30:00 -0700

If you're looking for a way to burn calories while toning your upper body, core, and calves, have I got the exercise for you. This is a variation of plank that you can do anywhere.

"Back Back Back," by Ani Difranco

If you'd like more detailed instructions, read more.

Begin in plank position (top of a push-up), with your shoulders over your wrists and your body in one straight line. Engage your abs to protect your lower back, and step your feet together. Spread your fingers wide to take pressure out of your wrists.
Bend your right knee and draw it forward as close to your chest as possible.
Then simultaneously and quickly step your right foot back and bend your left knee into your chest. Keep alternating so that you're essentially running in place. Move as fast as you want, making sure to keep your abs pulled in and your shoulders over your wrists.
Complete 30 steps (15 on each side). This counts as one set. Complete five sets, either taking a break in between by doing Child's pose, or do all five sets in a row.

Get Lifted: Push-Ups With a Partner

FitSugar — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 03:30:00 -0700

Push-ups. Whether you love them or hate them, we can all agree that they're a quick way to intensely target your upper body. I love that there are so many variations of the push-up. You can do them while balancing on an exercise ball, you can do T-Push-ups, One-Legged Push-ups, and Side Push-ups. Here's another variation you can do with a partner.

Music: "Fuel" by Ani Difranco

If you want to give this exercise a try, grab a friend and read more.

Face your partner on your hands and knees. Make sure your fingertips are about eight inches apart.
Now straighten out your legs, coming into the top of a push-up position. If doing these "classic" push-ups is too hard, then do them with your knees resting on the ground.
Both partners lower down, bending their elbows out to the side. Then they straighten their arms and clap their right hands together. They lower down again, then straighten their arms and clap their left hands together.
Repeat this exercise for as many claps as you and your partner can.

Dear Poll: Would You Wear This?

DearSugar — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 16:00:00 -0700

April is Sexual Assault Awareness month, which is why Jennifer Baumgardner's new T-shirt controversy is so fitting. If her name sounds familiar, it's because she was the brains behind the "I had an abortion" T-shirt worn by indie rocker Ani DiFranco three years ago in a public venue. As if that didn't cause enough controversy, she's back with a new version, but this time the shirt reads "I was raped." Since there's so much negativity, shame, and fear surrounding rape, Baumgardner hopes her T-shirts will force the general public to think and talk about it. Some might say this shirt is crossing the line, but she defends herself by saying,

The wearer isn’t advertising that he or she was raped, but rather opening up to you, the viewer, and also saying that this is a small part of who he or she is.

So ladies, even if you haven't been a victim of sexual assault yourself, you might know someone that has, so tell me, would you ever wear this shirt in hopes of raising awareness about rape?

Running Tip: How to Tie Your Shoes

FitSugar — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 14:30:00 -0800

How annoying is it to get going on a run, and you look down to see that your shoelace has spontaneously untied itself? You can't just ignore the flapping laces or else you might trip and really hurt yourself.

I learned this great sneaker tying trick from a fellow runner, and while to may seem a bit silly to review a skill most of us learned in Kindergarten, this technique was new to me. Now I never have to worry about my laces.

This method works much better than doing a regular double knot because when it's time to take your sneaker off, you just have to pull firmly on one of the ends. With your shoes firmly tied, now you can concentrate on your run.

Music: "Swing" by Ani Difranco