Get moving to these 90's beats!

What better way to motivate yourself to exercise than simply with some jumpin' tunes?!

It's not always easy to be motivated to exercise, I know. One thing that I do find very helpful is music. Some up beat songs that have that major key happy sound to them usually do the trick! So for today's musical post, I've decided to take us back to the 90's (it wasn't all Spice Girls and N'Sync in that decade)!

Here are 5, get up and dance or exercise songs of the 90's that you've probably forgotten all about! What's your favourite workout sound? Share with us!

The Love I Lost - West End ft. Sybil

Saturday Night - Whigfield

Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless) - Crystal Waters

What is Love - Haddaway

Another Night - Real McCoy

And here's the bonus, wonderfully cheesy song I couldn't resist adding to this short list: Get Ready for This - 2 Unlimited

Enjoy and get moving! Sound off in the comments below and share your favourite tune!

Image source: Identi

5 Tips on Making a Successful Weight Loss Plan

Find inspiration from the man who brought you his musically inspired weight loss journey in Movement, Music & PGX.

The last few months have been busy for my family. The spring has kept us busy with quite a few activities. I’ve been coaching two baseball teams. We have the soccer training for our two boys. We have guitar lessons. We have social engagements and we have all the other things you probably have in your calendars in the life of Suburbia. Stop me if you heard this one before (borrowed from Morrisey)!

It's no surprise that being so busy means that exercise takes a back seat. Why does that happen? I mean, we know how easy it is to feel exhausted or overwhelmed. If that’s you, I totally understand. I feel your pain.

For those of you that have been following my blog posts...(Yes, I know they are rare. I’m a busy guy remember?!) Anyways, you will remember that I have lost about 60 pounds by riding my bikes (both on the road and on the velodrome), motivating myself with a lot of music and taking PGX. I’ve been proud of my achievement. It has brought me a new wardrobe, second glances from the wife and more confidence in my physical appearance.

That is until the past couple of months. I must confess that I have only been riding once a week. I have also been eating a little less healthy. So, before I knew it, I put on 10 pounds. It happened quickly. Naturally, I started to get frustrated, but remembering that I lost 60 pounds I quickly came up with a plan. After following my plan for the last little while, I got on the scales this morning and guess what? 10 pounds gone again. I am feeling good, baby!

Here are some things that I think will help you. They helped me (especially this month) and I am feeling the awesomeness that comes with success.

1. You gotta keep moving: Last Friday I went to a golf tournament for my kids school. I was the only guy in the entire tournament that walked the whole 18 holes. Not only did I feel great, but I got a lot of props from the other parents during the dinner at the clubhouse. Oh, yeah!
   
   
2. Pick a tool to track your progress and set goals: Get something to motivate you and or keep track of your progress. I got a Nike Fuel band last month and it is super, super awesome. I also like Fitbit. I like them because they require you to set goals. You get points based on your movement. So, when I take a peek at my Nike Fuel band I walk instead of getting in my car. I’m starting to wonder why I didn’t get one of these sooner.
   
   
3. Substitute the carbs and high sodium foods: Look, I love my burgers. It's the American in me. I’m not going to change 100% but instead of adding those fries, get the house salad, sans the creamy dressing. You’ll feel better and reduce your caloric intake. Not to mention that your waistline will love you in the morning.
   
   
4. Drink lots of water and moderate your other beverages: I see it all the time in my social settings...people ordering the rum and coke, three beers before the main course and sugary drinks on the sidelines. I’ve always been a big water drinker and, to me, it's the best beverage every single time. Don’t stop drinking it. It’ll make your body feel really good.
   
   
5. Include PGX in your daily routine: I reduced my intake of PGX during that 10 pound weight gain and noticed I was getting the sweet and salty cravings again and eating a bit bigger portions during meals. This month it's back in my diet and daily routine and I can tell you that it is working for me. I know it will work for you.

I’m going for 10 more pounds this month. I know I’m going to do it too. Stay tuned for my progress.

Get your exercise groove on!

Put on those tunes and get pumped to move. There's nothing like a good song to get you going!

I have a confession: I always get lazy before a workout! I'm not even kidding, before every workout, I sit myself down and realize that I begin to make up any excuse I can thinkof to avoid getting out of my house and driving to a dance class or the gym! Other than pure will power (which, let's face it, is difficult to muster more often than not!), the only thing I can think of that ever helps me get my head out of that mind set is a really good song.

Not only does music help me concentrate at work, it helps me to want to move and keep on going! A good song with a really great hook is usually all I need to get myself off the couch and, at the very least, dance like a fool for an hour in my kitchen! 

So I'd like to share with you my top three make-me-want-to-jump-up-and-move workout tunes of this week:

First up, let's take it back to the 80's with Duran Duran's The Reflex and Human League's Don't You Want Me Baby! We all need to take it back every now and then...

And someting that's a little more recent than those first two... Surfer Blood's Swim:

Enjoy and get moving! Sound off in the comments below and share your favourite tune!

PGX wants you to live life to the fullest!

Everybody's Free to Wear Sunscreen! -Baz Luhrmann

Have you ever seen the video for Sunscreen by Baz Luhrmann? It may be addressed to graduating students of the class of 1999 but its messages can hit home for anyone who lives and experiences the ups and downs of life. This Motivation Monday, take five minutes for yourself; listen or watch this video and you will feel inspired to live your life to the fullest!

Stay healthy and take care everyone! Have a fabulous week!

Another post from Richard Martinez on how he's making time for Movement with the help of a Plan, Music & PGX!

From the man that brought you Movement, Music & PGX, comes some easy tips on how to motivate yourself to maintain your weight loss goals!

Now that school is back in session we all have a lot less time on our hands. We have to think about things like packing lunches and backpacks, ensuring that homework is done and getting the kids to school on time. Throw on top of that guitar lessons, soccer, baseball training and, before you know it, you're left with little time for yourself and your workouts.

As a result, it's easy to forget about your workout routine and rely on takeout for nutrition. But I'm here to tell you: don’t do this. Stop yourself right now! It will only result in you losing ground in your weight loss journey.  

Fortunately for me, PGX continues to be a part of my diet. I take it right before every meal and I have not felt the need to have seconds of anything. However, over the past few weeks, I've been overwhelmed with work and have been finding it incredibly difficult to get back into my workout routine. But I promised myself that I would not falter. I kept reminding myself about all that progress that I've made and I remembered how great it felt to lose 50 pounds. (And, by the way, I haven’t gained any of it back!)

Time is precious and I’d rather spend any extra time I have with my sons. So, as is required of parents sometimes, I quickly devised a plan. I scheduled a 30 minute bike ride into my calendar on my iPhone and, by increasing the tension on my stationary bike, I worked out my muscles and still burned fat as the same rate as when I was doing about an hour on the bike before. And guess what? Keeping a shedule, is working.

With that said, you can’t forget about the music! I never do. So, in this series I’ll tell you that I’ve been really into what label owner, Veronika Vasika, is doing with her archive label, Minimal Wave. My interest was sparked when I recently had a chance to see her at New Forms Festival 12. Since then, I’ve been listening to her compilations Minimal Wave Tapes 1 and Minimal Wave Tapes 2 and each compilation is filled with great beats and pulsing rhythms to get your heart moving and give some extra push during your workout!

Image source: Amazon