Yoga Positions to Work Different Muscle Groups

Happy Monday all! Did anyone watch the Oscars last night? I absolutely loved Lupita Nyong'o's and dress her acceptance speech and Ellen was ridiculously hilarious. We enjoyed the Oscars at an Oscar party that good friends of ours host every year. Every year we fill out ballots for who/what we think is going to win and put some money in the pot for the winner. This year there were three winners and the hubs was one of them. Shopping time! Maybe he will spend it on some yoga classes or new yoga wear like I would, but probably not. For now, I will just have to do these yoga poses in my usual garb...

These yoga poses are some of my favorites for different parts of the body. Sometimes we may want to work one area more than others, or, avoid it like the plague. The least thing I ever want to see the day after an intense arm workout is anything to do with cobra- so much pain! But, if you are wanting to work a certain area of the body, these are the poses I recommend focusing on for speedy results.

The Back

• Stretches: Happy baby and Cat and Cow poses.
• Tone the upper back: Downward Facing Dog and Plank Position.
• Tone the lower back: Cobra and Locus poses.

The Bum

• Stretches: Pigeon and Double Pigeon poses.
• Tone the outer bum: Chair pose and Warrior II pose
• Tone the upper bum: Bridge pose and any variation.

The Arms

• Stretches: Dolphin pose and Tree pose
• Tone the shoulders: Dolphin and Downward Facing Dog poses
• Tone the upper arms: Chaturanga is great for those "bat wings". Side Plank pose and Crane poses

The Abs

• Stretches: Sphinx pose and Upward Facing Dog
• Tone the obliques: Revolved Triangle pose
• Tone the abdominal: Eagle pose, Full Boat pose, and Plank

How to Train for a Race for Free

As you may know, I recently signed up for the Expedition Everest 5K Challenge at Animal Kingdom with a few friends. Even though I run three miles often without much trouble at all, I still wanted to train. My goal with the whole training deal is to get my run time down from a 10:30 average to a 8:30-9:00 minute mile average. In the process I am also starting to train for a certain half marathon that is still to be decided.

Since starting my mini training I have started using a running app that is pretty awesome and I have completely fallen for. Nike+ Running has been my favorite running tool and has completely helped me get my average time down by about 45-seconds so far. The app has multiple running programs depending on what you want along with multiple fitness levels. Right now I am on the 10K trainer at the intermediate level.

The different levels seem to be a mix of your activity level when starting and how much you wish to run. I am not one who likes to run everyday so the intermediate is pretty great since I only run 4-5 times a week! Each run is timed and logged so you can see progress as you go. You can also see your progress through a chart that shows your speeds and changes throughout the run. This is possible by holding your phone or putting it in one of those super cool arm, wrap things that I need to get. The gyroscope in our phones does all the work and seems to be doing it right since all of the mile markers in the treadmill, my HRM, and the phone match up.

The app also has a calendar, weather info for your area, and that ever so loved social aspect where you can get friends and compete with them for best times or most miles. Yes, some of the controls are what you would expect from a free app. I am still not sure how to change my name in the profile or add extra info and I seem to always forget the layout every time I use it. But it is free and it is fun and it has helped me shave almost a minute off my mile time. For that, I am quite content!