Win this Fila Golf Jacket in Men or Women’s (pictured: Women’s Rockingham lightweight jacket)
If you’re a fan of golf, The Blonde Side has some great news (and a contest!) for you!
Introducing the Auckland and Rockingham waterproof performance jackets from Fila Golf. New for the 2014 line, and just in the nick of time for the unpredictable spring weather, these jackets are available in a variety of bold and bright colors and come in styles for both men and women.
The lightweight, waterproof performance jackets boast advanced technological features including:
– Breathable mesh liners
– Detachable hood
– Self-adjusting, Velcro-sleeve closure
– Critical seam-sealing
– Micro fleece-lined neck and pockets
To see the entire Fila Golf collection, visit ShopFilaGolf.com. They’ve got some awesome stuff for men and women (that is…if you golf!).
OH…and to win this jacket (valued at $110) it’s super easy:
3. Leave a comment on The Blonde Side’s FB photo HERE telling us why you should win this jacket – are you going to a golf tournament soon and need outdoor activewear (if so, which one), does your husband or boss play golf and you want to gift it, or do you have some other reason? Go enter today – contest ends Friday, March 14th at 5pm.
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Arian Foster injured and out for season (photo via SI)
I’ve been taking an increasingly undue amount of flack for my recent posts and Sports Uncensored segments, particularly when it comes to the reigning AFC South champs, the Houston Texans.
“Losing to the No. 26-ranked Raiders dropped the Texans another spot in the Power Rankings, for what is again their lowest ranking to date. Houston checks in at No. 29 this week, ahead of only the Falcons, Vikings and this week’s opponent, the Jacksonville Jaguars,” via a recent ESPN article.
Let me start with this: I want the Houston Texans to win. I want a fun, entertaining, high-fiving and Bud Light drinking season. I want to use my extended credit limit on hotels in New York in hopes of catching the Super Bowl with the Houston Texans front and center, like we all expected them to be at the beginning of the season.
But that’s not happening. In fact, it’s the absolute furthest thing from happening. Amanda Bynes will probably be sober before the Texans make another appearance in the post-season again. I hate it, but it’s true.
For those of you bashing my negativity, let me also say, I love these guys and their heart. I’m friends with many of them and see the hurt in their eyes and hear it in their voices when they talk about this season, the same season we all thought made us Super Bowl 2014 contenders. I promise you it hurts each and every one of those guys more than it hurts even the biggest of fans.
A recent Houston Chronicle article started with this famous Albert Einstein quote and I’m not sure there’s a more fitting one in existence: “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Hello Kubiak, perhaps Einstein was speaking to you?
In no particular order, here’s what the Texans have endured this season, i.e. parlaying the insanity:
Pro Bowler Owen Daniels out with a fibula fracture in Week 5. Sure Garrett Graham has done a phenomenal job as a replacement, but when one of your most reliable tight ends is no longer an option for your struggling quarterback, no matter who it is, that hurts.
Texans quarterback issues
Speaking of quarterbacks lets only briefly discuss Matt Schaub’s woes this season. Schaub, bless his little NFL heart, set an NFL record, but not the kind he had hoped to set. Schaub set a record for throwing a pick-six in four consecutive games and the mental demons continue to get the best of him. Then he goes out with an injury.
TJ Yates comes in and doesn’t impress fans the way everyone had hoped. Womp. Womp.
Case Keenum, the hometown local favorite, comes in, plays great, gets benched, which confuses every human who watched even a moment of NFL this season.
Head Coach, Gary Kubiak, collapses on the field and suffers a mini-stroke, scaring everyone.
The Texans set a franchise-record of eight straight losses. Again, another record we’d preferred to have avoided.
Arian Foster acts like a hot mess towards heckling fans, replays his nagging injury, which has now led to surgery and the loss of an entire season, not to mention a whole lot of money down the drain.
Another running back, Ben Tate, suffers fractured ribs, still trying to play through the pain, Texans run game takes bigger hits than a Tim Tebow roast.
Three players are released from the team for still-sketchy and unconfirmed reasoning, one of which a high draft pick, which is a waste in and of itself, and a much-needed running back to aid in the newly desolate run game without Foster and Tate teetering on the edge.
The Texans biggest free agent signee, the same guy that got everyone all warm and fuzzy, Ed Reed, gets released for having absolutely zero impact on the Houston Texans, surprising us all. Eleven seasons with the Baltimore Ravens and only nine games with the Houston Texans, where he only played in seven and was paid $6 million for those seven lousy games. The Texans were 2-0 with Reed coddling his hip injury on the sidelines and 0-7 with him on the field, yet he still has the nerve to say the players, the ones who actually played, got outplayed and outcoached. Ugh…ok Mr. Reed – you only took 12 of a possible 69 snaps that game, so you may want to…
Anyways, good luck in New York.
Brian Cushing down with another season ending injury (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
And we can’t forget the awful Cushing injury for the second year in a row. Cushing is a mainstay in a leadership role and on the defensive line, adding to yet another blow this season.
Oh, did we mention fans boo’ing their own teammates, setting $200 jerseys on fire in drunken stupor and hopes for world wide internet fame, and cheering our own players injuries leading to Texans players begging fans to act “smart” and “normal” and “with class.” That wasn’t necessarily a highlight in the Texans Fans Are Classy reel seen throughout the NFL.
Oh, and then there’s laces outRandy Finkle Einhorn Bullock, who can’t kick a field goal when we need it most, having only nailed 14 of his 23 attempts thus far. Accordingly to Grantland, Bullock is nearly twice as bad as the second-worst kicker in the league.
But after all that, you still want me to be positive about this team? How’s this for positivity: we tailgate better than anyone else in the NFL, our cheerleaders are the hottest, and we are destined to have a better season next year, simply based on the numbers game alone? How’s that for positivity?
If the season ended today, we’d end up with at least a top five draft pick, so that’s something to be optimistic about. And the strong class of talent coming out of the draft could be a huge bonus for Houston, but the question is, what position are we most desperate for? And do we have faith in GM Rick Smith to draft position players the way we need them? I think so, but not everyone agrees.
I’m still a Texans fan, but I can’t sit here and lie to you, there isn’t much good going on. I wish there were. I will tell you I love seeing these Texan players in the community giving back each and every week even after a hard loss and I get pumped seeing all the super fans still supporting the team. But when we talk about play on the field, I’m about as optimistic as I can get without lying straight to your faces.
It’s old news to talk about what the Astros need to improve on this season. They’ve already hit triple digits in the loss column yet again (so applause?), so the only rational thing to do is focus on the off-season and 2014, right?
Right.
But in all seriousness… At the Major League level, the Astros don’t have much to brag about, but those young, fresh faces in the farm system, the ones people have been talking about for years, those are the ones the Astros are going to have to pay heavy attention to this off-season and in Kissimmee at training camp. Three #1 picks in three years has got to pay off eventually.
Of course pitching is where it hurts the most for Houston. It wasn’t that long ago that the ‘Stros relied on the arms of Roy Oswalt, Wandy Rodriguez, and even Bud Norris.
The Astros are in need of, once again, a reliable and consistent pitching rotation. To be effective, Houston needs three pitchers that can consistently go 6-7 strong innings every game. Currently there isn’t even one in an Astros uniform. That shouldn’t be on your Wish List, but rather your Must-Have-To-Stay-In-The-League List. Or as @JohnReyes2013 on Twitter says, “sign an inning eating veteran.”
To date, Astros pitchers have walked 49 more batters than every other single MLB team and currently rank 30th (dead last) in the Win-Loss column and ERA. (The Cleveland Indians have the second most walks, in case you’re wondering.)
The days of the Biggio’s and Bagwell’s serving as leaders for the rookies are long gone, but the Astros need to cash in on some cheap veterans to help the team in pretty much every area, especially mentoring these younger guys.
If you’ve ever had a need to believe in a slogan, the Astros current one would be it: It’s a Whole New Ballgame. For Astros fans, lets hope that holds true in just six months.
10. Get new players
9. Pray
8. Hope other teams get worse
7. Go down to Triple A baseball
6. Better yet, go back to the National League
5. Even better, go back to 2005
4. Switch dugouts – clearly the stats heavily favor the other side. The Astros switched leagues, is a dugout swap really that far fetched?
3. No players taller than 5’4 on the roster (clearly it’s working for Jose Altuve)
2. Hire Joel Osteen as a motivational speaker
1. Add JJ Watt to the roster – he seems to make everything in Texas better
And a special thanks to my friends at the game earlier this week for helping me compile such a titillating Top 10 list.
Agree with what I had to say or think I’m the biggest, blondest idiot on the interwebs? Head over to my facebook page and tell me more. (Try to at least be polite though?)
This piece was part of The Blonde Side’s sports column on CBS Man Cave Daily. Click here to see the original article on their awesome website.
https://theblondeside.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/jose-altuve-astros-getty.jpg209300Jaymehttps://theblondeside.com//wp-content/uploads/2018/06/1526998321020-300x192.pngJayme2013-09-25 08:53:572013-09-25 08:53:57Top 10 Ways the Astros Can Improve in 2014
Win this Ultimate Tailgate Package from Bud Light & The Blonde Side
We get it – it’s football season and you love to tailgate. At least you should. Now’s your chance, thanks to the brand new partnership with Bud Light and The Blonde Side, where you, the fan, can win your very own Bud LightUltimate Tailgate Package.
The package up for grabs includes a 10×10 Bud Light Tent, 2 chairs, 2 coolers, an ultimate grilling kit, and hats & koozies and other awesome stuff.
3. Leave a comment on THEIR page (link is in #2), telling us where you would use this Bud Light Ultimate Tailgate Package. Is it in your driveway with neighbors, the Yellow Lot at Reliant, College Station to watch Johnny Football or somewhere else? You tell us.
**BE SURE TO USE #BUDLIGHTTAILGATE when posting your response, so we can keep track of all entries.
4. Tell your friends! Sharing is caring y’all
The contest starts today and the winner will be announced on Friday, September 27th at noon! So if you really want to win this Ultimate Tailgate Package from Bud Light, make sure you enter and then go tell all your tailgating buddies to as well!
*A few nitty gritty details, for legal purposes:
– You MUST be 21 to enter this contest.
– You MUST be able to pick up the prize pack here in Houston, TX.
Special thanks to Bud Light for the new partnership with The Blonde Side.
I don’t know about y’all, but I’m plain pooped with all the running around I’m always doing. In just a few weeks, I’ve flown back and forth from the West Coast to the East Coast three times, continued training for the Philly marathon, had kidney surgery and started filming my new sports TV show here in Houston, all while house-hunting.
If the jet lag and time zone changes weren’t enough to zap my energy, I don’t know what is. Add everything else into that mix and I’m downright doomed. Aside from eating a healthy diet and drinking lots of water and taking vitamins, I was looking for a little more edge…
Then I ran across ENERGYbits® on Twitter. They offered me a sample, hoping to get some feedback and share with my readers my true and honest thoughts (because y’all know I never hold back). So here goes…
When I first got my tin of ENERGYbits, I was a bit taken back. The average “dose” is ~30 of the mini tabs – granted they are small, but it was rather daunting at first. I have to swallow 30 of these tiny green algae pills? I could spend this time working out instead of doing this, was my first thought. I emailed my contact and she said many of their customers get creative with their bits (like most people do with supplements, etc). She recommended mixing them into yogurt pre-workout or adding them to a smoothie. It was pretty much the equivalent of eating a handful of raisins or nuts and the benefits once getting them into your belly – AMAZE.
Got a case of the Mondays?
Here are a ton of ideas from their Pinterest boards on how to eat them or mix them in new ways. I wish I had seen this first, but since I’ll be ordering more, that’s good too.
I won’t sit here and say it made me run faster or jump higher than I ever have before, but it definitely perked up my energy levels without leaving me that crashing feeling of death just a few hours later.
And if you’re wondering if these are safe and legal, rest assured, they are. I wouldn’t be posting here if they weren’t or if I didn’t like them. Also, there are a ton of athletes from MLB, NHL, Olympics and many more that are ambassadors for the brand and they love them. Check out all their elite athletes they currently work with. (Y’all know I have an awkward obsession with Brandon Prust from the Montreal Canadiens, and you guessed it, he’s one of their ambassador athletes!)
When it comes to health benefits, there are quite a few listed on their website from beauty, health, longevity, detox and more. Here are just a few of the athletic/health benefits listed, which is most important for me right now.
By the numbers: To energize your workout naturally, the bits are 100% natural organic green algae and only contain ONE calorie ingredient. They have 64% protein and 40 vitamins, antioxidants and nitric oxide. They are also 100% NON GMO, and contain no sugar, no chemicals, no caffeine, no gluten, no soy, no additives of any kind. They are 100% RAW, kinda like The Blonde Side :)
So if you have a case of the Mondays, enter this quick contest and maybe you can try ENERGYbits® for yourself. One lucky winner will receive a prize gift-pack (mini-tin) of bits, which has 75 tabs (2.5 servings of 30 tabs).
Marlen Esparza in ESPN’s Body Issue taken by Peter Hapak in Gleason’s Gym, Brooklyn, N.Y. Photo by Peter Hapak/ESPN.go.com
The thought of someone asking you to strip down and bare it all in front of millions sounds crazy right?
Well it sure did to Houston’s own Marlen Esparza, who won a bronze medal in boxing at the 2012 London Olympic Games, when she was approached to be in the fifth annual edition of ESPN Magazine’s Body Issue.
“I don’t even like to wear shorts in public, so this was a big step,” Esparza joked.
The riveting issue, on newstands now, features 21 big-time athletes in a variety of nude poses, stressing the strength and muscular attributes of each of their diverse physiques and careers.
The mag features NFL ESPY nominee for “Best Breakthrough Athlete” Colin Kaepernick, 77-year-old golfer Gary Player, three-time Olympic Gold Medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings (who was photographed both before and after giving birth to her daughter in April), Mets’ pitcher Matt Harvey and others, including Esparza.
“I was approached by someone from ESPN and my first reaction was NO! I didn’t think I could do it or be comfortable, but after speaking to them, I realized they would make me comfortable. I also had to ask my boyfriend and dad for their thoughts and my friends for their opinion. In the end, the good outweighed the bad, so I said yes,” Esparza explained.
Strong back
While her training and physical regimen is unlike most women, her skepticism and insecurities of her body were right up there with most of us. “I don’t even like to wear shorts in public, so this was a big step,” she joked.
It’s no secret how hard Esparza has trained to get to where she is today and where she hopes to be tomorrow. Having trained hard as a flyweight boxer since 2001, her favorite body parts include her legs and her strong back. “Most girls would hate it [a strong back], but it makes me a better boxer so I appreciate it,” she adds.
“I wanted to show people it’s OK to love yourself and be proud in your own skin.”
Although she got the pre-authorization go-ahead from all the important people in her life (like her dad and boyfriend), Esparza still had a few unsettled butterflies before the mag hit newstands two days ago. “I’m still nervous about my dad. Super nervous actually. Or if my dad’s friends see it, I don’t want him to feel uncomfortable,” she said.
Esparza’s decision to pose for the mag was two-fold. “I wanted to show people it’s OK to love yourself and be proud in your own skin. I also loved the idea that I would be the first Olympic female boxer in the issue. I love being first,” she says with the biggest grin imaginable.
Esparza’s biggest claim to fame thus far is being the first flyweight to represent the US in the 2012 Olympics during the debut of women’s boxing in London last summer.
Ready for what?
The much-anticipated photoshoot took place at Gleason’s gym in NYC. “It was very awkward because I had to bounce around and hit bags nude. At first I posed with a robe, and when the photographer said he was ready, I was like ‘Ready for what?’ We all knew he meant take off the robe but I couldn’t do it right away. Everyone laughed because it took me a few minutes,” the boxer confesses.
“Happiness is a choice, and I would rather have a nice body I work on than a nice body I was born with. You can always improve yourself with hard work.”
It’s no secret posing of this nature in front of so many people took some serious guts, but I asked the Olympian a very simple question – “What would you say to someone who isn’t happy with their body?”
Her even more simplistic answer: learn to be.
“Happiness is a choice, and I would rather have a nice body I work on than a nice body I was born with. You can always improve yourself with hard work. You can’t change everything but you can improve it,” she continued.
And don’t feel bad for staring as ESPN has given you their complete and expressed permission. “It’s OK to stare. That’s what The Body Issue is here for. Each year, we stop to admire the vast potential of the human form. To unapologetically stand in awe of the athletes who’ve pushed their physiques to profound frontiers. To imagine how it would feel to inhabit those bodies, to leap and punch and throw like a god. To … well, gawk. So go ahead; join us,” the Mag says on ESPN.com.
You probably won’t be the only one starting either. Esparza admits that if she could choose any athlete to be in The Body Issue, she’d pick Cristiano Ronaldo who plays for Real Madrid. In her own words, “He’s probably one of the hottest guys on earth!” she gushes.
Since putting her clothes back on, the next step for the boxer is another national title and world championship next year.
This article appeared in the Sports section of Culture Map as well as one of their Top Stories. Click here to see the original piece.
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Like every big championship or postseason, everyone has an opinion, including but limited to your local barista who probably doesn’t speak a lick of English yet somehow is convinced LeBron sucks.
Let’s get this out of the way; I’m a Heat fan. And for the sake of everyone calling me a bandwagon, it’s been documented on the world wide web for many years, but for you newbies, it dates back to 1995 when my neighbor, Alonzo Mourning, was traded to South Beach…err, Miami. So while it’s true I do love me some King James, chalk and all, the dude was in elementary school when I became a fan, and the same goes for the remaining parties in the Big Three.
But this NBA Finals matchup isn’t a piece of cake and it’s worthy of numerous debates and analytics – this isn’t Miami sweeping the Bucks or San Antonio dominating that trendy purple team from Los Angeles – this is the finals and these teams, both chock full of veterans are vying for the very same Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy. The series now tied at 3, all comes down to what ESPN calls the best two words in sports: Game 7. And I couldn’t agree more. (Although, it does seem rather pointless to have played six games which now seem completely irrelevant since it’s yet again back to the final score of one final game…)
Miami went into the finals with a franchise-best regular season record of 66-16 (yeah, that same team that went on a 27 game win streak earlier this year but can’t seem to win back-to-back in the postseason) and San Antonio with an almost equally impressive 58-24, who have been manhandling the Heat the same way the Kardashians did Kris Humphries.
If the Spurs win, it would be the fifth title in 15 years finally designating them as a Dynasty in many eyes, and if the Heat win, it’d be a back-to-back title win and the third in eight years – certainly not a bad matchup for a much anticipated series. Not to mention, with these two teams and their coaches’ decision to rest their big men in their only meeting earlier this year where Miami swept San Antonio 2-0, we don’t have much to gauge it on, who can guard who and who’s going to go off – most of it is just speculation, and CONGRATULATIONS, there you have 99% of all sports conversations EVER.
I get that most of y’all hate seeing one of those big-market teams dribble their way into the finals – unless you’re a hardcore Miami, LA or New York fan, you don’t really want to see them make it all the way, but you have to admit it makes for an interesting and entertaining series, one that NBA and TV execs are reveling in, as am I.
But let’s take a minute to debunk the biggest myth about this matchup that’s going around like a dirty rumor in a sorority house:
Age:
Believe it or not, as most media are desperately trying to make you believe, this isn’t an old geezer of a team competing against a brand spanking new squad with young legs. It isn’t David vs. Goliath, to be frank; it’s the Miami Heat against the San Antonio Spurs, a pretty damn even matchup, which this series, now tied, has very much indicated.
As Michael Rosenberg with SI wrote last week, “Yes everyone, the San Antonio Spurs are so old, the jokes about them being old are old. The biggest problem with the jokes? The Spurs are younger than the Heat.“
According to Rosenberg, in Game 1, the average age of a San Antonio player was 29.5 while the average age of a Miami player was 30.3. Sure, there’s a pretty hefty age gap between head coaches Spoelstra and Popovich, and even though Tim Duncan has played in an NBA Finals game in three separate decades, it isn’t nearly the disparity many think.
Miami: LeBron James: 28, Chris Bosh: 29, Dwyane Wade: 31, Shane Battier: 34, Mike Miller: 33, Udonis Haslem: 33, Ray Allen: 34
San Antonio: Tim Duncan: 37, Tony Parker: 31, Manu Ginobili: 35, Danny Green: 25, Kawhi Leonard: 21, Tracy McGrady: 34
And speaking of Tracy McGrady, that brings me to another very valid point, especially for those in good ole Texas, specifically Houston…
Do y’all really want to see San Antonio win this thing and hoist up that Larry O’Brien trophy just 200 miles West of us?
I see a lot of Houston rooting for San Antonio and I can’t figure out why. Is it that Texas pride bottled up inside you that just doesn’t die? Is the hatred for Kobe Bryant so far gone that the Texas folk are clamoring to see Tim Duncan get his fifth ring, which would tie him with the Black Mamba? Do y’all really hate Miami that much and if so, why? You can’t still be angry about The Decision, can you?
These are all questions the loud-mouthed fans at the bar can’t seem to answer when I pose them. Have y’all not forgotten about that T-Mac guy? Even Amanda Bynes could have handled his potentially faux injury causing him to hobble off the court and give up on the Rockets while still racking in a good portion of their salary cap. Rockets fans can’t want a guy who quit on them to win a ring, especially after joining a contender’s bench the last possible week of the season, can they? Is the I-10 rivalry only relevant in the regular season or just within the confines of our great ginormous state? What would Moses Malone think of you Red Rowdies jumping on the “Beat the Heat” bandwagon? Wow, sorry, lots of rhetoricals for ya.
But here’s my biggest question of all:
For those of you simply rooting for San Antonio because you “want to see a Texas team win,” let me ask you this – would Texans fans ever root for the Cowboys? They are still in Texas, am I right?
And just in case you aren’t a big basketball fan and looking for a reason to tune into the Finals, maybe one of these will help:
Try counting the number of tattoos on Birdman (and see how many times he shoves guys in the paint)
Check out the Heat Hater signs in the stands or marriage proposals or baby-daddy proclamations to LeBron
Join the Twitter conversations and see what’s trending for the game. When LeBron lost his headband in the fourth quarter of Game 6, even the most novice sport’s fan would have been highly entertained.
Who flops more: Chris Bosh, Shane Battier, LeBron James and Manu Ginobili (make a friendly wager with a friend during the game or that cute guy/girl next to you at the bar).
On a parting note, did you know Duncan, Parker and Ginobili are the only three teammates to make the NBA Finals four times who did not play for the Los Angeles Lakers or Boston Celtics? That sounds like a pretty Big Three if you ask me…
The Blonde Side | Jayme Lamm’s Profile as a Women’s Health Action Hero
Some of the latest and greatest news from The Blonde Side is being selected as one of a handful of Action Hero bloggers for Women’s Health Magazine. Check out Jayme’s profile on the website, where Lamm jokes (but not really joking) that her favorite music to run to is Jagged Edge and Lionel Richie, “To go along with the whole theme of not being normal.”
Other questions on the profile:
Guilty Pleasure: On a healthy and active blog, is it inappropriate to say Champagne?
Sign: Sagittarius, but “feisty only child” is a bit more fitting.
https://theblondeside.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Screen-Shot-2013-04-28-at-5.36.41-PM.png6481092Jaymehttps://theblondeside.com//wp-content/uploads/2018/06/1526998321020-300x192.pngJayme2013-04-01 22:37:092013-04-28 22:41:52Women’s Health Magazine Action Hero: The Blonde Side
Talk about the overstatement of the year, especially when fitness and losing weight seems to be on everyone’s mind. There truly is an app for everything, including my favorite: “I travel a lot and love to eat cupcakes and drink Veuve Rose six nights a week and it’s making me fat.”
Technically, that’s not the real name of the app, but the one I’m referring to and have considered my mobile BFF throughout the country for over six months now is the Nike Training Club App (NTC). It’s a free app you can download directly from the iTunes store and has been a lifesaver during my crazy travel times.
We have enough excuses for skipping the gym, travel doesn’t need to be one anymore.
All the workouts can be done in small quarters (i.e., your hotel room) and more than half don’t need any additional equipment like mats or weights. While most hotels have gyms, not all do (or like the ones in Vegas, it’s an additional $23/day for a one-time use). We have enough excuses for skipping the gym, travel doesn’t need to be one anymore.
My favorite part about this app? The Get Focused program, which offers 14 different body-focused workouts, each lasting only 15 minutes. Even if a scheduled workout isn’t on your agenda for the day, for whatever reason, we almost always have 15 minutes to spare and NTC makes it too easy to skip.
Workout scenario
Imagine this scenario: You’ve finished your day of meetings and you have about an hour to get ready for dinner with a few co-workers. You know it takes only 40 minutes to get ready, including shaving your legs and drying your hair. Instead of logging onto Facebook or Pinterest, open your iPhone or iPad and turn on the 15 minute “Cardio Killer” app, set it to your favorite playlist or Pandora station, and get your sweat on.
Don’t worry if phrases like “alternating froggers” confuse you, there is a quick video that shows exactly how to conduct the movement in a safe and efficient manner.
No equipment is required for this workout, and in just 15 minutes (albeit hard and sweaty ones), you’ll do a minute of alternating froggers, a minute of burpees, 30 seconds of squat holds, 30 seconds of squat jumps, a minute of 2 -feet plank side hops, 30 seconds of tuck jumps, 30 seconds to recover and repeat the sequence twice.
That’s less time than two entire Dave Matthews songs, trust me. It goes by fast. And don’t worry if phrases like “alternating froggers” confuse you, there is a quick video that shows exactly how to conduct the movement in a safe and efficient manner.
Once you’re finished, you can track and save your workouts, track progress and even get bonuses and rewards.
Custom-built workouts
NTC has more than 60 full-body custom-built workouts with 90+ multi-dimensional drills exclusively created by Rihanna’s personal trainer Ary Nunez and followed by some of the world’s best athletes, including Paula Radcliffe, Hope Solo, Alex Morgan, Kara Goucher, Shawn Johnson and many others. All of the workouts are set up interval style and can be completed in 15-, 30- and 45-minute increments.
The other great thing about NTC is that once it’s downloaded, you don’t need an Internet connection to work out (again, don’t let that additional hotel fee keep you from working out). Users can share workouts, and unlock reward content throughout milestone workouts.
For every minute of training, you get closer to exclusive rewards like personal training advice (again, this is free!) where your hard work unlocks embedded reward content as you reach training milestones and earn badges.
You can opt for a workout in one of the following categories:
Get Lean: High interval cardio drills to slim down
Get Toned: Light weights and intervals to add definition
Get Strong: Increased weights and reps to build strength
Get Focused: 15-minute workouts to target specific areas (like butts, arms, legs, back, abs and more)
The different workouts range from beginners to advanced, so the app developers (and I) firmly believe there are programs to suit every individual’s needs. According to the Nike website:
The app descriptions make workout selection an easy and intuitive process. Make sure you preview the drills for each workout before you start, so you know what to expect and what equipment you might need. Detailed instructions and videos ensure you know how to perform each drill.”
It’s literally a technological advancement that allows you to have a personal trainer in your room for free. With no invasion of your privacy.
Successful workout and fitness goals rely heavily on setting and meeting goals and NTC can help there as well. Say for the month of March you set a goal of working out 900 minutes the entire month. Sounds lofty and difficult to calculate, but not with NTC where you can set goals and track your progress each day. It’s a great way to keep yourself accountable and on track, even while out of town.
So next time you want to complain your hotel room is making you fat, just remember: There’s An App For That.
This article was featured on Culture Map, Houston’s Daily Digital Magazine in the “No Excuses/Fitness” section.
https://theblondeside.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/868b4793a96aae2aadb7aa645265e25b.jpg600800Jaymehttps://theblondeside.com//wp-content/uploads/2018/06/1526998321020-300x192.pngJayme2013-02-25 20:39:412013-03-19 20:43:17Don’t Let That Hotel Room Make You Fat
It takes a lot to see something, mouth drop in awe, and realize you haven’t the slightest idea what just happened, but you still recognize it might have been the raddest thing you’ve ever seen. Yes, after this past week in Aspen, the words rad, gnarly, alley-oop, and oh s**t have forever been added to my mountainous vernacular. Welcome to X Games Aspen 2013 (otherwise known as Winter X 17) where you should have already been introduced to some of the biggest daredevils in all of action sports.
Jumps and falls and spills and lots of “Oh, s**t”s. Free vodka as long as you’re OK with pairing it with any of the four Red Bull flavors throughout the 3.5sq mile town of Aspen, parties and guest lists a mile long each night, wristbands to prove you belong, girls in baggy pants with banging bodies which only makes sense in a mountain town, and hair-raising jumps higher and bolder than the previous year.
I’m not going to lie. A four-day event with 17 different categories (five ski, seven snowboard and five snowmobile), a record attendance of 115,500 according to ESPN, over 200 invited athletes, and women competitors with bigger balls than 99.99% of the men you’ve ever met, I was way out of my league, much less my oxygenated element. Oh, and not to mention weed was legal. Thankfully I ran across a guy who was pretty damn helpful. And actually kind of a big deal: Keir Dillon.
The X Games: America’s most thrilling sport?
Having been on the X Games telecast team since 2008; Keir was this year’s snowboard play-by-play announcer and brought his nine years of X Games experience to the podium. We hung out at the VIP RedBull closing ceremonies party inside Aspen’s most luxurious hotel, Hotel Jerome, and started recapping the games that had concluded just an hour earlier.
Interviews are always better over cocktails and with pen and paper in hand, so bear with me as I try and piece this doozie together. It started with me asking Keir why the X Games didn’t get as much credit as some other sports, like basketball. The training and mentality and ever-changing landscape of the disciplines at the X Games is unprecedented.
“I don’t know, but it’s coming. Think about it – Michael Jordan perfects one shot over a decade whereas guys like Shaun White have to add new jumps, twists, etc. on a regular basis,” Keir said. “A dunk is a dunk,” he said.
You’ve got the occasional Blake Griffin dunking over a Kia, but you’re right — only guys like Shaun White can land a 24-foot backside method into a frontside double cork 1080 to a cab double cork 1080 followed by frontside 540 to a backside double Mctwist 1260 and ending with a frontside double cork 1260, right? (Thanks to ESPN’s press release for that exact verbiage…)
Like all sports, elite athletes are continuing to push the envelope and motivate other athletes in their field, particularly action sports, like X Games. “Someone’s ceiling is someone else’s floor. Action sports is the vehicle to make that happen,” Keir said bluntly.
I get that, but Shaun White’s ceiling could literally be the death of someone else, like me for instance. Watching these games up close and personal, you see how incredibly dangerous the sport is. I was there on day one to witness Caleb Moore’s horrific accident as he attempted a backflip and his 450-pound snowmobile crashed onto his head and chest. Moore passed away yesterday, and his tragedy has raised many concerns of the dangerous sport. Keir explains that while the sport can be dangerous and he too had many spills throughout his career, these athletes train year-round and work with staff to try and prevent such tragic accidents.
The amount of common-folk unaware the X Games were taking place at the exact time Keir and I were talking about it, boggled my mind. I asked Keir to offer up some advice on “why” to watch the X Games.
“If you have a passion for any of the sports, it’s the best way to appreciate the athleticism, follow an athlete and get sucked in,” Keir said. Of course I countered with my love and passion for snowboarding and my own recent attempts to jump as clear evidence he may be slightly off course on his recommendation.
I made Keir watch the above video to which he said, “You should relish in the fact you’re not good.” He’s really good at those one-liners, probably why he’s an on-air TV personality and I am not.
As a novice to the event, there were entirely too many good moments and stories going on at every conceivable second, I didn’t know which way was up so I asked Keir to break down his most memorable X Games moment from the weekend.
X marks the spot.
“The best for me was seeing Torstein Horgmo (25) and Mark McMorris (19) in the Men’s Snowboard Big Air – the two best in the world and they weren’t even in medal position at that time when Torstein drops in and lands a trick never landed in a snowboarding competition before. Right after that, Mark saw it and dropped in with an equally new trick. It’s so cool to watch athletes at the top of their game rise to the occasion,” Keir said of their epically close performances.
After winning gold, Horgmo admitted to ESPN, “This is the craziest level of riding I’ve ever been a part of. The level just got pushed so high.” Moments later, McMorris said, “No one’s ever done that. I’m so proud to be a part of progressing the sport and doing something new,” of his silver medal performance.
So basically what you’re telling me is that one of these guys saw an awesome trick and without even really practicing a ton or knowing full well he could land it, he decided to up his game mid competition, I asked Keir? “Yeah, it’s like seeing an athlete land something unique and wanting to capitalize on it. It’s similar to a football player – you see the defense line up and you change your game plan. Fake a throw or change up your pitch in baseball,” he explained. The mutual respect and admiration all these athletes have for one another is another reasons Keir believes more people should tune in to the sport.
One would think sitting in a fur vest, a v-neck t-shirt from Target and a wonder woman studded headband in the Living Room at Hotel Jerome, I wouldn’t have to tell Keir I was a badass, but I did anyways as it was the ideal segue to my next question. Very rarely do I feel surrounded by women with bigger ovaries than I, so it’s got to be especially hard for a guy to handle. Who’s the one female you wouldn’t challenge?
“Kelly Clark and I used to be on the same team and when the weather scared me, she kept going,” Keir explained. “No way I could drop in on her in the halfpipe and do better than what she does time and again. It’s very hard to put it in perspective, especially from the booth, but what these women do is gnarly. Same thing if I went up against Michelle Wie in a tee box – she’d school me and I’m man enough to admit it,” Keir laughed.
‘Til next year.We started talking about all the great names in the X Games event, not just the most common redheaded name everyone knows, Shaun White. These women are intense and are just as electrifying to watch as anyone else on the slope. “One of the most memorable moments for me this year was Elena Hight’s run in the women’s Snowboard Superpipe final, which pushed forward women’s snowboarding,” Keir said. During her final run, Hight landed the first-ever (by a female or male) backside alley-oop rodeo in the halfpipe finals scoring a 90.0. Big moments like these from Hight are what’s going to continue pushing forward the X Games and making these household names, we both agreed.
Keir now spends his time not only playing on the slopes for fun or helping blonde gals write intelligently about the X Games, but also with his line of earbuds, Frends, which are the only women’s headphones sold in the Apple store. “We broke it down,” Keir said of his line. “Just cause you shrink it and pink it doesn’t make it female – this is more form meets function.”
To see this full article in its original format, check out CBS Man Cave Daily.
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