The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow

It's always sunny day when the Greek Girl is working out :D I know rain is a good thing, in moderation that is. The last few days around NYC the rain has been anything but moderation, it's been more like a long slow drowning. Wahh Wahh (Que. the sad violins). According to the weather app on my iphone ~ the sun is not supposed to come out tomorrow... however it is possible that it "may" come out on Sunday.

Most of my blog friends know about my love of running outdoors, and this rain frankly is cramping my style, no pun intended. Yeah I know I could go to the gym and run on the treadmill, but it's just not the same for me. There is just something magical about lacing up my sneakers and spending some quality alone time with my ipod, the road & the outdoors. My favorite time to run is magic hour just when it's turning dusk or mid afternoon when the sun is beating down on me.... Yeah yeah, I stay hydrated, wear sunscreen, all the things a good doobie does.

With all this rain lately I have had no choice but to take my cardio workout indoors. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Well that depends on how one defines good or bad. When it is raining so much that I can't run outdoors on a cardio day, I usually do one of the gazillion DVD's in my fitness war chest. Yes I have a fitness war chest, doesn't everyone? ;D So since all this rain got me whining about not being able to run outside, it got me thinking today may be a good day to talk about what kind of workouts I do. As I receive a lot of emails asking about what do I like to do to stay in shape, etc. So here we go ~ sharing: :DD

Most of you know I have a few "fitness gurus" who are trainers I have a tremendous admiration for. You could say they are my heros, each one of them have amazing workouts on DVD & do so many things to help people become healthy: Jillian Michaels, Bob Harper, Jackie Warner, Billy Blanks, Tony Horton, Debbie Siebers, Saun T, Brett Hoebel & Chalene Johnson. Jillian, Bob & Jackie & Billy's Tae Bo's DVD's are easy to come by, they each have their own web sites & most retailers like Target also carry them. All my other fav's come from www.beachbody.com

So to date I have completed several programs from beachbody.com: Original P90, Slim in 6, Slim Series, P90X, Insanity, Rev Abs, Chalene Extreme, & last but not least I am currently checking out Turbo Fire before I start it full blast for 90 days. For me I just feel better when I workout it is that simple. Had I not been a little Greek Girl who at one time had a little extra baklava hanging around, and been born skinny like my sister's that may not have been the case. But alas, I have developed a serious addiction to endorphins (you know God's medicine, that makes you feel good) and end up working out 5-6 days a week. Hope you check out some of the workouts & find one that is right for you. Of course I just know your ipod will be loaded with Ava Aston Tunes to help push you through the hard workouts ;D just sayin.

Blessings ~
Ava :D xox

Twitches

This car is my #1 Twitch

Today the secret word is Twitch. A twitch is a reaction to muckery happening with your muscles. To my great Greek surprise Dictionary.com actually had definitions for several different types of twitches. Who knew?

• Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation, resulting in uncontrolled shaking
• Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction
• Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle contractions
• Myokymia, a continuous, involuntary muscle twitch that affects the muscles of the face, particularly the eyelids
• Spasm, a sudden, involuntary contraction of a muscle, group of muscles, hollow organ, or orifice
• Tic, an involuntary, repetitive, nonrhythmic movement or vocalization of sudden onset and involving discrete muscle groups
• Tremor, an involuntary, repetitive, somewhat rhythmic, muscle contraction and relaxation

To no one's surprise I have also found other types of twitches. It is not as cut and dry as just saying I have found good twitches and bad twitches. Because my Greek noggin is not wired like other noggins, I felt the need to also classify some of my twitches, fair enough?

Good Twitches

Shopping Twitches

• Super Dry
• Abercrombie & Fitch
• Express
• Kohls  (also Kohls Cash is a monetary twitch)
• Sephora
• Outlet Malls
• Coach Store
• A good TJ Maxx

Yummy Twitches

• A hot cup of happiness from Dunkin Donuts
• A few bites from a slice of New York Pizza
• Vitamin Water Zero "GoGo" Flavor
• Orbit Sugar Free Gum
• A Turkey Club on Wheat from my favorite diner (a yummo twitch)
• Ghiradelli Chocolate

Movie twitches

Rocky (also a motivational twitch)

Sneaker Twitches

Mizuno Wave Nirvana 6
Nike Shox
Nike 36o Air max

Musical Twitches

• The song "Eye of the Tiger" from Rocky
• The Theme song from "The Biggest Loser"
• My new song "Gone"

Healthy Twitches

• Working out
• The Biggest Loser
• Jillian Michaels
• Bob Harper
• Brett Hoebel
• Tony Horton
• Billy Blanks
• Zone Bars

Bad Twitches

• Bed Bugs
• Checking into hotels  (gotta do that bed bug check)
• Getting "poked" by total strangers on FaceBook (that's a creepy twitch)
• S.p.i.d.e.r.s.  & --- I do not say that word out loud ~ Ever.
• Mr. Bricks' toe nail clippers  (that's a revolting twitch)
• A bad TJ Max store

Blessings,

Ava

xox

Can You Feel It

After a Jillian Michaels' workout you CAN feel it.

I think my manager Mr. Bricks has finally lost his marbles. Just got a text from him and it said, (and I quote) "Ava something good is about to happen. I can feel it in my bones." What is he, a walking Ouija Board? Maybe in his wallet he also has tarot cards instead of his business cards and that's why he hasn't gotten me a record deal yet.  The only time I can feel something in my bones is after a Jillian Michael's work out. But I don't need to call Dionne Warwick or her friends at the Psychic Friends Network to know Mr. Bricks hasn't been working out with Jillian. If any of my blog readers out there is a Casting Director for the Biggest Loser, I nominate Mr. Bricks.

My Grandma Pauline would tell me she could predict the weather by the way her bones felt. I can understand that, because our bodies are connected to the earth. That explains why there are so many crazy people running around when there is a full moon. Next time there is a full moon go down to the local emergency room. It'll be packed. So, when my Grandma said she could predicted an impending snow storm, I believed her. But Mr. Bricks new-found psychic abilities? Call me a skeptic.

I have heard some people say that they have a "gut feeling" about something. I think the only "something" Mr. Bricks has a feeling about is putting some McRibs in his gut, Just sayin'. As much of a skeptic as I am about it, I hope Mr. Bricks is right and that he does have some unexplained feeling in his bones that something good is about to happen and good gravy that his feeling is not something explainable like a tick bite or scurvy. Sometimes the greatest things in life are those that are unplanned and come out of left field, and I hope it is that type of feeling that is gnawing at Mr. Bricks' skeleton.

Speaking of Can You Feel It, that was also the title of a hit song by the Jacksons (formally the Jackson 5). Check out their Can You Feel It video.

So, can you feel it? Can you feel it? Tell me now, can you feel it?

Blessings,

Ava
xox