get sweaty

{for this week's workout wednesday post, I've asked my very cool friend Nena to create a workout playlist! Nena is one of the fittest girls I know, and she's known throughout our social circles as the person with the coolest [and most extensive] taste in music! you can find her music blog on tumblr, and her hilarious thoughts on life on twitter. enjoy!}

Hello everybody! My name is Nena. I am a 20-year-old Sociology major/ German Language minor who has a thirst for good tunes and for being active. When the beautiful and lovely Robin asked me to be a guest writer on her rad blog, I was beyond stoked. To top it off, she asked me to write about my two favorite topics in the universe: music and working out (or well, more specifically, music to listen to while working out).

There is no doubt in my mind having the perfect playlist can immensely improve your workout . Listening to upbeat music has been proven to motivate you to put in more effort, it keeps you focused and a good beat can really help you keep a steady pace. I find that the playlist people listen to while they get their sweat-on can be a very personal thing. Everyone likes a variety of different genres and I've found that different songs work differently for the type of work out as well.

The playlist I have crafted for you today is categorized for the different stages of a good full body workout, including a warm-up, cardio, lifting and a cool down. I tried to mix up the genres and keep it fresh 2 death to tickle the fancy of all of you fit readers (Did I mention your ass looks great? Must be all those stairs you did listening to awesome jams eh?) Also I’m just going to do a shameless plug here and say all the tunes are soundcloud links. Soundcloud is seriously (in my opinion) the best listening/streaming site out there. If you make an account here you can make your own playlist or follow this 1-hour Get Sweaty Playlist that I made specifically for this post! Okay - now down to the nitty gritty (and sweaty?)!

warm up

Latch (Disclosure) - the lovely voice of Sam Smith and the endless talent of the 2 Disclosure brothers never fails to get me ready for a killer sweat.

cardio

Sunshower (Rusko) - annnnnd now its time to get in a groove. Falling into step with this fresh off the press Rusko track is like second nature.

Green Gardens (Djemba Djemba) - this remix of a great original makes for a great cardio pusher

Girls (The 1975) - changing the pace with some good British rock boys and a dance jam can get me motivated like no other

Inspector Norse (Todd Terje) - nu-Disco has this way of getting me into a cardio trance.

Go (Grimes) - Grimes and Blood Diamonds wrote this jam for Rhianna who turned it down and I cant imagine why ?!!?!?! The trap break down can get anyone goin 3hunnit.

All Good (Av Av Av) - keep on going with the smooth as butter track by Av Av Av will have you running longer than you ever thought you could

Feel of Love (i-D) - feel the love. The love of the feeling of pushing your body to the limits.

Cloudy (Feel so Real) - the endless groove you’ll be in after this jam will have you wanting to keep going FOREVER!

lifting

Push 'Em Up (Boyz Noize) - PUSH UP THOSE WEIGHTS. I KNOW YOU CAN DO ONE MORE.

Fancy Remix (Iggy Azalea) - hard twist on the song of the summer to get you lifting more than you ever thought you could

Affection (Crystal Castles) - trap remix of the year. Hits hard and so do you

Rock U Tonite (Wave Racer) - the synth drop for ultimate motivation

Shabba (A$AP Ferg) - the bass beats got you like “do you even lift bro?

Gibberi$h (Zooly) - ~LETS GO~ this track hits harder than any weight out there. FINISH OFF STRONG.

cool down

As We Strive (TWOS) - wow good work out! You were really striving for greatness *high five*

Amazing workout! Find the Get Sweaty Playlist on Soundcloud.

Huge thanks to Robin for featuring me today! Hopefully I'll be back with another playlist soon! 

The Blogmopolitan Quiz Part 3

I'm linking up again with Two Thirds Hazel for pretty much the coolest link-up imaginable. I tried to fill this one out as fast as possible because I typically put waaay too much thought into these things! So fun!

things learned

today I am 23 years old. although I definitely don't want to be one of those people who gripes about being old while still in my early twenties, I feel a little freaked out by 23. I know for a long time, I thought I'd have my life all figured out by 23. but I don't. I don't really have anything figured out, but I have learned a lot of things, especially over the past year.

A Starbucks birthday cake pop is the best way to celebrate.

while I may go into 23 still telling people that I'm 21, here are 22 things I learned about myself, relationships, and life while I was 22.

one: it's okay to say no, and to express what you really want.

two: and a follow up to number one, it's okay to not know what you're doing with your life, and it's okay to say that out loud [still learning this one]

three: moisturizing your skin is the most important thing in the world. or, well, it's up there.

four: love doesn't always work out. this was probably the hardest lesson I've learned over the past year, but also one of the most valuable.

five: I am a girly-girl. I think for a long time I tried to think I was "one of the guys," but I finally learned this year that a) I am not "one of the guys" and b) it's okay to be girly.

six: feminism is not about female supremacy. I think this past year, I learned that I am a feminist.

seven: being an auntie is the best thing in the whole wide world.

eight: it's okay to not be okay.

nine: being strong doesn't mean you're not hurting. it means that you can face your hurt with bravery.

ten: sometimes champagne is the answer:

eleven: people watching is sometimes the best way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

twelve: Dr. Seuss is pretty much the best philosopher in the world.

thirteen: sometimes you don't know what you like or don't like until you try it. so try it.

fourteen: you won't meet your future Mr or Mrs Right on some dating app. you'll need to download and delete the app several hundred times before you realize this.

fifteen: it's important to never stop learning.

sixteen: be yourself. the truth about who you are will always come out, so you may as well be you from the start.

seventeen: it's okay to keep reading seventeen magazine. but it's also okay to exchange it for a cosmo. you do you.

eighteen: that thing that you waste all of your time doing? it's not time wasted. it's what you should be doing.

nineteen: in the end, things won't matter. invest in relationships, not retail. (wow, I'm deep)

twenty: going to bed early is AWESOME.

twenty-one: Beyonce, hot chocolate and a good book are usually a good cure for anything.

twenty-two: learning to love yourself is the hardest thing you may ever do. but it's also the most important.

there's my list! what are some of your life lessons?

xoxo

there are 5 blogs that I faithfully check every single day for new content. one of these is the fairy princess dairies (check it out! it's fun and fabulous). jordyn, the author, constantly raves about being obsessed with gossip girl. a few weeks ago, I was home sick from work for two days and decided finally to cave and get netflix. and I decided to start my netflix addiction by binge watching gossip girl.

and I am OBSESSED.

to be honest, the first few episodes had me feeling pretty meh. I actually told my roommate that it was the dumbest show I'd ever seen and that I hated all of the characters. she left for work, and when she got back 8 hours later I was flipping out about how obsessed I was and how crazy it is. 

I've just finished season two and I have three main thoughts:

one: I have to add Blake Lively to my girl crush list. she's probably number two at this point. I feel like she is made of sparkles, joy and sunshine.

two: I am ashamed of how much I am like Blair Waldorf. I totally have a love-hate with her, and I'm [hopefully] not as plotting/manipulative/crazy as her... but I feel like I understand her pretty well. I hate to say it, but it's true. She frequently says things that match things I've said/thought. Here are two:

three: in a lot of ways, even though GG is totally over the top and ridiculous, the characters (however hateable) all reveal very true things about the world. like how true is this:

okay am I being crazy? you know you love me. xoxo, R