The Beauty of Fitness Magazines



This was the issue I purchased that fateful
day in September, on my way to Paris.



I may or may not have mentioned before my love affair with fitness magazines. After reluctantly picking up an issue of Shape during an inordinately lengthy layover at the Chicago airport, I got so motivated and optimistic about living healthy that I signed up for a subscription as soon as I got home.

Impatient for the next issue, and afraid that there would be an unfortunate lag between when I placed my order and when they would actually start shipping magazines to me, I bought the next month's issue off the rack at HEB (now I have two copies of the October issue featuring LeAnn Rimes). Hoping to fill the near-month-long void between issues, I also signed up for Self magazine. Some months, if I had gleaned everything I could from Shape and Self too quickly, I would head to Half Priced Books to see what second-hand fitness magazines they had available (the answer: very few - but if you're looking for bridal or cooking magazines, you're set).

During this time, my obsession was probably becoming unhealthy. I would spend hours staring at those glossy pages, devouring every issue, making sure I didn't miss a single article, caption, or advertisement. I always had one magazine in my workout bag, one in my purse, and a pile next to the couch. Don't get me wrong, I never actually retained anything from them (I have tried maybe 2 of the workouts over the past year and only attempted one of the recipes, which as you may recall here, did not go well), but I loved them all the same. I especially liked the success stories. Even better than the success stories? The monthly updates from regular people who were in the process of getting healthy. They didn't have glamorous tales of how they lost 200 pounds by eating Subway sandwiches or anything. They were people just like me who were getting fit little by little. They were people I could empathize with and learn from (in fact, they probably still are). Sometimes, their updates would really move me.

Lately, I've calmed down a bit, and stopped reading these magazines so intensely (to be honest, I haven't even opened my new Shape, yet). Most of that has to do with the fact that I moved back to my hometown and have kept pretty busy ever since. Regardless, I still get very excited when an issue arrives in the mail.



Which brings me to my actual point (What? You thought my endless rambling up there was actually the point of the story? Rookie mistake...). I am so happy with this month's Self magazine. Why? So many reasons...

First, it features Zooey Deschanel, whom I absolutely love. She's so cute and quirky, and always wearing adorable sundresses! Also, I found out that she's going to star in a new tv show, the New Girl, and has a blog, Zooey's Miscellany.

Second, it features Zooey Deschanel hula hooping (or, mentioning hula hooping, really... rather briefly). I just bought a hula hoop (it lights up and makes noise), so it's perfect! She mentions in one of the captions that sometimes she spends hours hula hooping, much like myself (I may have spent the better part of a Lingo marathon on the Game Show Network hula hooping while I shouted answers at the screen).

The best part about hula hooping is that it is most successful
when wearing an adorable sundress like Zooey Deschanel's 
(as long as there are no large bows in back or anything).

So what I can gather is that you
stand on a board in water and paddle.
Sounds simple enough, right?

Third, only a few pages after the Zooey Deschanel feature (starting to wonder how many times I'm going to work her name into one post? spoiler alert: it's 4), there was an article on Stand Up Paddle Boarding. I know what you're thinking, "Jenny, you're terrified of water, and boards, and paddles, and standing up in general," but to that I say "accurate observation, ma'am/sir." Regardless, I just purchased a Groupon a few weeks ago for Stand Up Paddle Boarding at a nearby lake! They say it's a mixture of canoeing and surfing, but is way easier than surfing (phew! I was awful at surfing). Until this article, though, all I had ever heard about stand up paddle boarding was what the Groupon description said (which was nothing... but the accompanying picture made it look fun).


Finally, included in the issue are a lot of workouts geared towards getting slimmer/more toned/stronger arms. Of course, all magazines are featuring arm workouts right now so that people can get cute, sun-dress-appropriate arms for the summer. I, however, am excited because it might help me finally beat Teddy Westside at arm wrestling (that's right, it's going to happen).


Basically, fitness magazines are awesome; end of story.


Do you subscribe to any fitness magazines? Do you know how I could turn off the sound on my hula hoop but still have it light up (I already tried putting duct tape over the speaker)? Do you prefer old school Lingo with Chuck Woolery as host or the new revamped Lingo with Bill Engvall?

And now I have an excuse for my hot pink hula hoop that I bought last year...

Charlotte, over at the Great Fitness Experiment, never ceases to amaze me. Every month she and her "Gym Buddies" do a different "fitness experiment." This past month was their Great Hula Hooping Experiment. Awesome.

I've heard some amazing things about the health benefits of "hooping," such as toned abs and arms, greater stability, and everything good that happens when you incorporate cardio into your regular routine (stronger heart? better lungs? overall health?), and have been definitely meaning to check it out. It doesn't hurt that when I was a kid, I was pretty magnificent with a hula hoop (and no, I don't feel like 14 years of aging, a two foot height difference, and twice as much weight should have any significant impact on the very apparent natural talent I exuded as a child). In fact, you could say (probably inaccurately) that I was kind of a hula hoop child prodigy (am I overselling my expertise yet?), and I was kind of a big deal in the hula hoop community (or more accurately, I once entered a contest at my country club's Fourth of July barbecue, and came in second place, behind my sister).

So of course, given my obvious prowess with a hoop, it is only natural that I would want to pick up this activity again as an adult. I actually got so excited about this potential new workout, that on a semi-recent late-night Walmart run, I ended up walking up and down the toy aisle hula hooping for quite some time. What I found that night, though, is that Walmart does not carry hula hoops meant for adults. I found the largest hoop I could (which granted, worked pretty well... I mean, the only reason it eventually fell was because Teddy Westside started hitting wiffleballs at me), but it wasn't nearly large enough or sturdy enough for most of the activities and moves that I'd read about in my magazines. Fortunately, when Charlotte and her "Gym Buddies" started this experiment at the beginning of the month, she dedicated an entire post to making your own hula hoop (and as we all know, I am a sucker for craft opportunities).

I'm thinking of actually turning this into an entire nostalgia-themed workout. Hannah has a skip-it. We all have jumpropes. All we need are some roller skates (preferably with Barbie on the side to emulate my old roller skates - shown on the left), and we'll be ready to go!

What other childhood activities would make a great workout? Do you think Kirsten would notice if I stole her light up hula hoop? How many times could you skip it?


Note: you really should go look at Charlotte's post on hula hooping (link above). It has some awesome pictures and a fantastic video of their hula hoop routine.