In this awesome gallery of squat exercises, I was both pleased and scared to see that I’ve tried almost every different kind that there is. While I haven’t quite been able to stick with one type, I can certainly recommend a good “Middle of the Road” version of the squat.

Working up from your average squat, try one where you work in a single dumbbell. Instead of holding two, and upwards, try holding one with your arms straight and your elbows just ever-so-slightly bent. While bending your knees into the squat, remember to keep your knees in line with your toes, and follow these directions:

* Stop when your knees are at a 90 degree angle or when the natural arch of your back is lost.

* Contract those glutes and don’t allow your shoulders to round forward.

* Avoid locking the knees on your way back up, and then try about 2 sets of 10-15 reps.

You will so feel this.

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I need a Swiss ball, or stabilizer ball, for crunches, having endured a huge move and leaving behind a giant amount of stuff in the process. While shopping for a stabilizer balls, I started to question what the best kind was. This is where I need your help!

Do you crunch with a ball, and what size do you use? MuscleGuy weighed in on his blog, stating that “A larger ball has a gradual arch, so you’ll feel less of a stretch in your abdominals, while the more abrupt arch of a smaller ball puts your body in a more pronounced stretch position. As your flexibility improves, drop to a smaller size.”

So do I just go with the biggest one because I’m so incredibly unflexible, or a slightly smaller one to work myself a big more. Opinions would be lovely!

Plus, if this is true, I need to switch to a stabilizer ball for my day work anyway.

Photo (c) Totally Fitness

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Are you trying to wean yourself off of juice and other high-cal beverages? Me too. While I feel like everyone’s always telling me to mix sparkling water with juice, I’ve found something much better: Maguary Cashew Juice. This “neutral-flavored,” delicate juice is available imported from Brazil, and is 84% juice. With a single 500 ml bottle, you’ll make 5 liters of juice: a single cup of water just needs a tablespoon-and-a-half of the juice concentrate. The best part? It’s $5.00 or less ($2.79 in Miami), and has only 10 calories per serving. What a perfectly refreshing way to grab a glass of juice and not feel bad about it.

You can buy it here if you’re not located near foreign imports store or you’d like to save some time..

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Yoga is all about stripping away layers and finding your center which is good…but I also like cute accessories. I was looking for a bag to carry my junk in since it’s about a 15 minute walk to my class. Just carrying my mat under my arm has gotten old. I came across this on Etsytoday and I must have it. It’s a yoga mat bag and a lovely eye pillow. I have a similar pillow for my neck that’s filled with flax-seeds and I luuurve it so the eye pillow sounds fantastic. I think I will get good use out of it before I go to bed and at then end of class. What do you think?

Via Etsy: Impromptudesigns

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So is anyone else joining me in the quest for gold? Okay there’s no gold but certainly it’s fun. I’ve been sticking only to the major events like track, gymnastics, swimming etc. Sorry but I don’t see myself going horseback riding or playing table tennis. I will however be going to mommy and me gymnastics tomorrow at 8:15 in the bloody awful morning. I have a feeling it will be more mommy running and less actual gymnastics but I will get a workout no doubt.

I did try an awesome recipe though yesterday that was chock full of healthytomatoes and soooo delish. I am thoroughly in love with Jamie Oliver so I adapted this from one of his recipes. It’s a roasted tomato casserole and good lord it’s decadent. I substituted the pork sausage with a great chicken sausage I got from Trader Joe’s and used the olive oil sparingly. I served it with some toasted brown rice and it was incredibly flavorful and rich. Tomatoes have lycopene,which is such a great antioxidant. It was even better the next day, all the herbs had a chance to really get in there and meld together. Plus it was so easy to make, just through everything in a pan and then pop it in the over. The perfect quick meal.

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