Way back when, in dreary March 2011, we at Moji decided that we needed a daily rejuvenator for our workout routines. We named it the Moji Jam of the Day. This inaugural year of Jam of the Day proved to be an interesting one. Jams ranged from holiday themed jingles (Neil Young on Fourth of July) to location specific diddies (Irish Punk for the Boston Marathon) and we even took requests from some special Moji fans.

Since the end of the year is upon us, it was only fitting for us to come up with a Best of 2011 list of some sorts. However, instead of us deciding what our playlist should contain, we declared this playlist to include what YOU liked. Heck, you had to listen to these sometimes ridiculous tracks (not apologizing for our ABBA obsession)!  So we scoured all of our selections for Jam of the Day, entered all the soundbytes and megabytes into a Google Spreadsheet and calculated which tracks were the most talked about on our Facebook page in 2011.

Hence, this list of 15 tracks is Moji’s 2011 compilation of your most discussed jams on our Facebook page. We must say, you guys have good taste! Download the mix on the link below, or scroll down to listen right from this page.

What do you want to hear in 2012?

lepiaf/flickr.com

10-Minutes to Back Pain Relief for Mom

Kids and work take their toll on mom’s back.  Get relief in less than 10 minutes.

Sean Lee, NASM ACE – CPT, NSCA – CSCS
Fitness Expert, Barrington, IL

Question:

I’ve had occasional low back pain on and off for a few years since having children and am concerned that with age and a sedentary desk job it’s going to get worse. As a busy full time working professional and mother of three, I don’t have much time for exercise. With only 5-10 minutes a day in my schedule can you recommend a few exercises that may help?

Answer:

YES! If what you’re describing is an occasional stiff or tight back then I can absolutely offer a helpful and time sensible solution. However, if you are experiencing pain and it has become more frequent, intense, or radiates to your hip or down your leg I’d first see a licensed medical specialist who can further assess and make recommendations to meet your specific needs.

Assuming the former follow this quick 3-step approach that will have you feeling better in no time:

1. Give a (self) massage and get flexible.

• Use a foam roller, tennis ball, or massage stick on your mid and lower back, shoulders, hips, & legs.
• Self massage will reduce your discomfort by: decreasing tension within the muscles, improve circulation making the muscles healthier, and decrease the day-to-day stresses the muscles take while at work, home, and running with the kids.

2.  Strengthen your core muscles from the inside out.

• The deep core muscles often become the weakest after childbirth (sitting also promotes this weakness). To substitute for the deficit in strength the low back muscles are called upon to do more work than they should often leading to overcompensation and a back that is tight or in pain.
• The following three exercises will get you started strengthening from the inside out:
  • Pelvic tilts – Lye on your back, knees bent, hands on hips, gently tilt pelvis forward (low back arches off floor), then back (flatten back to the floor). Move slowly and repeat 10X.
  • Belly button draw – In a seated or lying position pull your naval to your spine and hold for up to 10 seconds and repeat 10X. This will activate the deep core muscles and decrease stress to your back.
  • Plank – Lying on your abdomen place your forearms and toes on the floor, lift your body off the floor so only the forearms and toes are touching. Hold for up to 20 seconds.

3.  Get moving in small ways throughout the day.

• Place a post it or set a reminder to get up every 30 minutes and go for a walk, stretch or do some light calisthenics
• Skip the elevator and take the stairs
• When out and about choose parking away from the door
• Wear a pedometer and try for 10,000 steps a day

kozumel/flickr

It’s month four of treadmill workouts here in Chicago and we’re fresh out of “fun and creative” things to do. (I think we’ve hit every permutation of incline and speed settings.) But before you send us your magical finger-jamming, speed-changing, interval beast of a workout, we have to let you in on a little secret:

We don’t care.

It’s not that we aren’t open to a cool new way to shred the mill; it’s that there are two glorious things that have made treading the tread ’til spring downright bearable:

1. The temperature hit 50. Though it was only for a day, it’s enough of a whiff of spring to set our hearts aflutter. We now know that we’ll be regularly running in the open air in just a couple…okay, 3-5 weeks.
2. We stocked up on jams. No, not the delicious wares that made Smuckers famous, but rather those golden songs that cause an involuntary fist pump at the public gym.

It’s not every song that can bust the treadmill blues, so all winter long as we came upon a killer tune, we tucked it away for safe keeping. Now we plan to unleash this magic music on treadmills everywhere. Look for our Jam of the Day feature on our Facebook page (facebook.com/gomoji) and count down with us to fresh air freedom.

Kids, Rocky Balboa and The American Heart Association have been jumping rope for decades and, might we add, there have been some pretty serious advancements in the sport. Did you know that there is a National Double Dutch Foundation? Or that Jump Rope Sprint is trying to get entry into the 2012 Olympic Games in London?

So to start off 2011, jump on the bandwagon (pun intended) and try out any of the amazing routines that can be found on the web. Too excited to search?  We personally like this one for its intensity and fun. However, any high-speed jumping style will do. Just throw on the playlist below and shake that weight!

Are we missing some hoppin’ tunes? Reply in the comments with your jump rope-worthy tracks.

Buy here on iTunes

usodesita/flickr

Anne Stein, M.S.
Sports & Fitness Journalist/Author

Whether you’re a new exerciser or an experienced athlete, you want to get the most out of your strength-training routine. In his latest book, Women’s Home Workout Bible (Human Kinetics, 2010), certified strength and conditioning specialist Brad Schoenfeld details his 10 Commandments of Fitness.

While they’re targeted toward strength training, most apply to exercise in general.  (Note: A personal trainer or easy-to-understand book such as this one is especially helpful for following these commandments!)

1. Train according to your goals. Decide what your goals are and come up with a routine to reach them.  If you’re looking to avoid back pain, work on core (ab and back) exercises. If you want to increase bone density, focus on moves that load the skeletal system.
2. Fuel your body before exercise. When you run out of fuel, your workout slows down or comes to a stop, like a car running out of gas. Eat two to three hours before exercise. If you can’t eat that far in advance, have something light, like a piece of fruit or an energy bar, before hitting the gym.
3. Warm up before intense training. Warming up increases your range of motion and allows muscles to work harder. It also decreases your chance of injury. Start your strength sessions with at least 5-10 minutes of cardio activity. Go easy on the bike before a lower-body workout, or do jumping jacks or use the elliptical before a full-body workout.
4. Continually challenge your muscles. Choose a weight that makes it difficult, if not impossible, to finish the last few reps in your routine. If it doesn’t challenge your muscles, it’s too light. Same with cardio: if you’re chatting while exercising and barely breaking a sweat, you’re probably not asking your body to do enough and you won’t see the desired results.
5. Train with proper form. Bad form can lead to injuries, muscle imbalance and failure to reach goals. Have an expert make sure you’re doing things right. Watch yourself in the mirror as you lift to double-check your form.
6. Rest after intense training. Strength training breaks down your muscles. Rest is when you recover and get stronger. Give your body 48 hours between strength training sessions to fully repair damaged muscle tissue.
7. Create a regimented training schedule. Make exercise a habit and stick strictly to your schedule. Make sure your workouts fit in with your other responsibilities, or exercise will become a hassle. Pick the best time of day for your body to exercise (some people love early-morning workouts while others thrive at night).
8. Vary your routine. The longer you stick with one routine, the less effective it becomes. Throw in some variety so your muscles are challenged and forced to adjust to new stress. New routines also keep you motivated and excited.
9. Develop a mind-to-muscle connection. Visualize the muscle you are training and feel that muscle contract throughout each repetition. Sound weird? A mind-to-muscle connection is beneficial because it ensures that your target muscles perform the majority of work during an exercise. (Without this connection, your supporting muscles and connective tissue tend to dominate the lift, which diminishes results.) Additionally, when you’ve mentally locked into a movement, your form tends to automatically fall into place. This improves performance and reduces the possibility of injury.
10. Know the major muscle groups. You need to know your muscles to get the most from your training efforts. (Unless you’re an anatomy expert, a good exercise training book can be really helpful.) This knowledge helps you visualize each muscle during training, fostering a better mind-to-muscle connection. It also makes you aware of the path that weight must travel to target specific muscles, improving your ability to train with proper form. Finally, it allows you to hone in on muscular imbalances, assessing which muscles need improvement and which don’t.