Y’all have heard me sing the praises of Cadence Revolution as a great way to get pre-mixed playlists for my Spinning classes.  While it has been a while since I used them, mostly because I am in the middle of my maternity leave, I still like checking out their mixes and finding new musical inspirations from their site.  This week, they began offering “the workout” — a very loose profile based on exertion levels — to accompany their mixes.  What a great way to cut down prep time even further for busy instructors who need to put it all together fast!  The workout provides very general cues, which can be taken as good or bad, depending on how much hand-holding you need.  If you are looking for a pre-choreographed, just-read-the-script kind of ride, this isn’t it, but if you just like some easy suggestions that you can take in any direction you see fit, then I think you’ll really like this new feature.   So, take a look at their latest release and see what you think! 

I am really hard to impress.  At least, when it comes to buying stuff.  I have what my grandma calls the blood of a “Scotch-Irish Indian” which accounts for all or most of my penny-pinching, value-searching, non-impulse-buying characteristics.  I’m a tough sell, and for good reason — I worked hard for this money and I’m not a fool to be soon parted with it!

That said, when I find a product that I find particularly valuable or that is money well-spent, I enjoy sharing it with the friends I think can benefit from it.   That’s why I want to tell you about a program I joined just before Christmas 2007, called iTRAIN.  iTRAIN is an excellent place to download workouts to your iPod/mp3 Player for use on traditional cardio equipment or in the weight room.  At first, I was skeptical of the concept.  I mean, I am a Fitness Instructor for goodness’ sake.  I can do this stuff on my own, right?  However, I went for it and have gotten several benefits from using the program.
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