Music

Surf girl style & workouts are HOT this season! I spoke to surfer/rock star Lee-Ann Curren for some inspiration. This girl surfs and rocks out all year long (and her hometown is a surfer's dream: Biarritz, France)...she's totally my new Musique muse. Lee-Ann surfs the most amazing waves across the globe and then dries off to take to the stage with her band, Betty the Shark. Here's the story...

Lee-Ann The Surfer
She grew up surfing with her family (both her parents surf...and her dad is surf champion Tom Curren) and then started doing a few contests when she was 15. After realizing how much she loved competing and getting "some decent results" (she's a European Junior Champion!) she got sponsored by ROXY.  Lee-Ann has been competing and traveling around the world with her surfboard ever since!

Lee-Ann The Music Lover

When she's in the water, Lee-Ann listens to faster music especially if it's a small competition. When the waves are big, she...

Stop. Collaborate and listen!

Remember when Vanilla Ice rocked the mic like a vandal and you couldn't help but find him and his dance moves kinda hot? Well, here he is, in all his Ice Ice Baby glory:

Don't front, you know you loved this song...and  still sing all the words out loud when you are on a long run without people around (that's not just me, right?). There are actually a lot of epic bars in this song that can serve as workout mantras. My favorite is:

Anything less than the best is a felony!

Vanilla Ice frozen in time? No way!

Vanilla Ice (born Robert Van Winkle) is actually a buff home builder (and house flipper) now. He hosts a show on the DIY channel called The Vanilla Ice Project where he builds and renovates homes with his hands-on team.

He's also inherited a few more color tats than he had in the 90's:

Can't hate! He looks way better now than he ever did. No potbelly. No pudge. He looks pretty FIT to me....

My more yogi-minded friends have been trying to get me to Zen out and meditate for years. I have doggedly resisted them just as much as I've avoided too many downward dogs (unless they are after a fast run or a ton of heart pumping cardio!). So when I was invited to Lululemon Meatpacking's night of music and meditation at Milk Studios, I was admittedly there more for the music and refreshments.

A preview of the film On Meditation, an evolving series of portrait films that explore the deeply personal practice of meditation, was featured. Hmmmm. And then Garth Stevenson began to play his music while we were all led through a profound meditation by famed yoga instructor Elena Brower. And that was what did it---I finally had my Zen moment! A legit transformational meditation experience.

This meditation thing might have some legs, I thought. But I never would have given it a chance without the music and the film project attached to the event. And I doubt I'm the...

Cardio dance? It's never been my first choice workout. But who better to try it out with than Cherie Lily who sings about working out and getting sweaty?! We hit up Mahri Relin's Body Conceptions Studio in downtown Manhattan. Mahri is formerly part of the Tracy Anderson clan. Watch my videos with Cherie and Mahri to learn about my "first time" and the heart-pumping music that made it so memorable!

Cherie Lily the Workout Star

Cherie Lily just released an album all about working out and getting sweaty. I asked her what got her hooked on fitness. Cherie first got the workout buzz at 16 when she took her 1st fitness class. She loved the group dynamic and now she teaches cycling and her signature HOUSEROBICS classes at Equinox. Her performances on stage are quite a workout too, which clearly demonstrate her love of rocking out. Cherie talked to me about the role of dancing in her life before we put our bodies in motion in Mahri's class.

Cherie the Dance...

Spring has finally sprung. To celebrate the season, I've put together my top 10 new fave active wear picks + a hot new spring playlist to match. If your fitness wardrobe and iTunes playlist folder needs a makeover, I've got solutions for you below so keep reading!

MY TOP 10 FRESHEST ACTIVE WEAR PICKS

The color palette for spring fashion is all about pastels and floral prints...of course! Throw on some turquoise eyeshadow (who cares if you sweat it off!) with these looks and get ready to rock out my freshest spring fitness fashion picks from studio to street!

#1  Glycerin Printed Bra Top from Brooks - This sports bra sneaks in a little glam to your workout style.

#2  "The Love For All" Floral Capris from Body Rock Sport - These capris lock down the floral look in one hot fit for your bod.

#3  Pop Orange Running Crop Pants from LuluLemon - Love this style for running and this orange color is popping.

#4  Turquoise Flyknit Lunar1+...

Whether it's at Revolve NYC where spin instructors and an in-house DJ play better music than dance clubs OR with Lil Jon's latest collaboration with the Zumba franchise OR through singer Ellie Goulding's love for running...music and fitness are turning out to be the best of workout buddies and business partners. The proof is in these 3 stories...

SPINNING TRACKS AND FITNESS AT REVOLVE NYC

Revolve NYC was just voted Best Spin Studio of 2013 by New York Magazine and I know it has a lot to do with their music (and of course their amazing spin instructors!). I spoke to Christianne Phillips, the Senior Master Spin Instructor who is also a DJ, about music and the secret to Revolve's success. I asked her why she thinks more and more people are hearing and learning about new music in fitness classes. Christianne thinks that healthy minded people don't want to be up in a lounge, drunk and dancing their asses off at 2AM.

She says: "Having a commitment to fitness...