Contrary to what it might look like after a particularly rough night, and despite the fact that I like movies about cops and cowboys, I am a girl.

I like shoes. I cry during every single episode of Grey’s Anatomy, without fail. I imagine what my life will be like after my very extravagant wedding to Wentworth Miller. And, I love celebrity gossip, even though I can feel the intelligence draining from my brain with every hour I watch E! Still, I’ve accepted that about myself and I’ve decided to run with it.

I figured that if I base my outfits around Kate Moss’s, and my shoe collection around Sarah Jessica Parker’s, why can’t I base some of my training around what the shlebs are doing? I jumped online to check out some of the new fitness fads.

Apparently, Madonna works out doing yoga, pilates or horse riding 7 days a week. Plus she has a 15000 dollar Power Plate Machine (it’s like the Sylvester Stallone of exercise equipment). I do not have 15000 dead presidents. Next!

Uma Thurman did a whole wack of martial arts and sword fight training for Kill Bill. Now, kick boxing I could try, but the judge says I’m not allowed to be within 50 metres of a sword again, so…

And then there’s Britney. She swears that her tight little bod comes from dancing. Now that I can do! I’m a chick! I’m going to trawl every dance class until I find the perfect dance-ercise, and then I’ll tell you all about it.

If you have any suggestions on cool, new dance classes, let me know. After all, being a girl also means we get to bust a move whenever we like without fear of being (seriously) mocked by our buddies.

I know that if you ask a bunch of people who work out regularly what their training essential is,  90% of them will say ‘an iPod’ (that’s not an actual stat, so don’t go quoting me on that). And, I tend to agree. Even outside of training hours, I find it much easier to get working / dusting / writing / washing when I have a good play-list on the go.

And, the other day, while I was cleaning out my hard drive, I discovered one of my very favourite get-up-and-go, sing-a-long mixes (that’s if you can call what I do singing. Maybe it’s groan-a-long mix). I put it on and suddenly I was running around like nine-year-old after a bag of MSG. It was amazing. I’m going to share it with you here.

Let me know if you have songs you think I should add to it, or ones that made you want to snore instead of sweat. Oh and I’m including a link to the Nokia music store, which is great for getting the tunes that make you jiggle, in case you wanna buy some of them. And, don’t judge me for the pop songs.

Starlight - Muse
Saturday Night - The Dirty Skirts
Molly’s Chambers - Kings of Leon
The Dance - aKing
Nuflex Cowabanga Mix - Sweat.X
I want you back - The Jackson 5
Twister - Flash Republic
Boom Boom Pow - Black Eyed Peas
A Place for my Head - Linkin Park
Pon de Replay - Rihanna
The Bucket - Kings of Leon
Life your Life - T.I
Valarie - Amy Winehouse
Standing in the Way of Control - Gossip
I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor - Arctic Monkeys
Man Eater - Nelly Furtado
Faith - George Michael
Don’t Stop Me Now - Queen

Check out Nokia music.

In case you hadn’t noticed: it’s officially Winter. That thin, preppie cardie you bought a month ago is now officially useless. Getting up in the mornings is less ‘let’s get the day started!’ and more ‘let’s rather hibernate’. Leaving the house, even just for a quick meal, now entails an extra hour of layering and an ‘it’s not so bad’ pep talk. And, to make matters worse, I spent one winter’s night in public trying to be good looking and clever and returned with nothing more than a wine-stained shirt and some disgusting, rare, possibly-deadly disease that involves a lot of leaking around the face area (other people say it’s a ‘cold’).

So, here is where the problem comes in: if I can’t even get motivated to wash my hair because it’s too cold (note to self: seriously, work that out) how on earth can I be expected to get motivated to do even the smallest bit of exercise? Because, right now, unless training involves lifting spoons of soup to my mouth in front of the heater, I’m not interested.

I don’t know when it happens, but at some point between the middle of April and the middle of May, all the plans for the year seem to fall into some black hole, never to be seen again. Or is it just me? If not, here’s what I propose: one week of damage control. I’ve decided to find those plans, hold them tight and rip them from that black hole like they’re the last pair of Prada sling-backs in Johannesburg.

I’m going to remind myself what I wanted to do and why. And then, I’m going to create the great Winter Training Chart of 2009, which will include all sorts of warm(ish) sessions that I can do between watching the new season of Dexter and having hot baths - things like swimming in the heated pool or going to 40-degree Bikram Yoga some more.

I’m giving myself one week to pull myself up, get over the ‘cold’, and accept winter and then it’s go time. Who’s with me? On the up side, a warm bed is extra-appealing after exercising in the cold, so I’m giving you full permission to buy a new duvet. Come to think of it, winter doesn’t look too bad after all.

It’s officially a few months into my new year resolutions, and they’re not going all that well. I mean, I haven’t turned into a terrible person already, but I haven’t eaten something green everyday, or stopped watching reality TV shows, or, you know, ceased fire in the Middle East (yet). So, when my friend – a copywriter with good hair and great intentions – called to say she’d booked us into a beginners Bikram yoga course, I really had to agree to go.

I logged onto the Bikram site for a dose of more information. It turns out that Yogi Bikram, the pioneer of the art, created the 26 poses (gulp!) in an effort to restore his health after a weightlifting accident crippled him. It worked. And, if it can do that, it’s impossible it won’t make me feel better.

The Bikram teachers assure me it will increase my energy, build my stamina, encourage restful sleep and help with muscle tone, which sounds good (in fact, if it also makes me tea, I’ll marry it). But, I’m also looking for a way to be a lot calmer this year. The website promises Bikram will open my heart and accelerate my spiritual evolution, and learning to slow down, expand my mind and heart and, frankly, to breathe, is something I’ve been wanting for a long time.

So I’m off and I’ll let you know how it goes. Just hold thumbs that when I open my chakras, I don’t spill my emotional juices all over the floor…
Wanna join? Check it out.

I’m the youngest of three very different girls. Which basically means I spent my childhood  trying to convince my sisters I wasn’t adopted, as they’d told me. We had very different interests until high school, when I signed up for hockey. And…

I was terrible. I played like a one-legged, blind possum. On Valium. Needless to say, I returned home with a bruised knee (and ego) expecting the sisters to taunt me. But they didn’t. In fact, one took me outside, wiped my tears, created a home-made obstacle course and taught me every trick she knew. She refused to stop until I felt confident. Even though I was huffing and puffing like the Big Bad Wolf, I was happy. And not because I was suddenly hitting balls. Because I suddenly realised my sister had my back.

That sport-filled day taught me I could do anything, with the right support. I never did become a hockey star, but I did continue playing. And my sister continued to stand on the sidelines cheering like an over-enthusiastic soccer-mom. Now, if only she’d admit I’m not adopted…

If I had to tell you three things nobody knows about me (or, at least, they didn’t until now) I’d say I’m convinced I’m allergic to Pronutro, I wish I’d never given up Ballet and I have a secret embarrassing crush on Jack Black. At the moment, I’m very into Bikram yoga. In fact, I have a class in two hours, so I’m off to gulp down some water and get ready. And I’ll be sure to let you know all the latest yoga news soon.