FitSugar

Get in Gear: Ultra Star Frisbees

FitSugar — Thu, 17 May 2007 02:00:00 PDT

You can't very well toss the disk around or play a game of Ultimate Frisbee without a Frisbee, can you?

Check out these Ultra Star Discs - they're The Official Disc of the Ultimate Players Association and the choice of teams worldwide. These have been the leading Frisbee sold and used since Ultimate Frisbee was introduced in 1981 (that's pretty impressive).

So what I'm saying is that these are state-of-the-art, top-notch Frisbees we're talking about here. Not only that, but they only cost $7.95. They come in black, red, white, or yellow.

Buy one from UltimateFrisbees.com.

It's Ultimate Frisbee Time

FitSugar — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 10:15:00 PDT

Warmer weather always makes we want to go for a nice long walk in the park. I always see college kids, running around barefoot, and tossing around a frisbee.

Some ladies are causal frisbee tossers, and others take the game much more seriously. Ultimate Frisbee has taken this carefree pastime to a whole other competitive level.

It's like a whole bunch of sports rolled into one. You play on a field similar to one used for football. It requires the athletic endurance of soccer, and the quick thinking and passing of basketball. It's played by 2 teams of 7 players.

In order to score a point, you need to catch the frisbee in the other team's end zone (kind of like football). You can run around unless you have control of the frisbee, then you need to stay put until you pass it.

If you want to play, you can always get a bunch of your buddies together for a friendly game, but you could also join a club, team, or game in your area.

Want to see the 10 rules of Ultimate Frisbee? Then

Sony Spices Up C Series Laptops With Two New Lid Colors

Kristy Korcz — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:37:31 PST

It's a new year, new look for Sony's laptop lineup. The company announced two new lid colors coming to its affordable and portable Vaio C Series: Kaleidoscope Pink and Modern Geometric.

Both colors are customizable for the 15.5-inch model, while the bright pink will be an option for customizing the 14-inch screen size as well. If you're not familiar, the Vaio C starts at just $759 with customizable specs, including Intel processors, RAM, updated graphics cards, and hard drive sizes up to 750GB. You can even add a Blu-ray player/burner for an extra $150 if you want to watch your discs on the go. The standard battery lasts up to seven hours, but you can upgrade to a larger lithium ion battery for a whole 10 hours of juice.

Other features coming with the Vaio C series is a full backlit keyboard and HD screen for your movie-viewing pleasure. Get a closer look at a few Vaio C Series laptops in the gallery.

Class Review: Sport Club LA's Aspen Ascent Gets You Mountain-Ready

Leta Shy — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 03:20:20 PST

If you live for the mountains during the Winter, your gym time probably includes exercises to strengthen your lower-body muscles and challenge your balance. Aspen Ascent, a new class at Sports Club LA locations, offers such a workout for skiers and snowboarders alike.

Like many strength-training cardio classes, Aspen Ascent focuses on circuit training with supersets grouped by muscle area, to pump up your heart rate while challenging your muscles. But Aspen Ascent is specifically designed for those who want to enhance their snow sport skills.

The class is divided into three sections: speed and agility, strength and balance, and core and flexibility. A short warmup period at the beginning includes light cardio, such as jumping jacks (my instructor had us do a set of always-exhausting mountain climbers afterward as well). Each of the three sections last between 10 to about 20 minutes, depending on the length of the class, which varies by location. After the core and flexibility section, which focuses on abs and yoga- and Pilates-inspired moves, there are a few minutes of cooldown to stretch your muscles.

Lunges and squats play an important role in Aspen Ascent, as do unstable surfaces to improve balance and upper body work, so many exercises mix a pair of weights with gliding discs. In my class we did two "runs" of every exercise - a short set for 30 seconds with a short break, followed by a minute of the same exercise and a longer break.

See what I thought about Aspen Ascent after the break.

Your Holiday Digital Music DJ Guide

Kelly Schwarze — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 10:30:56 PST

To save ourselves from listening to our mom's record collection on repeat during this weekend's family gathering, we're taking on DJ duties. Forget flipping discs on a boombox; hook some powerful speakers up to a laptop and sign into these online music services to keep the party moving with new and unexpected tunes.

Pandora - A classic, Pandora keeps us going through the work day with our curated stations. Due to copyright licensing, listening to songs by the same artist is limited, but the service does allow you to skip over song fails.
Turntable.fm - We're taken with discovering new music through this new online digital music service. Hop into a crowd-friendly room; the "I <3 the 80s" room is a good choice.
8tracks - Mixtapes make a comeback on 8tracks, which lets users listen to mixtapes created by the community. Listen to playlists based on artist or genre and follow users whose mixes you love.
Spotify - Check out what your friends are listening to and discover new tunes with this free music service. You can pay for upgraded and premium services to get wireless streaming on your iPhone too, which makes it easy to plug and play to whatever iPod dock your parents have lying around.

Click through for three more online music resources.

Pregnant Beyoncé Knowles Debuts Her DVD in a Sexy, Fitted Gown

Lauren Turner — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 17:37:53 PST

Beyoncé Knowles looked glamorous in a Roberto Cavalli gown as she arrived at the Paris Theater in NYC this evening. She hosted a screening of her new DVD, Live at Roseland: The Elements of 4, which will be released on Nov. 29. The disc includes footage from Beyoncé's personal life, some of which we saw in her recent "I Was Here" video.

Beyoncé returned to the East Coast last week after spending a few days in Miami. She partied with friends at Alex Rodriguez's home, went house hunting, and lounged on a yacht with husband Jay-Z. Beyoncé kept her baby bump under wraps during the warm getaway, though she seemed to be all about showing it off tonight in her sexy fitted gown. Back when B tried her hide her pregnancy, though, she had trouble getting through shows. Speaking of her four evenings at the Roseland in August, Beyoncé had trouble breathing. She said, "When you're pregnant, it's a little bit harder to breathe, so it was hard doing all the choreography and singing at the same time."

Tony Romo and Candice Crawford Are Having a Baby!

Katie Henry — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 13:00:29 PDT

Tony Romo and Candice Crawford are expecting their first child! - People
How your dog can dress like Kate Middleton on Halloween - Jezebel
Wow - Demi Lovato debuts a nose piercing! - UsWeekly
Michael Lohan gets arrested. . . again - D-Listed
James Franco returns to modeling for V Man - JustJared
Watch Maksim Chmerkovskiy lose his cool on DWTS - TooFab
More bikini photos from Nina Dobrev's Seventeen shoot - Hollywood Tuna
Why aren't the reviews out for Justin Timberlake's In Time? - Lainey Gossip
Is Jennifer Hudson still engaged? - Huffington Post
Harry Potter DVDs and Blu-ray discs being pulled from store shelves - Hollywood Reporter
See photos of Justin and Selena's new puppy, Baylor - The Superficial
Find out how much money Ralph Lauren and Oprah raised for cancer research - The Daily Beast

Straight From the Mouth of a Zumba Instructor: Tips For Class Newbies

Jenny Sugar — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 01:02:39 PDT

Want to know why Zumba is all the rage? Or are you already hooked on Zumba and want to know what it takes to teach a class? Our interview with Michele Schmidt, a certified Zumba instructor, answers all of your burning questions.

FitSugar: What is Zumba?
Michele Schmidt: Zumba is a fusion of Latin and international music combined with a heart-pumping cardio workout that's easy to follow and fun to do. It was founded in the '90s by Alberto "Beto" Perez, a fitness instructor from Columbia, when he forgot his music and improvised a traditional aerobics class with Latin music and moves that he grew up dancing to.

FS: What makes it such a great workout? Will it help a person lose weight?
MS: Zumba is an intense cardio workout, so it can help a person lose weight! Typically an hour long, classes include interval training and strengthening movements (like squats and lunges) to maximize your calorie and fat burn, as well as to improve overall body tone. Proper diet and nutrition is also an important part of any weight loss program - many Zumba teachers have said that "you can't out dance a bad diet!"

Learn beginner tips for your first Zumba class and how to become a Zumba instructor after the break!

Tone, Sculpt, and Burn: Diesel Motivation at Crunch

Michele Foley — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 01:43:18 PDT

Fans of circuit training will love the latest class offering from Crunch Gym: Diesel Motivation. The hour-long class is fast paced, challenging, and, best of all, a total-body workout. Expect to leave sweaty and sore.

If you're not familiar with circuit training, exercises are performed one after the other with no rest in between the moves. In Diesel Motivation, that breaks down to a mix of strength training moves intermixed with sets of high-intensity cardio. For the class, each student needs two sets of dumbbells (both a heavier and lighter set), a Bosu ball, a barbell, and a gliding disc.

Though no class is exactly alike, the same formula is always followed: class starts with a five-minute warmup consisting of light cardio and dynamic stretches followed by the meat of the workout and then a short 10-minute cooldown consisting of deep static stretches. Between the warming up and cooling down, the instructor leads the class through a series of back-to-back strength moves that focus on one area of the body, which is then followed by an intense two-minute burst of cardio (usually 30-second sets of jumping jacks, ice skaters, jump rope, and boxing moves). This intense cycle continues for about 45 minutes; the idea is that by the end of the class, you'll have worked every muscle group of the body. As for the strength training moves, it's about maximizing results - supersets of compound exercises. Some typical moves are lunges with bicep curls, sumo squats with arm raises, and push-ups performed on the Bosu.

See what I think of Diesel Motivation after the break!

Look of the Day: Skirting Around

FabSugar — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 03:00:28 PDT

Fab reader ppfgirl shows us a simple, chic way to wear a denim skirt - she tucked a pretty, melon-hued blouse into a high-waisted denim skirt, and belted it at the waist with a skinny brown belt. She added a pair of strappy wedges, a gold disc necklace, and antique-looking wristwear. It's an easy breezy look that's perfect for the office or weekend.

Congrats ppfgirl!

Everyone else, submit your looks, and we might feature you on Fab!