Tag: Pinterest

Inspiration & Implementation: Workout Wednesday

Cori CasnerLeave a comment

Workout inspiration abounds on Pinterest. Below are the top links I have pinned to my Workout Wednesday board that are helping me to build this rowing habit.

1. Rowing Technique

I watched this tutorial video at least 10 times when I first started rowing. It does a wonderful job of breaking down the stroke, which I use as my warm up every day. I really think it is important to focus on technique since it is such a repetitive motion.

2. 14 Rowing Machine Workouts

The great thing about Pinterest is all the infographics! This list of rowing machine workouts pulls together easy to follow workouts. I enjoy the variety it puts into my daily routine, and I have tried a new workout every other day since I started.

3. 5 Big Rowing Machine Benefits

The infographics also provide a lot of information on why rowing is so good for you. I like this article the best because it covers a lot of ground. Rowing is a full body, low impact exercise that is great for cardio. What’s not to love?!

I have also added a number of inspirational quotes and images to my Workout Wednesday board. Staying motivated to workout every day is hard. On the days I find it especially difficult to get on the rowing machine I take time to look up new quotes to get me in the right frame of mind.

I don’t always feel motivated to stick with my habits, so I have taken to saying, “determination over motivation!” I know we’re all trying to stay on track so please share any inspiring words or images in the comments below.

Inspiration & Implementation: Strummin’ Saturday

Cori CasnerLeave a comment

I’ve been working on my banjo board for a while, so I’ve had time to pull in a lot of great resources. Listed below are my Top 3 Banjo Resources.

How to Play Music Faster: Ideal Practice Methods for Adult Musicians

Hensold’s keys to an ideal practice are:

Perfect Technique
Accuracy
Consistency

The article provides a lot of detail behind that short list. There are some concepts I don’t completely understand, but I am sure that will come with time. He provides practical steps for getting the most out of my limited practice time.

Free 5-String Banjo Lessons

These lessons are similar to my banjo teacher’s lessons. I appreciate learning everything from a teacher who provides instant feedback, but can’t always remember everything he tells me once I get home. This index is perfect for reinforcing the lessons I learned and making sure that I am practicing properly.

99 Essential Bluegrass Banjo Solos

This isn’t relevant for me now, but my teacher mentioned banjo tabs are kind of hard to find. I struck gold with a list that includes Foggy Mountain, Shady Grove, and Wreck of the Old 97. I can’t wait to level up to actual songs!

I had a lot of fun finding banjo quotes and videos to pin to my board as well. This banjo habit has been one of my favorites so far. I’m sure I’ll have plenty more to add to my board by the end of my 66 days.

Take a trip over to Pinterest and start following my Strummin’ Saturday board!

Inspiration & Implementation: Food Friday

Cori CasnerLeave a comment

My Food Friday inspiration board is starting to take shape. Take a look at my top resources.

InspirationBoard_8WWMealDay

1. Recipes Galore

We all know that Pinterest excels at food inspiration. There is no better place to round up all the great recipes I’ve tried over the last two months and the ones I still want to try.

2. Mason Jar Salad

My friend Kami made me my first jar salad a few weeks ago. I have been excitedly pinning great ideas for other more salad recipes. I’ll have to purchase some mason jars, but I think it will be a great investment.

3.  Nutrition Advice from Experts

I often try to seek out expert advice when trying to form a new habit. There are a lot of conflicting voices on the internet as it relates to nutrition, and it’s good to have resources available to feel confident in. I was glad to find healthy eating resources on the CDC and Mayo Clinic websites.

As I am nearing the end of my first 66 days of this 8WW meal a day habit I hope compiling these resources will help me sustain this habit going forward.

Please share your favorite healthy living resources in the comments!

Inspiration and Implementation: Smoothies

Cori CasnerLeave a comment

InspirationBoard_Smoothie

My smoothie inspiration board is starting to take shape. Here are the top resources I have pinned so far.

  1. Inspirational Instgramers

There are some really fancy smoothie photographs on Instagram. It has definitely inspired me to try and step up my photo-journal game. Some of the recipes I have tried have been successful, but mostly all of these enticing smoothie pictures keep me on track with my own daily habit.

2. Simple Green Smoothies

This website has a number of excellent smoothie recipes. They also run a 30-day challenge that sends you weekly emails with recipes, shopping lists, and interesting articles and reference material. The next challenge will start 01/01!

3. Quick Guides

I have pinned a number of quick guides, and they have certainly helped me when shopping for ingredients. I don’t always want to follow a specific recipe so it is good to have a general formula to follow. I have stuck pretty close to the 2 cups leafy greens, 1-2 cups of fruit, and 1 cup water.

4. Epica Stainless Steel Drinking Straws, Set of 4- Free Cleaning Brush Included

These stainless steel straws were a recommendation from my friend, Amy. My shipment is already on the way and I cannot wait to try them out. Another benefit of sharing my experiences online is the feedback, encouragement, and suggestions I get from friends and follower to help me build this habit.

Green smoothies are a very hot trend right now, and I am glad to have a place to house all of these great resources. Please share some of your favorite sites in the comments!

Inspiration and Implementation: Blogging

Cori CasnerLeave a comment

Blog Inspiration

I created a blog inspiration board on Pinterest. Out of all of the resources I pinned the 4 listed below have been the most useful in refining my blogging habit.

  1. Inspirational Blogs

The first thing I did when I decided to start a blog was make a list of all the blogs I like and read on a regular basis. Interesting Thing of the Day has been the biggest inspiration to me, because the breadth of topics they cover really speaks to my varied interests. They write about anything that happens to catch their fancy. I don’t love every topic, but I have been a loyal reader for years. They post on a consistent basis which means I always have something interesting to look forward to on uneventful days.

Critically reviewing the blogs that I find inspiring allows me to reflect on the goals I have for my own blog. Now I am reading them for their entertainment value and for ideas to improve the quality of my posts.

2. First Site Guide

The “Start a Blog” section of First Site Guide is very well done. I was drawn to the site because of their fun animation, and stayed for their comprehensive videos. I watched all of the videos in the first week of starting this blog and was able to get all my ducks in a row before I started posting.

3. Resource Libraries

I have found some very thorough resource libraries that I have been putting to good use. It’s hard to know what you don’t know so having access to the A-Z guides has given me a broad overview of topics I am sure will come in handy.

4. Creative Nonfiction

You Can’t Make This Stuff Up: The Complete Guide to Writing Creative Nonfiction–from Memoir to Literary Journalism and Everything in Between by Lee Gutkind and the Creative Nonfiction magazine he founded have bee great resources for “true stories, well told.” I am trying to develop great content, but I also need to present it in a way that potential readers find compelling. I just started reading Gutkind’s book, but I can already tell it was a great choice!

The magazine is actually running an essay contest that might be a fun challenge for me. Building this habit is supposed to get me out of my comfort zone and I have never entered an essay contest before!

These resources have been extremely helpful in getting this blog off the ground. They have provided a great foundation for my blog and improved the content of my posts.

Do you have any great writing or blogging resources? Please share them in the comments below!

Inspiration and Implementation: Meditation

Cori CasnerLeave a comment

InspirationBoard_Meditation

My friends are sharing some great meditation resources with me, and my own research is turning up a number of great books, sites, videos, and imagery. I have created a Pinterest account dedicated to my new habits that will house all of the various media I am collecting so that I don’t lose track of anything. Listed below are the Top 5 Meditation Resources I have found so far.

  1. The Honest Guys

I have been following the Honest Guys for a few years now and they consistently produce high quality guided meditations. I really enjoy the guided meditations that have a purpose like Deep Relaxation or Breathing Exercise. However, their crowning achievement is their Middle Earth Meditation series. 10 guided meditations that transport you to the Shire! It really helped me to get into meditation last year because it was a unique experience, and I still felt relaxed and refreshed afterwards.

2.  Andy Puddicombe’s TED Talk: All it takes is 10 mindful minutes

This presentation really helps to demystify meditation, and his juggling analogy is wonderfully accessible. A friend from work sent me this link, and after I watched it I realized I had seen it before. It was even better the second time around.

3.  Fulfillment Daily

I am cultivating this habit for the practical benefits to my overall health and well-being. When I was researching different studies that objectively analyzed the benefits of meditation I found an article written by Emma Seppala who is the founder of Fulfillment Daily. The site was created “to inspire you with tools for a fulfilling life through science-backed news you can trust.” This is exactly the type of information I was searching for, and I have really enjoyed browsing through their posts.

4.  Insight Timer

This is the meditation app that Glenna, from the open meditation session I attended, shared with me. I have used this app almost daily for my meditation practice. The paid version of the app is well worth the $3 I spent. The bells are a great way to recenter, and I have started to dabble in the guided meditation section as well. Another neat feature allows you to see all the other people using the app around the world. Currently, there are 496 people meditating worldwide with Insight Timer.

5.  Let That Shit Go

This is a fun print that I found on Pinterest that really captures my goal for my meditation practice. I will be adding the shirt version to my incentive and plan to buy it after I hit the 66 day mark!

I hope you have found these resources as useful as I have! I will be sure to keep adding to my Meditation Monday board as I find new and interesting tools for my practice so be sure to follow along!