I love jewelry because jewelry always fits whether you gain 2lbs or 20.

And when jewelry is also fit, I’m sold!

Sarah Wilson, the founder and jewelry designer behind Fashletics (where Strength Is Style), invited me to take a look around her site. It took me about 2 seconds to find something for myself…

…and a few gifts.

I think my sister-in-law, Dawn who ran her first 1/2 marathon a few weeks ago (Yeah, Dawn!), and Shay who is training for her first marathon this year, both need this charm:

But I digress.

I happen to think Sarah, our silver medalist, is a triple threat. Not only is she an incredible artist, but an athlete and personal trainer, too. So it is no surprise that her jewelry mirrors her passion for fitness.

There’s something for just about everyone on Fashletics.com, from runners, to lifters, to kettlebellers, to cross-fitters. And, if you want something custom like a Fitness & Spice logo (wink, wink) or race date, for example, you can get that, too.

Swing by and check them out!

Now I really must grab a quick bite and go to the gym so I can earn my silver metal!

I was busting out some cardio in the gym last week while the Today Show was on the television screen in front of me.

Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford were rambling on about something but I was listening to my iPod and gasping for my next breath so I have no clue what they were talking about.

What I did notice was a pink ring Hoda was wearing. As soon as my workout was over I ran drove home and Googled “Hoda pink ring” and the information magically appeared.

In honor of Today Show host and breast cancer survivor Hoda Kotb, NBC created a specially designed symbol of hope, Hoda’s Forward Ring.

Each ring is embossed with the word “forward” along with a breast cancer ribbon. If you’d like to grab one, they can be purchased online for $5 plus shipping. For each ring sold through June 2010, NBC will donate $2 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Great ring. Great message. Great cause.

Now I really must go ring in today with a really great workout!

I don’t typically wear lifting gloves when I workout because:

• I think calluses are wicked cool
• They can be a bit of a hassle when you only really need them for heavy lifts and not your entire workout
• I lose gloves like socks (meaning I have plenty of gloves and socks without mates) and sporting the Michael Jackson look in the gym is not cool

But lately I’ve been using these great little Lynx Performance Grips that Angela regifted ;-) gave me a few months ago.

I think they’re great because:

• They’re tacky. And by tacky I don’t mean cheesy, I mean they adhere to the bar and the palm of your hand with ease
• They are the perfect solution for when your hands are sweaty or slippery from slapping on way too much body lotion before you workout
• Sometimes your grip strength gives out before your muscles do (for me that’s lifts like deadlifts, chin ups, and pull ups)
• They’re affordable! You can find them online at sites like GNC or 24 Hour Fitness for about $10
• They come in pink! (They also have other colors like black, blue, orange, and red)

Now I really must go grab a bite and get a hold of Ang to thank her for such a tacky gift!

I have a lot of brilliant ideas.

About a year ago I was dead set on designing a line of quality jewelry for fitness fanatics to wear to, from, and around the gym. But now I don’t have to because Gym Gems designed the jewelry for me. Which was helpful since I don’t know a thing about jewelry design.

I’ve been stalking Gym Gems in fitness magazines, visiting their web site, and adding them on my Christmas wish list for awhile now. A few weeks ago, I finally decided to just go ahead and treat myself to a charm from their online store.

I bought this fabulous little dumbbell charm and I have to say it was worth the weight! I also have to say that my picture does not do it justice. Gym Gems carries all sorts of charms, necklaces, rings, and bracelets, too if you want to check them out.

Now I really must go to the gym and lift some more precious metal.

I’ve been there, done that, and bought too many t-shirts. The worst part? I rarely wear t-shirts.

Yesterday would have been a good day to wear one of the many t-shirts I own because apparently it was wear-your-favorite-t-shirt-day at the gym. I did not get the memo.

World’s Greatest Grandma was in the house.

No Pain No Spain..Well, he was there, too. He’s either still training for or celebrating the 1992 Olympic Games, I can’t be sure.

Not Only Am I’m Perfect, I’m Italian, too. How can you argue with that, right, Dad? I’m not going to lie, the guy smelled of garlic…either that, or the Olive Garden that happens to be across the street from the gym fired up the oven a little early.

Superman was at the gym, too. Who knew the man of steel worked out in Omaha, Nebraska?

I’m pretty much a tank top wearing kind of girl. Usually the words Adidas, Nike, Under Armour, or Champion appear on my shirts. Although, some days I bust out my Grumpy tank that I bought on a trip to Disney. And, sometimes, I’ll wear the t-shirt that the cool kids at L.A. Boxing sent me…

I love, love, love this shirt, but truth be told, the only thing my gym can beat another gym at is bingo, but that’s a story for another day.

Now I really must go…

You know how we’re always being told that every time we change the clocks forward or backwards we should change the batteries in our smoke detectors? Well, I propose that we do that, AND use daylight savings time as a reminder to spring for some new gym shoes.

If you’re like me, a cross-trainer, then you should be buying new kicks every 6 months, according to Women’s Health Magazine.

If you’re not like me, and you’re a runner, I’ve read you should be getting new shoes every 300+ miles.

So, if you’re overdue for new shoes like I was, I suggest you run to the store and score some new duds. Your feet will thank you.

Now I really must go change my batteries, put my new shoes on, and spring forward to the gym!

Sweating is sexy…in the movies. Sweating is not so sexy when:

• You left your sweat on the bench I was about to use at the gym
• You spent an hour in the steam room and then decided to join us in the gym to workout
• It turns the armpits of your wife-beater t-shirts yellow
• You stink

Solutions? Use a towel to clean up after yourself, then wash said towel and your gym clothes in a product like Tide with Febreze Sport. If you read fitness magazines, you might have noticed advertisements for new fangled Tide. So did I.

So, this weekend when I was fresh out of laundry detergent, I scooped up some of this new Tide. I have to say it smells as it should…good and clean! According to my label it has an Active Fresh Scent. I’ve never smelled Active Fresh Scent before so I’m going to take their word for this one.

Febreze also makes a spray for sprucing up all of the stanky stuff you can’t stuff in the washing machine like gym bags, gym shoes, and equipment. So, if you’ve ever left used gym socks in your gym bag overnight, this stuff just might be for you, smelly. Oh, and did I mention Febreeze Sport is an Official Locker Room Product of the NFL?  I wonder if the Tide sports collection is the Official Locker Room Product of the White Sox? (ba-doom-boom!)

Now I really must go put on my Active Fresh Scented gym clothes and do another load of…deadlifts.

Yesterday we spent some time focusing on What Not To Wear to the gym…time well spent, if you ask me. Let’s move on to What to Wear to the Gym.

I think we all agree with the 3 C’s of Gym Attire: Comfort (within reason people!), Coverage, and Cleanliness are ckey, I mean, key.

So let’s talk about our favorite workout clothes. I’ll go first.

• I do not workout without my dri-fit Nike black hat. I have a collection of them, all the same style and color. I am a head-sweater, perhaps it’s because I have more hair than necessary or I have some sort of overactive sweat glands or something funky like that, but that’s a subject for another article.
• One of my favorite sweatshirts was a Christmas gift from my friend Sheila. It’s a Nike pink, black, and white zip up, hoodie with a cute little pocket to hold my iPod. It’s the perfect weight. And a pretty good gift. I’m sure Sheila agrees since she bought herself one, too.
• I also have a handful of dri-fit tank tops from Reebok and Athleta that I’m loving right now. They have a built in pocket for an iPod, too, which is great so I’m not spending my entire workout chasing my iPod when I should be focusing on chasing wardrobe violators my workout.

Since I am in workout clothes 6, OK, 7 days a week, I’m looking to go on a new workout wardrobe shopping spree (right Julie, right Heather?) so I’d love to hear about some of your favorite workout clothes. Give me the scoop, brands, style, you name it!

Now I really must go make like a Puma, put on my Under Armour, and workout like a Champion!

Welcome to TFS (The Fitness & Spice) version of What Not to Wear…to the gym!

I thought we should have “the talk”… about inappropriate gym attire. I’m not the fashionista when it comes to my gym wardrobe but I don’t (always) look like I just rolled out of bed either. When you look good, you feel good, right? So the same should apply when you workout.

Here are a few things you might NOT want to wear to the gym:

• Jeans (not even those crazy Pajama Jeans you talk about all the time, Suzanne!)
• Jean shorts. Just to be clear.
  
• The shoes you were wearing when you just mowed the lawn or shoveled the driveway. Thankyouverymuch.
• Collared shirts are acceptable on the golf course, but should be outlawed at the gym.
• Wife beaters. Also known as undershirts. They are under shirts for a reason.
• Pajama bottoms. Seriously? You have nothing else to wear?
• Marlboro t-shirts. Enough said.
• Short-shorts. Who wears short-shorts…really!

My point is you should be both presentable and comfortable in the gym…but not too comfortable.

Now I really must go pitch this show to TLC and hand out a few tickets for wardrobe violations.

Today’s blog post is inspired by my BetterU blog post when I said something really clever like: Now I really must go study for week 2 of BetterU…I want my GPA to be like my blood type and my attitude: B-positive!

Truth be told, that’s not really my blood type and I am not always positive (hold your comments to the end).

The people at Alexa’s Angels believe:

“Attitude is a choice and posi+ivi+y is contagious”

Who am I to argue with that? As a matter of fact, I believe it! If I’m crabby I really hate it when people say, “It takes just as much energy to be miserable as it does to be happy.” But that’s true, too, isn’t it? To make sure I get this day off on the right foot, I’m going to be positively positive in fact…

• I am positive that I am going to reach my SMART goals I set for myself this week.
• I am positive my workout is going to rock today.
• I am positive that the most amazing person in the world is reading Fitness & Spice right now.

Alexa’s Angels created posi+ivi+y bracelets in sets of three to make sure positive energy is shared.

So, I thought I’d follow their lead and share 2 of my bracelets with two of you. Want to WIN one of my bracelets? Then take this Random Acts of Fitness & Spice challenge and finish this sentence:

“I am positive………”

Enter your positively positive statement in the comments section below by 11:59 EST on Wednesday, February 10^th and the TWO winners will be announced on Thursday.

Now I really must go put on my bracelet and hit the gym. I hope you have a positively amazing day!