warm up

A smooth cardio track to get your blood pumping:

The Temper Trap - Resurrection

workout

These tracks are meant to fire you up and push you through your entire workout. Starting with Arcade Fire, you better be ready to move! This song will give you the bounce in your step as you get the workout started. Kanye West’s Power remix is perfectly placed in the middle of the workout. You’ve got the power! Finishing up with Drake, let the song speak to you and how hard you worked. Let your workout make you feel like the greatest and unforgettable!

Arcade Fire - Ready to Start
Yeasayer - O.N.E.
CEO - White Magic
Sleigh Bells - Tell ‘Em
Kanye West - Power
LCD Soundsystem - I Can Change
Robyn - Dancing On My Own
Mark Ronson - You Gave Me Nothing
Drake - Unforgettable ft. Young Jeezy

cardio wrap up

Some steady beats that’ll push you through the cardio wrap up of your workout. As you finish up your cardio, know that the dog days are over! Let this remix of Florence + the Machine’s hit allow you to embrace the hard work of the workout and know that it’s over!

CEO - Come With Me
Bag Raiders - Sunlight
Deadmau5 - Animal Rights
Florence + the Machine - Dog Days Are Over

stretch

Three tracks that’ll help you stretch out and cool down from your workout. The final song on this playlist, by Jonsi, will put a smile on your face as you finish up. Take in all you’ve done today and reap the benefits of a great workout!

Yeasayer - Madder Red
Mumford & Sons - Awake my Soul
Jonsi - Around Us

What were your favourite tracks to warm up, sweat, and cool down to in 2010?

The big race is almost here! You’ve done the hard training. So how are you going to make this your best race yet?

A proper warm-up may be your secret weapon to race success.

The start of any big race is like a battle for the best racing position. There will be lots of excited runners prepared to blast off from the starting line and you need to be one of them. A good start will help you avoid people traffic and lead you along the road to a great race. If your body isn’t prepared to run fast right from the starting gun your cold muscles will be forced to work overtime to function. The race can go from an all-time best to an all-time worst very quickly thanks to gridlock and early fatigue.

change your tune

The good news is you can change your racing fate. Your muscles are just like your car: You’d never turn on the engine and immediately speed down the highway, so why do this to your body? Get your motor running with a good warm-up before hitting the highway, or in this case the racecourse.

Finding your perfect warm-up requires a bit of trial and error but here are a few tips and tricks to help you along the way.

45-50 minutes before: Begin with 10-15 minutes of easy jogging to slowly elevate your heart rate.

30-35 minutes before: Follow-up with some stretching and 50-metre strides to help prepare your body for a fast start.

20 minutes before: Use the porta-potty (believe me do this even if you don’t need to) and change into your racing shoes.

10 minutes before: Head to the starting line and complete a few more strides.

5 minutes before: As people accumulate along the starting line bounce on the spot and shake out your legs to keep your muscles warm.

A proper warm up will get your engine going so that you'll have a great race from the start! Good luck in your next race!

playing in pilates

Meet Heather.

Heather is an educator at our downtown San Diego Showroom. She is a dancer, former USC song girl, a sweat enthusiast, and a San Diego Charger girl hopeful!

Getting ready for tryouts and enjoying spring, she loves the Principle Jacket for warm-ups, to and from pilates, and of course random tricep dips.

Meet Emily.

Emily is a pilates instructor and an ambassador for our downtown San Diego Showroom.

Emily and Heather are good friends, and Em has vowed to help Heather tone up for the Charger tryouts. Also a former dancer and rolling with Heather, it goes without saying that Emily herself has a bit of spice, and a definite sashay in her step.

Emily tends to get cold during lessons. Being spring in San Diego she's retired her Remix Hoodie for daytime, and has recruited the Principle Jacket as a light option to keep her warm. The jacket is made of our signature luon fabric, which means Emily can sweat and move with Heather confidently knowing it will wick right up.

Emily is free to move with Heather, but still feel and show that she's in charge. Make her sweat Em!

After torturing Heather for an hour, they somehow resolve to remain friends and take a few minutes to relax, and discuss Heather's next step in becoming a Charger Girl.

playing with details

A great feature of the Principle jacket is its flexible, moldable collar, which is ribbed for texture and structure.

There are dozens of ways to wear this collar. Here are three of the favourites: 1. Unzip it and open it up for a little colour and to welcome a breeze. 2. Zip it almost to the top to keep your neck and chest warm.  3. Zip it halfway and fold it over to let your shoulders and neck breathe.

The back of the jacket definitely adds a bit of sass to your day. Tyra Banks would probably see you from behind, shake her finger and mumble, "girl is fieerrrcce."

There is also a long zipper around your wrists that can be opened and closed to accommodate your changing body temperature.

playing with wear

Heather is 5'6", a size 6 and is wearing:

• The Principle Jacket in Black/Senorita Pink
• Paired with a Modern Racer Tunic in Senorita Pink
• And her favourite Gather and Crow Crops in Black

She is also wearing Converse shoes (not available through lululemon)

Emily is 5'8", a size 4 and is wearing:

• The Principle Jacket in Coal/White
• Paired with a Modern Racer Tunic in Black
• And Wunder Groove Crops in Black/Splatter Stripe

She is also wearing Toms shoes (not available through lululemon)

Anna is 5'9", a size 8 and is wearing:

• The Principle Jacket in Coal/White
• Paired with a Power Y Tank in Chirp
• And finally Wunder Under Crops in black

How you will play with the Principle Jacket?

step one

Find your way into a standing kneel with your knees hip-width apart. Make sure that your thighs are perpendicular to the floor, and that your ankles are in line with your knees. Draw your breath up tall through your torso, and press your shins and the tops of your feet into the mat for stability.

step two

Rest your hands flat against the back of your pelvis with your fingers pointing down. Use your hands to support and lengthen the back pelvis as you stretch up through the front of your body. Pressing your tailbone forward in line with your knees, begin to open your face and heart up towards the ceiling. Remember to take deep, calming breaths. For some, this will be as far as you need to go. Enjoy the feelings of stretching and expanding through your front body! Hold here only as long as it feels comfortable if it's your first time. Eventually you may be able to build up to thirty seconds, or even a minute.

step three

For a fuller expression of Camel pose, continue opening up your heart, bringing your head closer to your feet by lengthening your spine against the support of your tail bone and shoulder blades. You may be able to lower your hands to rest lightly against your heels. Try not to push too far forwards or compress too much backwards - think of keeping space in the bend with your thighs perpendicular. Stay and enjoy the rush of this pose for anywhere from thirty seconds to a minute.

To exit, support your back pelvis with your hands as you lift and strengthen back up through your torso, leading with your heart first. Relax into a wide, seated kneel with your body folded forwards and arms stretched out ahead of you on the mat ("Child's pose") for a few breaths afterward. You may notice that Camel pose will stir up bits of stagnant energy or tension in your system. Breathe through the "carbonated" feeling and use it to energize your ski runs, or as a final release before you hit the ski lodge for a hot cup of cocoa!

Do you enjoy snowboarding as well? Check out our yoga for snowboarding post and add a brand-new yoga pose to your snow sporting arsenal!