pump me up!

If you work out, you know that good music can make or break your workout. Personally, I’m always on the lookout for new songs to keep my feet moving. Here are some of my favs when I’m in the mood for a K-pop-a-licious workout.

Warm-up

Big Bang – Love song. It starts off slow but I find it’s a good song to ease me into cardio. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKZEmLvYVF0

Verbal Jint – Perfect Day. This song makes me so happy! Listening to it in the mornings gets my day started on the right track.

Cardio

Jo Kwon- I’m da one. Jo Kwon is so quirky and upbeat he makes me want to dance, but I’ll settle for the treadmill. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWgH0DsD0pQ

Tasty – You know me. I cannot say how much I love this song. Or, more accurately, the twins’ dancing. They’ll never be able to teach me how to dance if I’m huffing and puffing. Cardio UP!

Teen Top – Supa Luv. This song has a great beat and the rhythm is perfect for jogging. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boQFnQAaCZc

Sistar – So cool. I mostly just added this song because I noticed I had no female singers on this list. Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pj3q0ZChgFE

U-kiss – Te Amo. I do cardio so that when I finally meet U-Kiss I can chase Eli down singing this song. Motivation! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxumtpLkyl4

Super Junior – Super Girl. LeeTeuk from SJ has enlisted in the Korean Army *sigh*. I figure when he gets out we’d better be in equally as good shape.

Weights

Younique – Maxstep. This is actually a brand new song so I haven’t been listening to it for long. The group is made up of members from several different groups (including my second favourite member of SJ!). So far it definitely gets me pumped up!

BAP – No Mercy. Someday, I want to be as tough as BAP “,) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hzz4mGyehw

2NE1 – I am the Best. After the gajillionth time hearing it, the bratatata’s still get me goin’! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7_lSP8Vc3o

G-Dragon – One of a Kind. So me and G-D are homies and we like to do badass things together. Like pump iron.

Cool-down

BoA – One dream. An inspirational song. I need inspiration to do abs and stretching after a hard workout!

Big Bang – Ego. A nice winding-down song that doesn’t put me to sleep.  Plus, beginning and ending my workout with Big Bang makes me a happy girl. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-oj33ZnAlQ

This is not the full playlist, obviously but I thought I’d share some gems with you :)! Please send more pump-up music my way too!

knew it!

I knew this would happen!! Just like my countless journals, my good intentions to write regularly don’t seem to be enough for me to actually keep it up for more than a few months. So I am making a new, more realistic goal of writing a blog at least once a month.

I think the main reason why I haven’t written is that my life doesn’t seem all that different than my life back in Canada, so why would anybody want to read about it? There are definitely some distinct differences, such as holidays and the whole language thing, but for the most part my day to day life is not all that ‘foreign’. I have a new kindergarten class, with 12 gorgeous 4-year-olds and I moved into a larger apartment (no more living in a shoebox!). I still go to the gym regularly and have started going to Judo practices once or twice a week.

Practicing our backwards break falls. I never knew falling was so technical.

The weekends usually bring about some kind of excitement, whether it be partying, shopping or just wearing flip flops to the corner store for the first time of the season (like today :D!!). This weekend was a big one, being St. Patrick’s day. I went with some friends on an all-you-can-drink booze cruise which was lots of fun but could have been longer.

This past Wednesday was a Korean holiday called “White Day”. Basically, on Valentines Day the girls get their boyfriends candy and presents and treat him really nice for a month until March 14, when the boyfriend gets them candy and gifts. And if you’re dating a Korean woman, it had better be a really nice gift. I only got a couple lollipops, but it still made my day :).

It’s White Day in Japan too!

I’ll leave you with one more K-pop video that I actually like. The music isn’t stellar but the story is super cute and there are some nice shots of (what I assume is) Seoul.