| How to Stay Entertained on a Treadmill Posted: 10 May 2018 05:00 PM PDT If you work out using a treadmill, it can sometimes be difficult to stay motivated. To remain dedicated to your treadmill routine, you can mix entertainment with your workout to prevent yourself from becoming bored. Try listening to music, reading a magazine or book, listening to an audiobook, or watching a TV in the gym. You can also develop a variety of different workouts to make your daily routine more exciting. EditSwitching up Your Workout Routine - Do interval training. Spend 1-5 minutes doing hard, fast, or steep running on the treadmill followed by 1-5 minutes of slower, less steep, or easier jogging or walking. Continue to alternate between the 2 types for your entire workout. This will allow you to get a more effective cardio workout in less time.
- Try running a fartlek on the treadmill. A fartlek is a style of running which mixes hard, intense running with easier, relaxing periods of jogging. Use the treadmill controls to increase the incline and difficulty periodically. You can incorporate the visual environment into the fartlek: increase the difficulty when you see someone wearing red, and decrease when you see someone wearing blue.[1]
- For example, if you're watching TV, adjust the treadmill setting to be very difficult every commercial break, and then ease things up again during the program. Or switch this up: make it easy during the commercials and tough during the show.
- Gradually increase the difficulty with a "boil the frog" run. This workout gradually increases in difficulty as time passes. Begin your run at a comfortable rate. Then, every 10 minutes, make the run a little harder. Press the "Increase speed" button once or twice, and bump up the incline by 1 percent. After 30 minutes, you'll be running at top speed. Then, gradually slow back down to a comfortable jog.[2]
- Since you'll start out on an easy setting, the run won't be as immediately unpleasant as if you'd started on a difficult setting.
- Go to the gym with a friend. Motivating yourself to go to the gym—and work out once you're there—can be challenging. Running on the treadmill with a friend will help motivate you to work out in the first place, and will give you something to do while running. The two of you can chat or listen to the same songs.[3]
- If you and your friend both feel a little bored at the gym, you could try to race one another, or keep track of who has run more miles overall.
- Set daily exercise goals. Setting and working toward a daily goal can keep you entertained and focused throughout your workout. Set goals that determine the length of your workout, the distance you run or walk, or the amount of calories you burn.
- For example, if you ran yesterday, set a goal to run today.
EditListening to Music or Audio Content - Listen to high-BPM music during your workout. In addition to keeping you entertained, music can motivate you to push yourself harder during your workout routine. Select a variety of rock or dance songs for your playlist that fall between 120 and 140 beats per minute (BPM). Songs with fast tempos that fall within this BPM range will help maintain your energy and motivation during your workout.[4]
- Play music on your stereo if you work out at home, or listen to music using your portable or digital music player and headphones at the local gym.
- Songs with a BPM between 120 and 140 include: "Starships" by Nicki Minaj, "Best Day of my Life" by American Authors, "Raise Your Glass" by Pink, and "Eye of the Tiger" by Voyager.
- Check out a list of the top 100 running songs at https://www.sparkpeople.com/blog/blog.asp?post=the_top_100_running_songs_of_all_time.
- Switch up your exercise playlist weekly. No matter how fun and upbeat your standard exercise and treadmill songs are, you'll get tired of them eventually. Keep yourself motivated—and stave off boredom—by adding a few new songs to your treadmill playlist every week.[5]
- You can make your own playlists, or look on a streaming site like Spotify or Pandora. These sites have popular exercise playlists that update frequently. Or, ask some friends for their treadmill playlists.
- For example, try upbeat songs like: "Born to Run" by Bruce Springsteen, "Lose Yourself" by Eminem, "Beautiful Day" by U2, or "Dog Days are Over" by Florence and the Machine.[6]
- Cue certain songs to change the pace of your run. Designate certain songs or artists on your music playlist that require you to run or walk faster when they are played. Try putting 3 fast, upbeat songs in a row, and following these up with a slower rock song. Run at a fast rate during the pop songs, and slow down to a medium jog for the rock.[7] This will keep you from getting bored, and ensure that you run at a variety of speeds.
- Or, if you keep your playlist on shuffle, increase your treadmill speed whenever songs by a specific artist are played.
- For example, start out with "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk (116 BMP), and follow it with "Can't Hold Us" by Macklemore and "Fight for Your Right" by the Beastie Boys (146 and 135 BPM, respectively). Then slow things down a little with "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor (109 BPM).[8]
- Listen to an interesting podcast series. If you spend many hours per week on the treadmill, at some point you may want to listen to something a little more intellectually engaging than top-40 radio. Try out a few different types of podcasts to see which holds your attention while you're running and working out.[9]
- Podcasts exist on nearly every topic imaginable. Check the iTunes store, or look to find podcasts that stream online.
- Try audiobooks if reading while running is a challenge. Some people love to read while jogging on a treadmill, while others find it too difficult to keep their place and focus on the page. Audiobooks are a great alternative, especially if you're running for longer stretches of time.
- You can stop at a cliffhanger in an engrossing novel, and you'll be eager to pick up where you left off during your next treadmill session!
- Download audiobook files to your phone or tablet, or use a portable CD player.
EditEnjoying Visual Entertainment - Watch a sitcom for short, fast runs. If you're planning a fast-paced run, you'll need to find a show that keeps your attention. Sitcoms are useful to watch since their plots are brief and self-contained, and you don't have to watch each episode in sequential order. Watching a sitcom or short, light drama is a great way to keep your mind distracted so you can jog for a few miles on the treadmill.[10]
- For a fast-paced run, try a sitcom with 30-minute episodes like Friends, How I Met Your Mother, or Modern Family.
- Select a dramatic TV show for longer, slower runs. For a long-distance workout, look for an engrossing drama or other hour-long show. The length of the episodes will force you to run for 45 minutes to an hour, and the show's plot will take your mind off of the difficulty of the workout.[11]
- Try attention-grabbing dramas like Game of Thrones, The Crown, or Grey's Anatomy.
- Make a fun game out of watching other people at your gym. If you're tired of electronic media, try people-watching instead. Play variations of counting games during every workout. For example, count the number of people wearing a certain brand of athletic shoes throughout your workout.[12]
- Or, count the number of people wearing a specific shirt color. Keep track and try to beat your record the next time you're at the gym.
- When watching TV on the treadmill, experiment with different genres of TV to see what works best for you. If watching a dramatic reality show doesn't hold your interest on the treadmill, try watching a horror show or high-stakes thriller instead.
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| How to Stop Your Shoes from Squeaking Posted: 10 May 2018 09:00 AM PDT Squeaky shoes can be embarrassing and annoying. The squeaking noises can be caused by the bottoms of the shoes, the insoles that are inside of the shoes, or the outer parts of the shoes. Fortunately, regardless of where the squeaking is coming from, you can usually fix the problem yourself right at home. EditQuick Summary To stop the insoles in your shoes from squeaking, take them out and sprinkle baby powder underneath them. If it's the bottoms of your shoes that are squeaking, rub them with a dryer sheet so they're not as slick. If it's the outer parts of your shoes that are squeaking, try lubricating them with a shoe conditioning oil or hanging them up somewhere to dry. For more ways to stop your shoes from squeaking, like using coconut oil or sandpaper, read on! EditFixing Squeaky Insoles - Sprinkle baby powder underneath the insoles in your shoes. If your insoles are moving around a lot when you're walking, that could be why your shoes are making squeaking noises. Pull out the insoles, sprinkle some baby powder inside of your shoes, and then put the insoles back in. The baby powder will help reduce the friction between your insoles and shoes so they don't squeak as much.[1]
- If you don't have baby powder, you can use talcum powder or cornstarch instead.
- If your shoes don't have removable insoles, sprinkle the baby powder along the seams of the insoles instead of underneath them.
- Try putting paper towels underneath the insoles. Fold 2 paper towels so they're small enough to fit inside your shoes and then slip them underneath the insoles. Putting a paper towel underneath your insoles will help prevent them from moving around and squeaking as much when you're walking.[2]
- If you don't have paper towels available, try using napkins or dryer sheets instead.
- You may want to change out the paper towels after you wear your shoes a few times so they don't start to smell.
- Apply coconut oil under the insoles if your shoes are still squeaking. Remove the insoles and rub coconut oil on the bottom of the inside of your shoes. Then, reinsert the insoles. Coconut oil can help lubricate your insoles so they're less likely to squeak when they move around.[3]
- You only need to apply a thin layer of coconut oil to your shoes.
- You may need to reapply the oil if your shoes start squeaking again later on.
EditStopping Shoe Bottoms from Squeaking - Rub the bottoms of your shoes with a dryer sheet. If your shoes squeak when you walk on smooth surfaces like tile or hardwood floors, it could be because the bottoms are too slick. Go over the bottoms a few times with a dryer sheet to make them less slick so they don't squeak as much.[4]
- You may need to rub the bottoms of your shoes with a dryer sheet every few times you wear them so they don't start squeaking again.
- Try roughing up the bottoms of your shoes with sandpaper. Gently go over the bottoms with a piece of fine sandpaper until they feel slightly rough to the touch. Sandpaper can make the bottoms of your shoes less smooth and polished so they don't squeak as much when you walk around in them.[5]
- You can find fine sandpaper online or at your local hardware store.
- Make sure you use a fine sandpaper that's 120-220 grit so you don't scratch up your shoes too much.
- Use super glue to reattach the bottoms of your shoes if they're loose. If there is a gap between the bottom and the upper part of one of your shoes, fill in the gap with super glue and then clamp it down until the glue dries. Loose shoe bottoms can also cause squeaking noises when you walk, so reattaching them may solve the problem.[6]
- If you don't have clamps, try setting something heavy on your shoe or wrapping rubber bands around it to hold the bottom and upper part of the shoe in place.
- Let the super glue dry for 24 hours before wearing your shoes.
EditFixing Squeaking on the Outside of Shoes - Apply a conditioning oil to your shoes if the outsides are squeaking. Sometimes, shoes squeak because the material on the outside of the shoes rubs together. If you notice the outsides of your shoes squeaking every time you take a step, try rubbing a conditioning oil into the outer parts of the shoes so they're lubricated and less likely to squeak.[7]
- Make sure you use a conditioning oil designed for your shoe type. For example, if your shoes are made out of leather, you'll want to use a leather conditioning oil.
- Keep in mind that the conditioning oil will fade over time. If your shoes start to squeak again, reapply the oil.
- You can find conditioning oil online or at your local shoe store.
- Put saddle soap on the tongues if the squeaking is coming from the laces. Saddle soap is a conditioning cream that can be used to lubricate shoes. If the tongues on your shoes are rubbing against the laces and making squeaking noises, rub saddle soap onto the front side of the tongues to make the squeaking stop.[8]
- You can order saddle soap online. If you don't want to order saddle soap, try applying a conditioning oil to the tongues instead.
- You may need to reapply the saddle soap after the first application wears off.
- Try drying your shoes if moisture is causing the squeaking. Moisture trapped inside of shoes can cause them to squeak. There are a couple of ways you can dry out your shoes so they don't squeak anymore, including:[9]
- Hanging them in a dry, warm location. A laundry room or a spot near a fireplace are both good places you can hang your shoes to dry.
- Stuffing them with newspaper. Newspaper will absorb any moisture that's in your shoes. Tightly stuff your shoes with crumpled balls of newspaper and leave them in a warm, dry place overnight.
EditThings You'll Need EditFixing Squeaky Insoles - Baby powder
- Paper towels
- Coconut oil
EditStopping Shoe Bottoms from Squeaking - Dryer sheets
- Sandpaper
- Super glue
- Clamp
EditFixing Squeaking on the Outside of Shoes - Conditioning oil
- Saddle soap
- Newspaper
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| How to Make Mother's Day Gifts Posted: 10 May 2018 01:00 AM PDT Would you like to treat your mom even though you're strapped for cash? There are plenty of gifts that you can make for Mother's Day. If she needs some relaxing time alone, consider making her a gift that pampers her. You can also make her jewelry or her favorite food. If you're really creative, a craft is a great Mother's Day gift. As long as it's from the heart, she'll love it! EditMaking Gifts that Pamper Her - Create homemade lip balm. Mix 3 parts of liquid oil and 1 part beeswax in a Pyrex measuring cup or heatproof canning jar. Set the jar in a pan with a few inches of water and slowly heat the water until it all melts together. Add a few drops of essential oil and mix it. Then pour the balm into tubes or tins and let set until completely cool.[1]
- Good choices for your liquid oil include castor oil, avocado oil, olive oil, and coconut oil. Castor oil will make her lips feel really smooth, so it's great if she's got chapped lips.
- You can safely add peppermint, spearmint, sweet orange, lemon, lime, and vanilla absolute essential oils for both scent and taste. Just pick your mom's favorite!
- Make custom bath salts. If she likes to take luxurious baths, make her custom bath salts. Pour 2 cups (16 ounces) of Epsom salt into an airtight container. Then add a few drops of essential oil and close the lid. Shake the container until the oil has completely coated the salt.[2]
- Choose your oils based on what you want the salts to do for your mom. Peppermint and lavender are good for stress relief and citrus is energizing. You can also choose your scents based on what your mom's favorites are.
- You can also add a few drops of food coloring to color the salts. This is an especially good idea if you plan on storing the salts in a clear container.
- Make hand and foot lotion with her favorite scents. Nothing feels more pampering than good hand or foot lotion. Heat 1/4 cup (2 ounces) coconut oil, 1/8 cup (1 ounce) shea butter, and 1/8 cup cocoa butter over low heat until it melts together. Remove the pot from the heat, and then add (0.5 ounces) of your choice of liquid oil – avocado oil, olive oil, or coconut oil – and 5 to 10 drops of your mom's favorite essential oil. Mix everything together, then pour the mixture into your choice of container and let it cool. Keep a lid on the container.[3]
- Small canning jars are a great container to use for homemade lotions. These lotions are generally too thick to use in jars with pumps.
- You can write the name or scent of the lotion on a little tag, then punch a hole in the corner of the tag and run a piece of ribbon through it. Tie the ribbon around the neck of the container.
- Make her a coupon book. Write each coupon on one piece of paper. Then punch a hole in the corner of the paper. Run a piece of ribbon through the hole and tie it tight. You can also staple the pages together. You can also download templates for coupon ideas off the internet.[4]
- Coupons for free massages, cleaning the dishes or your room, performing extra chores, or letting your mom pick the movie for a movie night are all great coupon ideas.
EditMaking Jewelry - Make her a homemade wire ring. You should use 16 or 18 gauge wire, which can be found at any home improvement store. Cut the wire down to about 3 inches (7.6 cm). Use round-nose pliers to make loops facing opposite directions on the ends of the wire. One loop should curl up, the other should curl down. Wrap the wire around something sturdy and round, like a dowel rod or even a mascara bottle.[5]
- You can add beads to the wire before you loop it to add a little more flair to the ring.
- Don't worry about making this too small – wire rings are adjustable.
- Design her some earrings. You can make your own stud earrings, or use wire to create a dangling design. Purchase stud backs from any craft store and hot glue anything to the front of them, making instant earrings.[6]
- You can glue pearls to stud earrings for an elegant look. You can also use something like colorful gems or buttons for a more playful set of earrings.
- You can also make wire earrings. Cut a piece of jewelry wire to the length you want the earring to be plus 1 inch (2.5 cm). Bend the wire about 1 inch from the end so it forms the hook that will go in your mom's ear. Loop the bottom of the wire so the beads don't fall off. Then place beads on the wire in the design you like.
- Make her a necklace. Necklaces are also really easy to make. You can pick up chains from the craft store, then spend time adding beads or charms your mom will love. You can also customize it by drilling on a hole in small objects, inserting a jump ring, and closing it around the chain.[7]
- For example, you can use a seashell you found on a family vacation, drill a hole in it, and add it to a chain for a great piece of jewelry and a fun memory!
EditPreparing Food for Her - Serve her breakfast in bed. Start your mom's day off right by serving her breakfast in bed. There are so many different ways you can do this. It can be as simple as pouring her a bowl of cereal and a glass of juice and bringing it to her on a tray. Or you can make a full breakfast – scrambled eggs, pancakes, bacon – and serve it on pretty dishes.
- Make a special dinner. If your mom really isn't a morning person, consider making her a special dinner instead. You can try a new recipe, or you can get some help making her favorite meal. Just make sure all she does is relax! If you don't have a lot of experience cooking, ask an older family member for help.
- If your mom loves a good steak, you can make her a steak dinner!
- Chicken is pretty versatile, so you can cook it a lot of different ways. Don't be afraid to use her favorite flavors when you're preparing her meal.
- You can also use shrimp as the meal's main ingredient if your mom is a fan of seafood.
- Prepare some sweets for her. You can add it at the end of dinner or you can serve them alone for a mom who loves sweets. Consider making her favorite cookie or cupcake, or even homemade chocolate.
- If you can't bake on your own, ask your dad or older siblings for some help.
- Chocolate chip cookies are always a crowd-pleaser!
- Fudge is a great option if your mom is a chocolate fan.
- You can also make tiramisu for something a little more elegant.
EditGetting Crafty - Make ribbon bookmarks. Cut an 18-inch (45 cm) piece of ribbon in a color or pattern your mom will love. Fold over one end to about an inch (2.5 cm), then fold it again. Sew or hot glue the fold closed. Fold the other end once to an inch, then place a hair elastic at the seam of the fold and fold the ribbon over again. Sew or glue the fold close. Glue or sew a button on the end without the elastic, on the front of the ribbon. This will be the opposite side of the ribbon from where you folded the ribbon down.[8]
- When you're finished, place the elastic around the button to hold the bookmark closed.
- Customize the bookmark with your mom's favorite colors, designs, or even characters!
- Make a homemade tin can flower vase. Clean an empty tin can well, using warm water mixed with the dish soap. Let the can completely air dry and then paint it in your mom's favorite color. You can use ribbon or washi tape to decorate the can once it's dry, adding a pretty design on top of the color you chose.[9]
- To add a little something special, buy a small potted plant to put in the tin vase, or pick some flowers from your own garden. Just make sure you have permission to pick your own flowers!
- Make a memory jar. You can use any jar you like – a mason jar, an old vegetable jar – just make sure it's cleaned out really well and smells fresh. Then write one memory of your mom on each slip of paper. When you're finished, fold them in half and put them in the jar.[10]
- You should use at least twenty slips of paper so the jar looks pretty full.
- You can decorate the jar with stickers, craft paint, or ribbon. Make sure you write "Memory Jar" on the outside.
- Put together a "Things I love About You" Book. Hole punch blank index cards in the upper left corner. On each card, write down one thing you love about your mom. When you're finished, slip a binder ring through the hole in the all of the cards.[11]
- You can ask your whole family to participate, so she knows why you all love her.
- Try using different colored index cards or decorating them before you put the book together. It will make the book look more personal and let your mom know you spent a lot of time on it.
- Make a handprint bouquet. This is a really great gift to make if you have siblings who want to help or be involved. And it's something your mom can keep for a long time, unlike real flowers![12]
- Using a different color paint for each kid, dip your hands and feet in paint and then make a row of handprints or a row of footprints on a 36-inch (90 cm) wide piece of paper. When everyone is finished making their hand and footprints, let the papers completely dry.
- Cut out each foot or handprint. Arrange the cut-out hand and footprints in rows in a shallow half circle shape on a large piece of construction paper. When you're happy with your design, glue them down.
- Roll the construction paper into a cone and glue or staple it closed.
- Work from your heart.
- Be creative. Moms will prefer homemade gifts rather than bought items because they show your personality.
- Make sure that you find out what kinds of things your mother likes so you don't give her something she won't use/doesn't enjoy.
- Make sure that you keep it a surprise, so don't be too obvious or else she'll get suspicious.
- If you're using glue guns or sharp knives or tools or boiling hot water, make sure you ask for help.
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