Fitness Reads: Is ‘voga’ the hot new trend? What makes the perfect playlist?

• “Mythbusters” is one of our favorite shows, so we’re naturally drawn to articles that bust myths, like this one in Competitor magazine. The story addresses the three most common myths about strength training for runners, including not resting between sets and high reps equals more endurance training.

• Despite recent management changes and an attempt to right the see-through wrongs of the past, Lululemon’s stock is still taking a hit. This story said it’s because customers lost faith in the brand and retailer and no longer see value in its products. Another reason, the article said, is Founder Chip Wilson’s comments saying Lululemon’s pants aren’t for every body shape.

• If your customers or clients are in need of a little inspiration, have them check out this video. A woman went to the gym for 100 days and makes a time-lapse video to show her progress. She loses more than 51 pounds and drops several sizes. She seems to favor treadmill, elliptical and strength machines in the video.

• We’re right in the thick of cold and flu season, and we’d do just about any exercise or movement if it means strengthening our immune system. This story has a video link for the top five yoga poses to help do that and also help relieve your discomfort if you’re already sick.

• We know what you’re thinking: enough with wishing you could do CrossFit — just do it! OK. We will. But we have to do some research first so we don’t go into that box and make fools of ourselves. Luckily for us we found this story that reviews the top five things we must know about the popular workout. One of them is that workouts are named after people who died in battle. That doesn’t really make us feel very comfortable.

• We all know that exercise is one of the pillars of health, but sleep is right up there with it. According to this Boston Globe story, those who are sleep deprived are at higher risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and some cancers. So when your customers happen to be wondering why they’re still unhealthy after using the equipment they purchased from you, make sure to ask them if they’re sleeping enough.

• We’re always struggling to find the perfect work/life balance. Sometimes we skip our daily sweat session to cram in all the other things we need to do. Turns out that’s not the right thing to do, according to this Inc. story, because exercise can help reduce stress and make us more productive and efficient. Yet another selling point for you, retailers.

• In addition to working to find the perfect work/life balance, we’re always in search of the ultimate playlist to help us get our fitness on. This Daily Mail story has got the science behind what makes the perfect playlist and what artists and songs should be on it. The story reports that music with a rhythm of 75 to 95 beats per minute is a great range to listen to and this includes artists like Macklemore and Katy Perry.

• Sometimes starting a new fitness routine is intimidating. When we women find what we like, we generally don’t stray too far from it. That’s just one of the mistakes women make when they work out, according to this story. We need to change things up, the story said, and incorporate some functional fitness into the mix. Plus, experts recommend looking in the mirrors when we lift weights to make sure we’re doing the exercise correctly.

• Madonna has been Hollywood’s yoga goddess for years and she was also the one to take “vogue” off the runways and into the dance routines of people everywhere. So we wonder just what she thinks of the new fitness craze hitting the United Kingdom called “voga,” which is a mixture of vogueing and yoga, according to this story. Check out the official voga website.

Did you read anything awesome this week? Email us because we want to read it, too.