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Editor's note: Two of our favorite fitness bloggers have teamed up in a regular health and fitness podcast, and we've invited them to tell you more about it. Tired of the same old tunes when you're working out? Want some aural inspiration for your weight loss? Shauna Reid, author of The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl, has teamed up with Carla Birnberg of popular blog MizFit to create a kick butt health and fitness podcast called Two Fit Chicks and a Microphone. SHAUNA: Last summer I was deep in mourning after Jillian Michael quit her weekly radio show. I'd downloaded every episode! She used to ramble about her life then take questions from callers from all over country--just ordinary people sharing their fitness triumphs and problems. Celebrities with amazing abs are quite inspiring... but everyday people making their dreams happen? That's real inspiration if you ask me. I couldn't find a substitute podcast so I thought... why not start one myself? I loved the idea of making something for people to listen to while working out, or to distract them at work when the cookies are calling their name. I roped in Carla Birnberg to be my co-host. I was a longtime fan of her MizFit blog and knew from her video posts that she was a great talker with a vast knowledge of all things fitness.  Carla Birberg and daughter Emma CARLA: To know me in any capacity is to know how much I value COMMUNITY. Sure, my posts at MizFitOnline might be "fine" but its the COMMENTversation where the answers are really generated. As a result Shauna and I quickly agreed that our podcast should be a Podcast for the People. There are so many fantastic people online kicking butt with their health and fitness goals and NEVER enough time to visit/read them all. We wanted to create something that would celebrate all healthy living bloggers successes and serve to inspire US as well as others. We are also both committed to helping as many people as we can (we get a lots of email and Twitter questions) and a podcast seemed a good way of getting the answers to as many people as possible.  Shauna Reid SHAUNA: Neither of us claim to be fitness experts--we're just passionate about healthy living and have a lot of personal experience when it comes to making big changes in our lives. I lost 175 pounds and bumbled my way to a healthier me. I've been blogging about it for nine years, so I'm a great believer in the power of online communities. CARLA: I come from a different vantage point--and yet entirely the same. I lost about 40 pounds 17 years ago (not sure how that happened as I'm TOTALLY NOT AGING, right??) and have maintained that loss through clean eating and a love of all things weight training. I also owned a personal training studio back in the day--so I haul all that know-how along with me as well. SHAUNA: We launched the podcast in September 2009 and held a Name That Podcast contest. CARLA: The winner was Kepa from New Zealand, who has actually lost an amazing 260 pounds. He got up super early on Saturday morning to be on the show and announce our name--Two Fit Chicks And A Microphone. SHAUNA: Technically we actually have two microphones. One is with me in my bedroom in Scotland and the other in Carla's home office in Austin, Texas.. Then there's Skype to bring us together. It's a highly sophisticated recording process! CARLA: And sometimes we're Three Fit Chicks, as my daughter Emma frequently attempts to chime in and proffer her 4-year-old two cents. Then sometimes Shauna's husband Doctor G pops by to bring her tea. Then sometimes the phone will ring in the middle of recording, or Shauna will have a sneezing fit... SHAUNA: So it's not a slick production! It's more like friends catching up and sharing stories over a cup of coffee. We're jusy on seperate continents and I'm usually wearing pajamas. We publish a new show every two or three weeks. Each episode has a theme, as they do on This American Life but we have slightly less elegant editing! CARLA: One of our most popular themes so far was Running For Beginners. We have our very own resident running expert Julia Jones, a running coach and veteran of 29 marathons. She told us how to get started with running and answered listener questions. She even wrote a special 5K training program! She lives in Italy so it was crazy trying to coordinate three different time zones for the Skype call! Another favourite was the Goals Goals Goals episode... we shared our tips for how to set them and how to make sure you achieve them. SHAUNA: Once we've covered the theme we answer listener questions. We've been asked about weight training, dealing with sabotaging family members, how to cope with the holidays and much more... anything goes! CARLA: Then comes our favourite segment: Blogger News. That's when our listeners share their news via emails, Tweets or blogs. There's nothing more inspiring than real people getting out there and pursuing their goals. We like giving people a shout out. This stuff is worth celebrating and you never know: even if you don't send it to us, we may be trolling your blog and tooting yer horn for you! So keep listening in. SHAUNA: We love news, big or small. We've had listeners overcome diet soda addictions, run marathons, reach weight loss goals, fit into smaller pants and triumph in triathlons. We're always on the lookout for new stories and I know all you SparkPeople are achieving fantastic things--so if you've got a triumph to share, visit our website and we'll give you a shout-out! CARLA: We've kicking off our 2010 season this week the first episode of a new series called The Basics--how to get started with healthy food, exercise and and a healthier mind! So if you're full of New Year resolve be sure to tune in. SHAUNA: We also have all the previous episodes on our website. There's also details on how to subscribe to the show in iTunes. Check us out at www.twofitchicks.org or find us on Twitter-- www.twitter.com/twofitchicks. Have you listened to "Two Fit Chicks and a Microphone? Will you? Have you read Carla's and Shauna's blogs? |
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