NIKE does it right

Ok. So for several years now the primary thing NIKE has been associated with in my brain is tragic (in my case entirely made-up) images of smokey sweatshops where small children slave over cheap shoes till their fingers bleed... From what I now understand this may be a bit overdramatic and (hopefully) not even accurate, however, I have yet to personally visit one of their factories so to be entirely honest I just can't know for sure (though apparently they have been doing a lot of work to improve this image). One thing I do know is that their new NIKE-Women campaign is about ten kinds of awesome. Not saying that this justifies sweat shops, but I have to say, this is one thing they really are doing right. The ad campaign uses 7 world-class athletes and some flashy interactive media to inspire, educate, and unite female athletes everywhere. My personal favorite part? That they are planting an image of female athletes in the collective consciousness as beautiful, driven, and completely kick-ass. I take it as a good sign of the times when women are admired who are muscular, fierce, and passionate. The idea that strong women are ok, is a relatively new one (think back to fainting couches or bound feet) and portraying them as attractive and enviable is definitely a new thing.

So, Yey Nike! Thank you for supporting women around the globe to 'make themselves' and empowering them as athletes. Keep cleaning up your manufacturing practices and I may just start sportin' your pants...

PLANK IT!

OK. So I know for many of you the plank is the most dreaded part of our workout (or class) so I thought you might appreciate knowing that there is a strange subculture of random plank artists who have created a global trend out of planking in weird places. Note: their 'plank' is a bit different than ours but still...

For more fabulous and inspiring (and sometimes disturbing) planking photos click here.

HAPPY PLANKING!! :)