I have a sad, sad confession to make - I cannot name a single Canadian who is competing at the summer Olympics in Beijing. I know, it's horrible! I just don't have the Olympic spirit this year - it's been dampened by protests, pollution, and censorship debates. It doesn't help that it's the summer Olympics and I'm definitely a winter Olympics kind of fan (hey I live in a country called "The Great White North" what do you expect?). I have no doubt that I'll be plenty excited for Vancouver's 2010 Olympics but I should be more enthusiastic for this batch of athletes.

This Friday, the opening ceremony of the Olympics will kick off in Beijing. Over the next few weeks, impressive athletic feats will be on display, records will be broken, and medals will be handed out. While the high level of talent and athleticism on display is undeniably impressive, the thing that stands out most to me in these Olympians is the level of discipline and determination they possess. That’s how they got to where they are today.

I always come home from BlogHer feeling empowered. There are a lot of women out there excelling in fields that have been traditionally male dominated but just when I think things are equaling out I run across something that proves me wrong.In Ashtabul, Ohio a 10 year old named Alycia Figueroa went with her parents to sign up for little league football. She was told that she couldn't play football. She was old enough. She had the entry fee.She wasn't allowed to play football because she was a girl.

I was flying back from BlogHer in San Francisco on Monday when I saw a clip on ESPN (thanks for the tv's at each seat Virgin America) that floored me.Becky Hammon, who was came in second in the MVP voting last year for the WNBA, felt slighted by the American Olympic Women's Basketball Team when a list of potential players was released without her name on it so she decided to play for the Russian Olympic Team.Becky Hammon was born and raised in South Dakota.

A lot of good things can be said about motivation when it comes to sticking to a regular fitness routine. Motivation makes us feel mentally pumped-up; it energizes; it's about seeing physical results and wanting to go even harder and faster. But motivation is impossible to sustain 24 hours a day, every day. When your alarm goes off before the sun rises and the very last thing you want to do is get out from under the covers? Enter: accountability.

Have you seen the article in Glamour about the 11 greatest bodies on Earth? Glamour Magazine has a feature this month where they decided that since we will be watching the Olympics for the rest of the Summer they would focus on eleven women athletes (that are in the Olympics) who possess the "greatest bodies on Earth".