Do you rely on willpower to get you out the door to work out? Credit: mikebaird

Woot! Woot! Two exciting things we want to tell you about today, ladies…

Don’t Forget! Free Online Class About Harnessing Willpower

First, a quick reminder that TONIGHT is the free live online class we’re doing that’s all about willpower and how to harness it. It’ll be a great 30-minute class with tips that you can use starting today, followed by time for questions if you guys have them. Class starts at 8 p.m. EST, so join us! (And if you can’t make it live, register anyways so that you can watch the recording.) Get more details and register here!

Win a Scholarship to the FBG Life Healthy Living Program

Second—and we think this is even more exciting—is that the summer edition of FBG Life starts June 3! This online weight-loss and healthy living program is all about helping you to live the FBG life and feel fit inside and out, whether you have lots of weight to lose, a few pounds to drop or simply want to ditch the diet drama for good. Now, we know not everyone has $120 to spend on the program, but we know that there are some of you who really, really want to do it—and we don’t want finances to be a barrier for those who are ready for change. So, for the first time, we’re offering three scholarships to FBG Life. Meaning that you can take the six-week summer program that starts on June 3 for free!

Instead of doing a boring application that you have to fill out, we’re going to do something a bit more creative to award the FBG Life scholarships…and we’re leaving the creativity part up to you! In one way or another—through video, a series of Tweets, a blog post, a comment, a piece of art, a song, a poem…the sky’s the limit!—tell us why you want to take FBG Life and why you’re the best person for the scholarship. We’ll look at all of the entries (please tell us what you’re doing in the comments, tag us where applicable (@FitBottomedGirl), and if it’s something super personal, email to contact@fitbottomedgirls.com with the subject “FBG Life Scholarship” in the subject), and next Monday we’ll announce the recipients.

Good luck to all! Here’s to living the good FBG Life! —Jenn

A free registration to an upcoming 2012 Danskin Triathlon is up for grabs, ladies!

This giveaway is part of our FBG Birthday Week celebration! Check out all of the special four-year birthday posts and huge giveaways here!

Did we save the best for last? Well, that’s hard to say because all of the giveaways have been pretty darn awesome, but it’s hard to top the chance to win a free entry to what can be a life-changing experience. Which is what we’re giving away today! The Danskin Triathlon is known as the largest women and girls series in the sport and is an extremely beginner-friendly swim, bike, run event that can be done on an individual or relay-team basis. And you can win free registration to one of the below dates of your choosing!

2012 Danskin Triathlon Series Dates

June 3 – Austin, TX
July 22 – Webster, MA (greater Boston area)
August 5 – Howell, MI
August 19 – Seattle, WA
August 26 – Pleasant Prairie, WI
September 9 – Sandy Hook, NJ
October 7 – Palm Springs, CA

Since we’ve been making you jump through all kinds of hoops this week to win everything, we’re going to go simple with this final giveaway of our birthday week. Simply tell us which date and location you want to win, and we’ll pick one lucky U.S. reader to get the complimentary entry in about a week. Easy peasey—please just be 100 percent sure you’ll do it if you win it ’cause we’re going to want to see pics! G’luck swimmers, bikers and runners! —Jenn

This giveaway is part of our FBG Birthday Week celebration! Check out all of the special four-year birthday posts and huge giveaways here!

I feel like sunglasses are the one piece of fitness equipment people forget about. Normal sunglasses aren’t comfortable enough to wear during workouts, but the super-intense sports shades that you see the uber athletes wear are just that: too intense-looking. So what’s a girl to do? Um, win this giveaway!

Sunglasses Shop (be sure to check them out on Facebook!) is giving away the fabulous pair you see above. The Bolle Python is designed for sport—and life. So they’re stylish yet have sport-specific lenses that deliver serious performance.

Winning them requires just a bit of luck—and a Pinterest account. We’ll select one random U.S. reader who comments below and promises to pin their favorite FBG post on Pinterest (feel free to include your Pinterest page link in your comment if you want us to follow your boards!). FBG’s honor, of course! The winner will be announced in about a week, so best of luck and happy pinning! —Jenn

This giveaway is part of our FBG Birthday Week celebration! Check out all of the special four-year birthday posts and huge giveaways here!

Today’s FBG birthday giveaway is for the fitness tech-lovers out there who love to track their every step—literally! One lucky U.S. reader will win both the Reebok inShape Fitness Watch and the Reebok inColor Digital Pedometer, two amazing tools that can help you take your fitness to the next level.

The Reebok inShape Fitness Watch ($79.99) tracks your every step, kick, jump and skip right from your wrist. InShape features a calorie-burn monitor, speed, distance and step tracking and accurately tracks total time in motion while a speed monitor keeps you on pace. The Reebok inColor Digital Pedometer ($39.99) is the first-ever pedometer that has a color changing LED screen! Not only do you have the freedom to select the display color of your choice, but you can also use its “Pace Assist Technology,” which changes LED colors to visually keep you on your goal pace. Features also include a customized color display with four LED choices, speed, distance and step tracking and pace assist to keep you on track. They both rock.

To win these birthday goodies, we’re sending you on a bit of a scavenger hunt on the site. Hehe. Tell us in the comments what one of the “common themes” are on FBG. Hint: they are found in an old post….We’ll select one random right answer in about a week to win! G’luck! —Jenn

These four-ingredient meals aren't scary to make. Promise. Credit: Sara Björk

This “four”-themed post is part of our FBG Birthday Week celebration! Check out all of the special four-year birthday posts and huge giveaways here!

We gave you our favorite four-minute workouts and now? Well, it only seemed appropriate to share our best four-ingredient recipes, too! Lots of people avoid cooking because they think it takes hours and complicated recipes, but it doesn’t have to be that way. When we’re in a rush, we love to whip up these quick and easy four-ingredient meals!

Four-Ingredient Recipes to Try

Erin’s Four-Ingredient Meal: A couple of my go-to lunches have the same basic concept with a couple of swaps. For a quick Mexican lunch fiesta, I top a corn tortilla with either beans or spicy fat-free refried beans, sliced avocado and a little cheese. (Salsa, too, if you’re feeling feisty!) For an easy lunch, I make a quick sammie: whole-grain bread, sliced turkey or chicken breast, a slice of whatever cheese I have on hand and avocado. The lesson? Cheese and avocado can make anything tasty!

Kristen’s Four-Ingredient Meal: It may not be as complex as Jenn’s Big-Ass Salads, but this spinach salad is darn good. Toss baby spinach, fresh strawberries, diced avocado and chickpeas for a filling four-ingredient meal. The trick with this one is to use plenty of strawberries so that you can mash some of them up and use in place of dressing!

Tish’s Four-Ingredient Meal: You can never go wrong with a smoothie, and this smoothie doesn’t disappoint. Simply blend rice milk, blueberries, cherries (my favorite!) and chia seeds (also my favorite!). Play around with the proportions until you get the smoothie consistency that you dig.

Jenn’s Four-Ingredient Meal: Always a sucker for brinner, this four-ingredient recipe is good any time of day! Simply whip together egg whites, nitrate-free smoked turkey (I like the kind from Trader Joe’s, of course), some chopped yellow bell pepper and a handful of spinach, and then cook in a pan over medium heat until scrambled. Filling, high in protein, packed with veggies—it’s a four-ingredient knockout.

Because we’re all about getting new quick and easy meal ideas, we’re bribing you to tell us what your favorite four-ingredient meal. Leave your ideas in the comments, and we’ll select one lucky U.S. reader to win a copy of Bob Harper’s (swoon!) new book, The Skinny Rules, in about a week. So get to cooking—I mean commenting! —Jenn

The Mizuno Wave Rider 15 is sah-weet.

This giveaway is part of our FBG Birthday Week celebration! Check out all of the special four-year birthday posts and huge giveaways here!

You’ve got your bean chips, your adidas outfit and your year’s supply of guac, but what about your feet? They need some love, too, right?! That’s what we thought, too. So today’s giveaway is all about the shoes! Mizuno is giving away three pairs of the Wave Rider 15, which is a freakin’ running shoe masterpiece. With a lightweight feel, a wrapped-to-foot fit and a freakishly smooth ride, it’ll be your running BFF. These puppies retail for about $115 and come in bright, loud colors, which we love.

Ready to lace up your pair? All you have to do is tell us why you love running in rhyming fashion in the comments below. AND if you want two entries, make yours short and Tweet it using the hashtag #FBGBirthday and tagging @FitBottomedGirl. We’ll choose two winners from the comments and one from Twitter. U.S. residents only, pretty please.

Winners will be announced in about a week. So…who’s ready to ride the Mizuno wave?! —Jenn

This giveaway is part of our FBG Birthday Week celebration! Check out all of the special four-year birthday posts and huge giveaways here!

Wholly moley, it’s a guacamole giveaway! And not just any giveaway. It’s a big guac giveaway. In fact, in celebration of our fourth birthday, Wholly Guacamole is giving away a free YEAR of the green stuff. Yep, one lucky U.S. reader is going to get 24 free-product coupons that work for all Wholly products (so if guac isn’t your thing, you can get 100 percent avocado or its fresh salsa), along with some Wholly Guacamole swag.

Now, we don’t have to tell you how delicious guac is or how amazingly good for you avocado is, but we will. Because it bears repeating: IT IS AWESOME AND DELICIOUS. And you want to win it, right?

Simply tell a friend about this giveaway and then leave a comment below with who you told and how (via Twitter, Facebook, email, phone, snail mail, face-to-face, whatev), and we’ll select a lucky U.S. winner in about a week. And get those healthy chips ready (which you can win here, too!)…someone is going to be wholly spoiled! —Jenn

Note: The color of your winnings may change slightly, but it'll be cute—promise!

This giveaway is part of our FBG Birthday Week celebration! Check out all of the special four-year birthday posts and huge giveaways here!

So you know how much we LOVED adidas’ new summer line? Well, we’re giving some of it away in celebration of our four-year birthday! Yay! Although we didn’t have a chance to try the specific ClimaPower items from adidas in today’s giveaway, they feature the same cool technology and look and sound just as awesome.

One random lucky U.S. reader will win a complete ClimaPower training outfit in her size, including a pair of shorts, tank and supportive sports bra. Meant to keep you cool and focused on your workout—not your sweaty clothes—the ClimaPower pieces are designed with your ultimate performance in mind. Believe us. You. Will. Love.

Want to win it? Leave us a comment with what your favorite post on FBG was from the past year and why, and we’ll select a random U.S. reader to win in about a week! Best of luck! —Jenn

This giveaway is part of our FBG Birthday Week celebration! Check out all of the special four-year birthday posts and huge giveaways here!

We’re kicking off our first Four-Year Birthday giveaway with a bang. A bean bang! (Pun intended.) One of our favorite snacks evah (they got a Noshie in 2011!), these little single-serving bags of Beanitos Bean Chips boast 6 grams of protein, 6 grams of fiber and have just 175 calories. They’re also gluten-free, non-GMO and come in snackable flavors like BBQ and Cheddar Cheese. Not to mention that they’re delicious. Like, really delicious.

In celebration of our birfday, Beanitos is giving FIVE lucky U.S. readers a case of these new single-serving chips in a mix of tasty flavors. A case! To enter, simply leave a comment telling us why you looove beans. Want another entry? Tweet @FitBottomedGirl, use the hashtag #FBGBirthday and tell us why you simply must win some Beanitos! We’ll select three winners from the comments and two from Twitter in about a week!

Ready to munch and crunch? Get to commenting and Tweeting—and good luck! —Jenn

Just when I start to think that all workout clothes are about the same, a line comes out that makes me wonder: who are all of these people designing cool new apparel for workouts that are both fashionable and functional? It’s seriously no easy feat, but one that keeps being done. Case in point: Macy’s Ideology Activewear line. Endorsed by Dancing With the Stars’ Cheryl Burke, it’s just the right mix of stretch, comfort and sweat-wicking awesomeness.

With a bit of a dance-inspired flare to it (hence Cheryl), the line is great for yoga, Pilates, barre and other workouts where you move and groove. I tried the Ideology Scoop Neck Ruched Tank Top ($34) and was amazed at how soft it was. Not quite like a kitten, but definitely not like most Dri-Fit shirts. And while it was super stretchy, the ruching on it (Macy’s has the ruched look down, man!) was pretty flattering—although you may want to order a size up if you don’t want a super-tight fit and/or you carry extra weight in your middle.

However, Ideology is no one- trick pony. The line has plenty of tanks and shorts well suited to other fitness pursuits like walking, running and weight-lifting. Which brings me to the second piece the company sent me: the Seamless Solid Sports Bra ($12.99). When I first got it, it looked like it was sized for a teen, not a broad-chested lady like myself, so I was super skeptical. But again, the stretch. Still super soft, once I put it on it was surprisingly comfortable, breathable (I didn’t feel like a stuffed sausage) and yet it support my boobies super well during any high-impact activity I tested it with (jump roping, running, burpees).

While on the whole, nothing in the line is particularly remarkable from a cuteness perspective, the fabric alone is cool enough that it’s worth checking out the next time you’re at Macy’s. Especially if there’s a sale…

Do you like soft and stretchy apparel when it comes to workouts? Or do you like something with a bit more structure? Tell us, and we’ll select two lucky readers to win a piece from the Ideology Activewear line! We have a size small ruched tank (as seen above) up for grabs, along with a medium T-shirt. Be sure to tell us which one you prefer, and we’ll select a U.S. reader to win in about a week! —Jenn