I need your help, PopWatchers. You see, last Wednesday, while downing my umpteenth cup of vacation gelato, I made a vow that when I got back home, I was going to return to working out a minimum of three days a week — no excuses. Trouble is, Mother Nature has decided to celebrate my commitment to exercise by delivering a crushing heat wave to the New York region. In other words, it’s 95 degrees in the shade (and humid!) — and just the mere thought of physical activity is sending me to the emotional mojito bar. Clearly, the only thing that’s going to prevent me from ditching the gym today is a killer cardio playlist, which I started working on during lunch today. Here’s what I’ve got so far…
Amanda Ghost, "Filthy Mind"
The Breeders’ "Cannonball"
The Butchies, "Send Me You"
B-52s, "Private Idaho"
Christina Aguilera, "Fighter"
Okay, so clearly I’ve only made it through ‘C’ in my music library (yes, C+C Music Factory has secretly made the cut… just don’t tell anyone), but it’s clear I need some help if I’m ever going to have abs like Daniel Craig. (Hey! I can dream!) So help a blogger out; channel your inner Richard Simmons (minus the hideous candycane shorts, please) and contribute to the ultimate cardio playlist in the comments section below.
Boogie Shoes – KC and the Sunshine Band
Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough – Michael Jackson
Don’t Cha – Pussycat Dolls
Milkshake – Kelis
It’s My Life – No Doubt
I will say that new Eve song “Tambourine” has really spiced up my workout lately. But it’s Hall & Oates “You Make My Dreams Come True” that always gets the job done. That sonds just so inspirational!
Practical advice for compiling any kind of exercise mix: you’re gonna need a beat counter. I use a free one I got at mixmeister.com – it analyzes your mp3 collection and gives you the beats per minute for each song. Then you can construct your mix to stay constant, to speed up, whatever works for you. I’ve got different playlists and different tempos for different machines (ellipticals, stairmaster, treadmill etc.). I’m pretty anal about it. It’s pretty funny, actually, because you would never peg me as somebody who’s way into going to the gym: I *am*, however, way into music.
Practical advice for compiling any kind of exercise mix: you’re gonna need a beat counter. I use a free one I got at mixmeister.com – it analyzes your mp3 collection and gives you the beats per minute for each song. Then you can construct your mix to stay constant, to speed up, whatever works for you. I’ve got different playlists and different tempos for different machines (ellipticals, stairmaster, treadmill etc.). I’m pretty OCD about it. It’s pretty funny, actually, because you would never peg me as somebody who’s way into going to the gym: I *am*, however, way into music.
Slezak, you MUST try LCD Soundsystem’s “45:33″. Nike commissioned him to do a 45 minute-long track for runners… it has a warm-up period, a driving middle, and a 7 minute cool-down at the end. The beat gets incrementally faster as it goes on, which pushes you to push yourself. I find that a 45 minute run flies by if I’m listening to 45:33.
(Sorry ’bout the double post – it occurred to me in mid-posting that a-n-a-l might not make it through EW’s naughty-word filters…!)
There is no way anyone’s cardio playlist should not include Kelly Clarkson’s “Since You’ve Been Gone”. It is the ultimate Kelly song and always gets me in the mood.
evil by interpol
long distance call by phoenix
hysteria by muse
cheer it on by tokyo police club
for a cool down:
jesus, etc. by wilco
any iron and wine
any stars
Favorite push through the tough moments song: “Satisfaction” by Benny Benassi
Other great ones:
“Toxic” and “My Prerogative” by Britney
“Feel Good Inc.” by Gorillaz
“99 Problems” by Jay-Z
“Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes
Here is some of what’s on my workout playlist:
Take Me Out – Franz Ferdinand
Candyman – Christina Aguilera
Pump Up the Volume – M/A/R/R/S
Summertime – DJ Jazzy Jeff (for a cooldown)
I find that I need guitars to keep me going…
Pump It Up by Elvis Costello
Reprovisional by Fugazi
Mr. Brownstone by Guns N’ Roses
Pack It Up by Pretenders
Bull In The Heather by Sonic Youth
Mono by Courtney Love
This is the topic on Pajiba today, so there are lots of good suggestions in the comments.
http://www.pajiba.com/the-gym-mix.htm
The entire Deborah Cox Remix CD is perfect.
I like songs with a driving beat… Lose Yourself by Enimem,
Rumors by Lindsay Lohan,
Scandalous by Mystique
Pump It, Black Eyed Peas
There’s a remix of Beat It (supposedly by Moby, I’ve never checked) I find particularly inspiring…
Here’s some I listen to when I go on the treadmill:
1) Madonna- Jump
2) Fergie- Fergalicious
3) Garbage- Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)
4) Kelly Clarkson- Walk Away
5) Beyonce- Check On It
6) Christina Aguilera- Can’t Hold Us Down
7) The Killers- Read My Mind
8) Green Day- Holiday
9) Pink- U + Ur Hand
10) Duran Duran- Hungrey Like The Wolf