Music - the great motivator!

­Few things motivate my workouts more than kick-ass music. It seriously is the difference between an ok workout and an awesome one and I have been known to cut runs short if my music suddenly dies on me!

So making playlists for my workouts has become something of a necessity – I even have a playlist just for races! My playlists are very, very long and sometimes I include tracks that don’t always work out as well as I thought they would so there is a lot of editing to do, to save me from having to find the NEXT button on my MP2 player. I am always trying out new things but I do have a bunch of tracks that are my reliable ones and any workout playlist will include all of these. So, in no particular order:

My life would suck without you

I have two versions of this song (Kelly’s and Glee) and they are both awesome, with a great beat that perfectly matches my comfortable running pace.

Telephone

I have a bunch of Lady Gaga’s songs in my workout playlists but this one is my fave without a doubt. Never fails to make me push a bit harder and try to keep up with that wicked bass line.

Unbreakable

Michael Jackson is another artist that features greatly in my playlists but this track is a lesser-known one, with a brilliant beat that makes me want to run and run.

Maria/ She bangs

Two Ricky Martin tracks that I simply love. Beat-wise they aren’t always perfect (I have about 3 versions of each song, all mixed slightly differently) but it makes me feel like dancing.

Far from over

A little obscure this one, by Frank Stallone and featured in Staying Alive, the film sequel to Saturday Night Fever. It is an awesome dance track with inspirational lyrics. Love it.

Don’t stop me now

I think there’s a rule somewhere that all running playlists will include at least one Queen track! Well, this is my favourite and as a happy bonus, the beat makes me hit a lovely tempo pace.

La vida es un carnaval

Yes, I do occasionally listen to music in Spanish! I love Celia Cruz and this track is not only uplifting and fabulous, it has some great lyrics.

Hush hush

Another dance-inspired track, by the Pussycat Dolls. Whenever I exercise to this, in my head I am dancing away like a pop diva!

Come sail away

An oldie, this is one of several Styx tracks that I like to listen to while exercising. The rock feel to it makes me think that I’m not devoted to Pop, and it has some amazing lyrics. It also has a good running beat.

Dame

Another Spanish song, this time by J Lo and one of my favourite ever songs. This is one that makes me want to dance and has the advantage of having a great running beat.

Jai ho

This song is just full of energy! From the “Slumdog Millionaire” soundtrack, this song never fails to make me go a little bit harder.


Vivimos siempre juntos

A Spanish track by Mecano, with great energy and some lovely lyrics. I love running to this, definitely one of my all-time favourites.

Everytime we touch

Cascada’s album of the same name as the track is pretty much my perfect running album. Nearly all the songs have the same exact beat and it happens to be an excellent beat for my pace so this is one of my very favourites. I picked this particular song as I love it, but it was also playing in Epcot when I ran through the park during the WDW 2008 marathon and since then, I always think back to this amazing race when I hear this song.

California screamin’

This track is the background music that plays on the roller coaster of the same name at Disney’s California Adventure, which also happens to be one of my all-time favourite rides anywhere in the world. Although technically the songs in this post aren’t in any particular order, I did leave the best for last. Simply THE BEST running song for me, with faster sections where I can push my pace while in my mind I pretend to be a roller coaster, with some slower sections in the middle to catch my breath. The only downside is that it is so short, so I always play it two or three times in a row for some kick-ass intervals or when I’m feeling energetic. Fantastic track, I simply love it.

So there are a few of the songs on my running playlist. I’ve left lots and lots out, so maybe I will do a future blog post on some more music that I have in my workout playlists.

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