Let's Groove Tonight...

I’m a little bit obsessive about the soundtrack of my life. If I don’t have the right kind of music playing, it colors my mood, my behavior and my ability to do anything well. I’m not proud of it, but I’ve been known to walk out of an aerobics class because I simply couldn’t handle the instructor’s choice of music! I truly believe the IPOD was invented just for me because it makes each of my workouts a happy little calorie-torching party.
Although my husband and I dated during the Disco era, I love upbeat songs from the 50s on up through today’s music. Having two twenty-something children to keep me current helps too, so when you look at the songs on my IPOD, you might be surprised. The eclectic combination of rock, funk, soul, rap, and pop music might make you wonder how many people (or personalities) share this IPOD, but I assure you, the common thread is that these songs “pump me up”!
That’s why it’s often difficult to tell people what songs are the “best” for their type of workout. However, if you’re trying to create some playlists with specific songs and music types that work for you, try a few things to help you put your list together.
iTunes has some playlist capabilities that can either put together a playlist with your existing music or give you ideas for songs you might enjoy based on previous purchases. Once you open iTunes and go to the iTunes store, look for the section labeled “Just for You”. When you click on that, it will bring up “You bought songs by….(a specific artist), so you might enjoy music by …(a similar artist)”. I’ve found songs I had forgotten about for years using this application.
iTunes also has functions called “iTunes DJ” and “Genius”. The iTunes DJ part of Genius makes playlists from songs already in your iTunes library. Genius also has what is called the Genius sidebar, which recommends music from the iTunes Store to add to your iTunes library.
Quite a few clients have asked me which songs work best for various types of cardio and/or weight workouts. They want to know what kind of music will push them to their cardio zone. To calculate your cardio zone, first find your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220 (e.g. 220- 56 = 164). Your cardio zone is between 60 - 85% of your maximum heart rate. Maximum heart rate 220 – 56 (my age) = 164 beats per minute (b.p.m) Cardio zone: 164 (max heart rate) X 65% = 106 (bpm) with a range of about 98-139 bpm. This range takes you from heart health to fitness levels to aerobic levels. Levels higher than 85% are considered anaerobic and should be used in shorter intervals. Many pre made music mixes list the BPM for each song like the following list from powermusic.com which stays within the cardio zone at the lower end:
Disco Inferno-The Trampps 128bpm
Funkytown-Lipps, Inc. 128bpm
Bad Girls-Donna Summer 128bpm
Play That Funky Music-Wild Cherry 128bpm
Dancing Queen-ABBA 128bpm
Turn th Beat Around-Vicki Sue Robinson 128bpm
Ladies Night-Kool & The Gang 128bpm
I Will Survive-Gloria Gaynor 128bpm

You can start your list with the lower BPM songs and add intervals of higher BPM from lists like this, also from powermusic.com:
Jump For My Love-Pointer Sisters 142bpm
Gloria-Them 149bpm
Mickey-Toni Basil 152bpm
Beat It- Michael Jackson 137 bpm
Locomotion-Little Eva 149bpm
Can't Turn You Loose-Otis Redding 152bpm
Sweet Soul Music-Sam and Dave 149bpm
Dance to the Music-Sly and the Family Stone 154bpm
Maniac-Michael Sembello 153bpm
Love Shack-B52s 135bpm
My current 30 minute mix blend lots of decades. It works well for the elliptical or stationary bike and for walking (not running) on the treadmill. You can always double time your movement to the beat of the music if you like.
I Love Rock and Roll-Joan Jett and the Blackhawks 2:36
I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’-Scissor Sisters 3:55
Single Ladies-Beyonce 3:17
Boogie Wonderland-Earth, Wind, and Fire 5: 35
Freeze Frame-J.Geils Band 3:58
What I Like About You-The Romantics 2:55
Living In The USA-Steve Miller Band 4:05
Gasolina-Daddy Yankee 3:13
Strange Brew-2:49 Cream
Like I said, not everyone is as schizophrenic about their music blends, so pick and choose what works for you. Companies such as Oxygen and Shape also make music compilations for workouts and can usually be found on Amazon.com. Also, think about songs you hear on the radio that would be a great beat for your workout. If you have a Verizon cell phone, use the "Vcast song ID" feature to get the name and artist of the song that’s playing. Then, download it to your playlist. Look for upcoming entries from me with playlist suggestions and (hopefully, if my computer skills hold up) links to some of the songs I use.