Thursday, May 5, 2011

The Perfect Workout Partner

Before you hit a hard workout you need to make sure you are mentally and physically ready to roll. Hopefully you have enough calories in you but not a full stomach.  Bust out the light weight trainers and hit the 5hr energy and you will be ready.  That all is great advice but the one missing piece from a successful workout is the perfect Ipod song playlist. Running purists will scoff at this but do not dismiss it without trying it. You may even set a workout PR because that is the power of music.

My favorite workout Ipod line of all time was by Willy Kaul an 11 time All-American and former D3 National 5k & 10k champ. Before a workout where we were looking to do 3 miles at 4:55-5:00 mile pace, 2 miles at 4:45-4:50 pace and 1 mile at 4:35 pace all on 2 laps jogging rest was..... "You know I am going to have my Ipod on during the workout...right?"  I guess that meant do not talk to me until the cooldown.  Then I knew Willy was as serious as I was, there were never any outside distractions or games when I worked out with Willy. Just before each interval he would reach down and tap the volume one time and right then I knew there was no fooling around on pace or effort. It had to be there.

For setting your playlist you need to factor in about a 15-20 minute jog warmup followed by 15-20 minutes of stretching and strides. Basically you have to fill 45 minutes with around 10 songs pre-workout with some music that is going to be just enough to pump you up but is still holding you back just a bit because you want to save the pump music for the 45-60 minutes while you are doing the workout.  Those raging 12 workout songs are going to help you hit workout splits. For your Ipod or Mp3 player make sure to title the playlists accordingly for each workout so you know what works.

Here are some pre-workout warmup suggestions soft enough but setting the table to fire you up.
Cinderella - Gypsy Road
Aerosmith - Sweet Emotion
ZZ Top - La Grange
Nirvana- In Bloom
The Offspring - Self Esteem
Sponge - Plowed
Monster Magnet - Powertrip

For the Workout the Playlist has to work as hard as you do.
Judas Priest - Living After Midnight
Slipknot - Psychosocial
Metallica - For Whom the Bell Tolls
Motley Crue - Kickstart My Heart
Rage Against the Machine - Bulls on Parade
Buckcherry -  Lit Up
Beastie Boys - Sabotage
Alice in Chains - Man in the Box
Smashing Pumpkins - Cherub Rock
Sum 41 - Fat Lip
Black Label Society - Overlord or Fire it Up

If you had (1) song to listen to before the Biggest workout/race of your life.....what would it be?  If your initials are A.N. or R.M. I will not be debating this topic with you. Go out and get a music player.

11 comments:

  1. Do you not want to debate because you know you will lose? :)

    Whether an iPod helps you in a workout is not my (main) issue with this post. I'm simply disappointed there is no '50' in that list. Or Godsmack.

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  2. Aaron, I am always amazed by your closet descent taste in Music. Congrats. I have all the Godsmack CD's...Godsmack is coming to town end of May.

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  3. Wow, I can only choose one? Yeesh, that's hard.

    It's a toss-up between "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor and "Adrenaline" by 12 Stones, closely followed by Skillet's "Monster".

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  4. Dropkick Murphys would be good for me!

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  5. Sorry Matt I have to go along with Aaron. Since one cannot race with an ipod, is is wise to train with an ipod? So much of racing is training your mind to suffer by itself...just you and the challenge. Besides, carrying around an 8 track player is a bit cumbersome!

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  6. I agree with other Aaron and Zup as well. However, I have been known to spend way too much time selecting inspiring music for in the car on the way to a race. For the 5 minute journey to my most recent race, the Deer Run, I went with NIN's "March of the Pigs" . . .

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  7. huh, most of the races I do are totally IPOD-friendly...

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  8. Ahhh...Sponge. Who doesn't love them?

    If I had to pick one pre-race/-workout song, it would be Summerhead by the Cocteau Twins though I listen to lots of their music before I race. I started that long ago, and I'll continue to do it because it's a part of my routine now. I chose them so I could relax before my race. I don't know how many other runners do that, but I suspect it's not many, though I'd like to know if others have tried it.

    If I had to choose a song to pump me up, it would have to be "Lose Yourself".

    However, I fall into the camp of never having worn/never will wear an ipod, smart phone, or Sony cassette Walkman in a workout. I need to hear my breathing. I need to hear my footfalls to judge my pace and turnover, and I don't want to be distracted from how I feel (good or bad) by any music.

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  10. Zup and Abe bring up perfect points. Abe I actually used to carry a Sony Cassette Walkman in workouts once I got out of college that was annoying.

    It comes back to like Zup said you cannot usually wear an Ipod in a race so what "trick" mentally can we all get ourselves into for workouts and races to race hard no matter what.

    Personally I can get up for a race without the music (cover bands on the race courses help a lot)..but that is where so many runners fail. They're ready to race physically but lacking the mental side..music seems to help that to an extent.

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  11. A couple of things: I enjoy listening to music but when it comes time to run I enjoy experiencing the elements of nature and the sounds of running. And I do like to know that nothing is sneaking up on me when I run, like a dog, or a biker, or a car!
    I have to say that what gets me excited for a hard day or a race is the opportunity to get that feeling of accomplishment. I look forward to the nervousness (uncertainty) in the time prior to the hard effort. And I love the feeling you have when you are done with the workout or the race. The thought that you conquered something that was not easy, something that hurt, gives me a great deal of satisfaction. Even now as an older runner that will never get another pr (or had one for over 15 years) the joy of training hard and racing hard keeps me coming back for more.

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