Thank you guys so much already for your input on the Charity Ride.  I still have over a week until that race, so keep the comments flowing! Also.. Valentine’s Day? Ain’t got nothin‘ on me this year. It was fabulous.

Have you guys heard of Shakti Active Wear? My super awesome Aunt Louise sells their clothing at her yoga studios (I know – and, not only is she a yoga instructor who has opened her own studios, but she’s also a deadhead. Now I know where I get it from), and she made my entire month by sending me some workout gear to use for spinning. She melted my cold, black heart with that package. Move over lululemon – this stuff is amazing.  I am wearing a pair of the printed capris as we speak, and it’s unreal how comfortable they are. I might have to wear them under my work clothes every single day, because they are so rad and comfortable. I’ve already made Beth and her boyfriend feel my legs up a few times just to feel how soft and comfy they are. Thanks Aunt Louise, you are seriously the best.  I hope someday we can see Further together. And thanks, Beth and Justin, for always feeling my new workout pants when I force you to, and for letting me have some of your delicious, homemade chicken pot pie tonight. And for letting me in on your Valentine’s Day chocolate covered strawberries on Monday evening. Now that I re-evaluate this…. am I in a relationship?

If your name is Lindsey, Charlie, Katie, or Kathryn, then you better stop reading.  I expect you all at this class, and I want it to be a surprise. So get out of here. If your name falls under one of those categories, but you won’t be at my class on Sunday, then please, proceed.

Since I was asked to provide more details about my ride profiles, I have included all of my intervals planned out for this ride.  I hope they make sense – I give the time slots for pickups, and then at the end of the song description, I give how many intervals BY how many seconds (i.e. 1×20 = 1 interval for 20 seconds), and I put them in the order they come in.  When I know we are in it for intervals, I like to say from the start of the song, “Ok – intervals here, we have 3×15, 1×30, and 2×25, with 45 seconds recovery between each, on medium resistance” so they know exactly what to expect.  I know that I enjoy taking classes with instructors where they tell you that stuff ahead of time, so that you don’t burn out by doing TOO much or the opposite, not get a good enough work out in, because you don’t know what’s coming.  So, hopefully all of my rambles make sense.  Talk to me if you have questions. Enjoy!

1. LCD Soundsystem, Dance Yrself Clean (8:58): Spynergy just became video compatible, which I have not integrated into class as of yet, but I think I have figured out how to do it.  So, I am only going to stick to 1 video for warmup as I feel that some might feel that it takes away from the dark, zoned out setting of the studio.  This is like, my all time favorite music video ever, other than this one.   

So, I plan on 50% warmup/stretching until 3:10, where we’ll take it up to 60%, out of the saddle and add some resistance, march right out to the beat of the song, and at 4:06-4:26 we do a 20 second pickup.  4:27-5:05 we are hanging out at 65%, 5:05-6:00 we do a 55 second pickup with our pace, and we rest at 65% until 6:38, where we do another 20 second pickup until 6:58.  6:58 – 7:36 is 70% resistance, marching to the beat, until our last 20 second pickup from 7:36 – 7:57.  We have another minute until the end of the song, where we will stick to that 70% resistance.  This song is super fun, and has so many phases to it that it does not feel like 9 minutes.  I also like to switch up the positions a lot, especially during the first few songs to get warm in each position, so feel free to do the recoveries and sprints in any position you feel. That makes this song 1×20, 1×55, 2×20. (I just listened to this song on my way in to work, and realized all of my times are off by about 7 seconds for every interval.. must have been using a different version while writing this – so just be aware!)  

2. Florence and the Machine, Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) (3:52): Keeping that resistance in the medium range, hanging out until the choruses of the song, where we will again pick up our pace, and add resistance after each chorus until by the end of the song, you are pretty heavy.  First hill is finally done after 12 minutes!

3. MGMT v. Daft Punk, One More Time to Pretend (Immunization Remix) (4:48): Find that light road (60 – 65%) and we are doing intervals for this one.  0:41 – 0:56, 1:14 – 1:29, 1:47 – 1:57, 2:28 – 2:45, 3:01 – 3:25, 3:58 – 4:31 = time to rock out. I always instruct during intervals with “lighter” resistance that if it starts feeling too easy, add just a tiny bit. That makes this song 2×15, 1×10, 1×18, 1×24, 1×33. 

4. Michael Jackson + Janet Jackson, Scream (4:39): We get back to medium – heavy here (find the beat), out of the saddle, climbing.  Up to position 2 for 1:23 – 1:40, and at 1:40 we go back out to position 3 and pick up our pace until 1:58.  Same thing happens around 2:20 again – position 2, until we pick up the pace at 2:38 during the chorus.  Slow and recovery for 2:57 – 3:10.  3:10 – 3:18 we pick up our pace.  Recover in position 2 until our last pickup at 3:51 in position 3.  That’s essentially 2×18, 1×8, 1×40 sprints for this song. 

5. Ellie Goulding, Lights (Bassnectar Remix) (4:41): It really bothers me that Skrillex won 3 grammys, when Bassnectar was not even nominated for a single thing. Or Pretty Lights, or Rusko, who I think are far more talented with dubstep than Skrillex.  Anywho, for this song we just straight climb with HEAVY resistance.  Switch up positions when you wish, but just close your eyes and get HEAVY with this one.  Push and breathe. 

6. Foo Fighters, Everlong (4:08):  How much do you adore this song? Everyone I know seems to say it’s their favorite.  Acoustic version is beautiful.  I’d like this to be my wedding song actually.  Write that down, future ex-husband. Okay, so we are going to go LIGHT with resistance for recovery after that badass hill, and then we are going to add some on for some pickups for the crazy parts of this song.  Particularly, those intervals with resistance (I’m talking 70 – 75% since some of these intervals are long pushes) being from 0:53 – 1:03, 1:24 – 2:09, 2:30 – 3:03, 3:25 – 3:58.  So that makes it 1×10, 1×45, 2×33 sprints.

7. Big Gigantic, High and Rising (5:52): This song is made for high intensity.  It starts off slow until 2:30, where the pace picks up little by little until the end of the song.  I like to go super heavy for 2.5 minutes, and then once that ends, we take a little bit off with each change in pace of the music.  By the end, you will find yourself killing it going down the hill, fast and fierce. 

8. Talking Heads, Cities (4:18): One of my favorite bands, Phish, covers this song and I adore it.  Phish’s version is too slow though – this one is awesome.  I’m kind of thinking for this one a 4.5 minute endurance with different positions.  I like to throw in an endurance song where we leave the resistance to start around a flat road, and then slowly increase resistance a tad, but only enough to notice the change, and to try to maintain that fast pace you had at the start with the flat.  Good aerobic workout there. 

9.  Pretty Lights, Jay Z Empire State of Mind Remix (4:37): Still one of my favorites.  Hill climb here, we go super heavy and slow just like the Ellie Goulding song above.  No intervals, just heavy (80 – 90%) resistance the whole song switching up those positions. 

10. The Beatles, Happy Birthday (2:43): Well, my sister claims she’s coming to my class on her birthday on Sunday morning, so I have thrown in this song.  I want to find that medium – heavy resistance for these few minutes, and pick up the pace in between each guitar riff and drum hitting in the song.  I am talking like 3 second pickups with 3 second recovery, until 43 seconds where we just stick to tempo, until 1:10 we pick it up for 18 seconds, where we get back to those 3 second pickups with 3 second recovery.  1:55 rolls around and we pick it up until 2:12, and then get back to those 3 second pickups, 3 second recoveries until the end.  I haven’t taught this yet, and am not sure how easy the 3 second pickup/recovery will work, but we’ll see! Could be fun. 

11. Green Day, Brain Stew (3:13): Light resistance for active recovery, and then get super heavy for 0:38 – 0:51, 1:16 – 1:29, 1:54 – 2:07, 2:31 – 3:10.  That’s 3×13, 1×40.  Phew! Last song, so make those intervals HARD and worth it. 

12. Florence and the Machine, You’ve Got The Love (2:49): Sing it, girl. Cool down.  

I ended up teaching the anti-valentine’s day playlist Sunday, where we did set intervals throughout the entire class.  I received great feedback about the class, and I was completely drenched by the end.  Obviously threw in some Whitney Houston for warmup and cooldown… how terribly sad. If you want more info about each interval set for each song, just let me know and I’ll put it on here.  You guys had some seriously awesome song suggestions for this anti-valentine’s day theme.  This is how I feel about all of you:

I love you guys. Be my Valentine? (source: www.starsmedia.ign.com)

I had a reader make a comment asking for more detail about each profile I post, which I was actually really excited to see.  Sometimes I get so caught up in talking about how much I love the artist or the song, or the background of it, or a crazy hippie festival I got to see them play at – and omit, or leave a vague description about the actual spin profile.  That is what we are here for, right? Oops! I got excited about the comment because it made me feel like people are listening to what I’m saying, and well, I think that’s pretty cool. So thank you, reader! I will make a concerted effort to post more info about the ride from here on out.

I have some of my best friends from college coming to visit for the long weekend, and I am super excited because I am forcing them to take my spin class on Sunday morning.  I bet they are super excited, too…. ? They all have really great taste in music, so I am currently putting together a kick-ass playlist for this weekend that I am really excited to share with you guys at some point this week when it’s tweaked to perfection.

If I know my friends like I think I do, they will look something like this after my class. (source: glamour.com)

Actually, if I know my friends like I KNOW I do, they will be doing that at the end because they know brunch time is finally in sight.

So, enough ramblings – I am so happy to be able to say that I am going to be coaching the first hour of the Race to Anyplace Benefit Spin Race on the 25th at Spynergy.  I need some help/advice on this though, which is why I’m reaching out to you amazing readers and instructors out there who have some valuable experience to share.

The deal is,  teams of 3-6 people compete in 10 minute “heats” (basically just meaning every 10 minutes, they can switch which team member is on the bike), and this is a RACE for MILEAGE over 3 hours.  They are installing a little odometer on the bikes, and the team who has the most miles… wins? I think? Anyway, I will be teaching for the first hour.  Each bike will be set to a MINIMUM resistance, and they do not have to increase resistance at all but they just can’t fall below that minimum resistance (don’t ask me how they are institutionalizing that rule).

My question for you guys, which I have already received some feedback on via twitter, is… if I want to help these people get the most miles during my hour, do I recommend they stay at a minimum resistance with high cadence, or should I suggest a medium resistance they can keep up with a medium cadence… Or, just switch it up like I would a normal spin class (some songs light, medium, or heavy)?  What would get them further?

Thoughts, advice, or even song suggestions would be a great help.  I am thinking fast music for the whole hour to keep them going since we aren’t focusing a ton on hills, and maybe some inspirational, not-cheesey songs to use since it is a benefit for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Expect a new playlist + profile soon!

That's a heart, and those are stink lines. Yes, I made that on a MS Paint-Mac-equivalent. I know, it's good.

Like last week, I am posting this playlist before actually teaching it for timing’s sake, so the teaching notes might not be exact just yet because I just put it together today and haven’t had much time to listen to it a few times.

If you have been following this blog since it’s inception, you may have picked up that I have a severely bitter taste in my mouth from some past fellas.  Relationships all seem to end so perfectly and friendly, don’t they? I am teaching this Valentine’s Day – in fact, this is the first day that my class will go CO-ED at the all women’s gym.  Dream come true would be to have a David Beckham look alike, preferably in the underwear that Beckham was reppin’ in the superbowl commercial, in my spin class, who tells me how much I just kicked his ass and how much he loved my love stinks playlist.  A single gal can dream, can’t she?

If you look like this or know someone who does, please send them to spin class. Thanks in advance.

So, since I get to teach around and on Valentine’s Day, here is a LOVE STINKS playlist, for all you grudge holding fine independent citizens out there.  (Even if you’re happy in love right now, the media gets so damn lovey-dovey around V-day; I think we could all use a little anti-V-Day music in our lives). However, see if you can notice a little progression in the songs as we get deeper in the class. I’ll explain at the bottom (no cheating!).

1. Bon Jovi, You Give Love A Bad Name (3:43): Cheeeeeze. Warmup. For the record, I would never play this song if it wasn’t for the theme of the ride. (Sort of like the Hank Williams Jr. song from the Superbowl Ride - country? Yuck). 

2. Cee Lo Green, Forget You (3:43): Quick pacing! I so wish I could play the unedited version of this song. 

3. Taio Cruz, Ludacris, Break Your Heart (3:06): I think we’d do some sprints during the choruses with moderate resistance. 

4. Queen, Another One Bites The Dust (3:35): Finding the beat, heavy resistance. 

5. Janis Joplin, Piece of My Heart (4:26): Wicked heavy, dood. Take it, Janis. 

6. No Doubt, Just A Girl (3:26): Sprints with medium resistance during the chorus.

7. The Magic Time Travel, These Boots Are Made For Walking (2:39): God, were they ever.  I haven’t listened to this song in a long long time, but I have a feeling we’d do jumps or intervals with heavy resistance. 

8. LMFAO, Sexy and I Know It (3:19): Heavy resistance sprints during the chorus, light for recovery. 

9. La Roux, Bulletproof (3:26): More intervals here. 

10. Talking Heads, I’m Not In Love (4:58): Endurance hill here, no intervals – just find a healthy pace and heavy resistance.

11. Crystal Castles, Not In Love ft. Robert Smith (3:47): Sprints during the chorus. Thanks K-Squared for this favorite song!

12. Rick Springfield, Jesse’s Girl (3:13): Again, cheese, but it’s all apart of the story for this ride. Not sure what we are doing here yet.

13. Jet, Are You Gonna Be My Girl (3:50): Spppaaaarints during the fast parts! Lots of intervals in this ride. 

14. Fun., Janelle Monae, We Are Young (4:10): Haven’t listened to this one enough in my car to figure out what we are doing yet – but a huge thanks to Michael for sending this (and many other AWESOME tunes) my way on Spotify! 

15. Rihanna, We Found Love (3:36): Have we figured out the story yet? Sprints after the beat drops.

16. Lana Del Ray, Video Games (4:42): Have you heeeeeeard her voice yet? She is the hotness. Thanks to my brother for this one – I would have given you the shout out even if you didn’t ask me to, big bruder. 

As you may have noticed, we start out in the breakup phase. Heartbreak hill. (OOoo, heartbreak hotel would be a good song to throw in too!). Then, we’re in the “F this guy, I am going to the gym every day and going to look so hot all the time” phase and we are giving it our all in sprints. Then we start to fall into a trap again… and we find love with Rihanna.  Love isn’t always so horrible.  But, most of the time it is, and to prove it, here’s a quote from one of my favorite movies… “Worse than the total agony of being in love?” – Little boy from Love Actually

I’m a little in love with this playlist here. I’m short on time so I’m only going to link new tunes I haven’t posted before.

1. Daft Punk, One More Time (3:56): If you start off a class with Daft Punk, you just can’t go wrong.

2. The Blues Brothers, Gimme Some Lovin’ (3:08): Used this for the Superbowl playlist since they performed some years ago for halftime, and I’m hooked. It’s got a quick pace for the whole song, and some sexy saxophones and horns.

3. The Heavy ft. the Dap Kings, How You Like Me Now? (3:38): Still obsessed with this one, too.  Throw on medium resistance and there’s a few fast sprints (12 – 18 seconds or so) and then go cray (I hate this but I think it makes me more hip to say it) for the last 50 seconds of the song.

4. Bob Sinclair, Love Generation (4:51): Sometimes I find myself judging a song by it’s title or artist.  Sorry, but it’s true. Personally, I love Bob Sinclair’s “Everybody Dance Now” from way back when, but it’s the cheesiest of the cheese. I try to stray from cheese.  So, when I kept seeing the name of this song, I was like eh.  Cheese.  Then, at La Boum, they played this and I was like I LOVE THIS SONG! Wouldn’t you know, it’s Mr. Sinclair. We did a few 15 second sprints with moderate to heavy resistance, and a few 30 second sprints.  It’s got a constant pace the whole song, so really you could do any sort of repeats for any length of time. Lesson learned, stop judging. 

5. The Black Keys, Lonely Boy (3:13): Still a favorite.

6. The Grateful Dead, Brown Eyed Women (5:51): Been looking for a Dead song I wanted to use for a while, and this one struck me as “the one” during an Occupy-Spotify-At-Work sesh (that I participate in daily).  It’s got a great rhythm to spin to, and we did some endurance with heavy resistance.  Face melting guitar solos and riffs, too. Let the Dead out – try it in your class, just once! 

7. Delerium ft. Sarah McGlaughlin, Silence (6:34): Remember the tune from that awesome movie Brokedown Palace where Claire Danes gets thrown in the slammer in Thaliand for drugs, even though they were planted on her? If you have no idea what I’m talking about, netflix it – and if you don’t recognize the song, take a listen.  It’s truly beautiful, it’s got a killer rhythm, and even though Sarah likes to depress us with her animal activism commercials, she really belts it out for us in this tune, but not as good as I do in my car.  It’s kind of one of those close your eyes and get lost tunes. We went our heaviest all night here for 6.5 minutes, switching positions to stay engaged. 

8. Martin Solveig, Hello (3:11): Fun song.  Don’t overplay it or you’ll get sick of it pretty quick.  Sprint when the beat drops. 

9. Boston, Peace of Mind (5:05): This was called in on my special request hotline for my friend LEON who has been a HUGE supporter of spinmuse, and my dreams of owning the greatest spin studio in the world (one day! He thinks I should call it “I got the Spins”).  He’s a diehard soccer player, but I have turned him into a spinner in just a few classes.  We did 1 minute intervals here.  One minute on with moderate to heavy resistance, and cool down 1 minute. Repeat until Boston has thoroughly melted your face. 

10. Fitz and the Tantrums, Moneygrabber (3:10): I still love this tune, too.  Great for heavy resistance and sprints during the chorus, and switching positions throughout.

11. The Givers, Up Up Up (4:34): My Spotify friend (and loyal spinmuse reader) Jimmy sent me a song by this group, The Givers.  I immediately fell in love with them.  They have such a fun, feel good vibe to them.  I liked the song he sent so much that I listened to the whole album, and this song really stuck out for me.  You’ll see why within 30 seconds of listening to it. Last heavy climb! 

12. Calvin Harris, Feel So Close (3:28): I need to personally thank Calvin for producing this song.  I think he had spinning instructors in mind.  0-45 rest, 45-1:15 sprint, 1:15-1:45 rest, 1:45-2:15 sprint, 2:15-2:45-rest, 2:45-3:15 sprint.  If you’re like me and don’t feel like reading those numbers, the short of it is that you can do 30 second sprints, 30 second recovery the whole song after the 45 second point.  Spinning made easy! Thanks, Calvin.

13. David Bowie, Life on Mars (3:51): One of my favorite songs that reminds me of one of my favorite movies,The Life Aquatic.  For the record, I literally never watch movies.  Except I mentioned 2 in this post?

Firstly, as you may have noticed, I did not post the iTunes or Spotify playlist this week in this post.  I think I have officially decided to say F to iTunes, seeing as how frustrating it is when the past oh, 15 out of 10 (yes. i know) playlists have just not published. It’s a waste of my precious time, where I could be catching up on an episode of Weeds or eating a cookie instead.

Secondly, I hear my local sports team is in the Superbowl. That is neat! While I will be indulging in “game food” and pretending to care and watch said game, I will also be rooting for my favorite starting lineup in the Puppy Bowl.  I like this guy because he’s got a really good taste in music. Also, this gal, because I have a feeling that if she could peddle, she’d come to my spin class.

That being said, I have created a Superbowl Playlist.  Qualifications to make this playlist included songs that you’d hear at a football game, or hear while watching a football game, songs that have been performed at previous halftime performances (but not the actual performances because they all sound like crap – except for one that I use below), or Boston-related tunes.  I haven’t taught this playlist yet, so the teaching notes are kind of poor this week.  But, I wanted to post it with ample time in case anyone wants some Puppybowl (I think they play a similar playlist) songs. Also, I will be using this playlist for an hour long class, a 50 minute long class, a class that does jumps, and a class that doesn’t do jumps. So don’t pay much attention to my notes. I just re-read what I’ve written already and I’ve already confused myself.

Thirdly, the reason I am so spaced out right now is because I just got back from our nation’s capital (Washington, D.C., for those who may be in a similar state as me right now) where we celebrated Meggie’s 25th birthday at a brunch place called “La Boum.”  Any D.C. readers out there? Have you heard of/been to La Boum?

I will leave you with a few hints about La Boum.  It’s a party brunch from 2-5:30.  They give you free shots.  There is a disco ball and DJ.  There is a go-go dancing block.  There is a burlesque dancer, although I’d rather call her a stripper, named Candi (or maybe it’s Kandi – strippers love doing that stuff to their names).  They bring out bottles of champagne with sparklers inside the bottles.  They make you take off clothing when you dance on the go-go block.  They make you dance on your chair.  It is the MOST fun you will ever have, at brunch, and in life.  Here is proof:

Here is the owner, standing on the bar with a champage-flame bottle. No alcoholics were hurt during this brunch. The shirtless DJ is in the left hand-most corner of this photo. He definitely reads this blog.

So, friends, I am exhausted, which is another reason I have not posted the Spotify playlist yet. Will get on it sometime this week when I’m alive.

1. NFL On Fox Theme Song (1:22):  Stretching, warming up.  

2. Hank Williams Jr., Are You Ready for Some Football (2:18): Moat likely still stretching and warming up until close to the end of this tune.

3. Guns ‘N Roses, Welcome to the Jungle (4:34):  There’s a ton of parts in this song where you can count for 10 seconds and do little increases in speed… I haven’t gotten them down pat, but if you listen to it a few times, you can kind of decide for yourself on where you can do the 10 count increases.  This song just screams sports games. And Natick High School wrestling match warmups.

4. Superbowl Shuffle, Chicago Bears (6:04): This song cracks me up.  I haven’t heard of it until recently when I was looking for a superbowl list of tunes.  Apparently da Bears decided to record their own song back in like, ’85? Before I was born? Sports teams were obviously way cooler back then. Sorry for the crappy song quality, but iTunes has a good version you can download for a the cost of just 1 thing off the dollar menu at McDonalds.  Climb.

5. Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough (2:27):  30 second sprints during the choruses.  This song was performed by Diana Ross way back when during halftime in the 90′s.  

6. Janet Jackson, Rhythm Nation (5:31):  Can’t have a superbowl playlist without some Janet “the wardrobe malfunction” Jackson.  After a minute or so, the chorus kicks in, and you can do a 30-40 second increase in speed. There is a few of them throughout the song.  I am going to use it for a fast flat with increases during the chorus.

7. Paul McCartney, Live and Let Die (3:13): Climb, and back to increases during the fast parts.

8. The Blues Brothers, Gimme Some Lovin’ (3:08):  How cool are the Blues Brothers? They performed back in the 1990′s during half time. This is also my new favorite song.  

9. Black Eyed Peas, Pump It (3:37):  Definitely high resistance and sprints during the chorus.  Classic tune.

10. Bruce Springstein, Glory Days (4:08):  Not the biggest Bruce fans, but here you go. Climb.

11. Michael Jackson, Bille Jean (4:55): Still climbing.

12. Aerosmith, JT, Britney, Nelly, Walk This Way (3:06): Still climbing.  This is the only song where I am using audio from the actual performance, because the quality is such doodie.  This one is fun though. Jumps on a hill perhaps?

13. U2, Where The Streets Have No Name (4:38):  I think we are going to get flatter, and then build up to a hill again for this one.

14. Dropkick Murphys, Shipping Up To Boston (2:34):  I can’t have a Superbowl playlist for a Boston sports team without having this song in it.  Definitely sprints.

15. Captain Q.B. and the Big Boys, San Diego Super Chargers (4:22): This song is silly. It’s like a disco song about a football team. This song for my 50 minute spin class will be the cooldown, but for my hour long class, this will likely be the last song and I haven’t quite decided what to do for it yet.. Jumps on a hill maybe. I’m tired.

16. The Rolling Stones, I Can’t Get No Satisfaction (3:46): Cooldown (even though it’s fast, this playlist needs to be 100% on the pump-up scale).

Go Patriots. Beat other team.

Hey everybody, since Amanda approved and enjoyed my first playlist again, I have returned with yet another batch of songs to get you through your workout! This one has a theme behind it, and I’ll explain why.

So I had to go into work this past Saturday, and for those in the Boston area, know that we got our first real significant snowfall of the year. It started coming down around 7 am, and I was a bit pessimistic about the turnout at the gym that day. I began to get a little bummed out because I had a kickboxing class and a bootcamp class to teach that afternoon. However, much to my surprise, the gym was PACKED! Both the diehards and the resolutioners filled up the gym all day, and I couldn’t have been happier.

Anyways, after my bootcamp class, this adorable, tiny girl came up to me and thanked me for the awesome workout, and told me she needed a change of pace because she is training for a marathon. Naturally, I asked her about the music selection in the class (which was very heavy on house and dubstep), and she told me that it was fine, but that she usually listens to gangsta rap! That was FOR SURE the last thing I expected this petite little girl to say. So to get her hyped for next class, I made a hip-hop heavy playlist for this week’s blog. I wouldn’t recommend this playlist for a class full of middle-aged or older women, this one if definitely for those who don’t mind foul language.

Introduction

1. Frank Ocean – Swim Good (4:17): I absolutely LOVE Frank Ocean, his EP Nostalgia Ultra was one of my favorite top to bottom albums this year. Downtempo song for intro’s and warmup/stretch.
2. Lupe Fiasco – Double Burger With Cheese (4:52): From another one of my favorite albums from 2011, Friend of the People. Go check it out if you like a fusion of rap and house music. 

Cardio

1. Eminem feat. Pink – Won’t Back Down (4:27): Definitely not too crazy about either Eminem or Pink, but there’s something about this song that just gets me absolutely pumped. I always know I’ve found a great workout song if I find myself pumping out a few extra reps every time I listen to it. This is one of those songs. 
2. Jay-Z & Kanye West feat. Frank Ocean – No Church In The Wild (4:32): Somebody should really start a YouTube channel or a Tumblr of Denzel Washington movie trailers set to songs from Watch The Throne. I can’t wait to watch his new movie in a Cardio Theatre. 
3. Flo Rida feat. Sia – Wild Ones (3:53): Kind of cheating here, this song is a little more dance-y than hip-hop, but I can’t help myself. Really good for dumbbell jump ropes, mountain climbers, and jumping split squats. 
4. Mac Miller – Knock Knock (3:23): Wrapping up the cardio portion of the bootcamp. Did I mention that I love burpees? 

Weight Training

1. Childish Gambino – Freaks and Geeks (3:37): Childish Gambino, aka Donald Glover, is probably my favorite current rapper. His wordplay and rhymes are so stylish, cool and smart. This is the first song I heard from him, and I haven’t stopped listening to him since. 
2. Tinie Tempah – Simply Unstoppable (3:33): The beat on this song is perfect for exercises that require a few steps. For example, one of my favorites for a bootcamp is, with light dumbbells, doing a squat, clean, and press. Tiring, but a great full body exercise.
3. B.O.B. feat. Lil’ Wayne – Strange Clouds (3:56): Another one of those songs that gets me to bust out a couple more reps when I’m working out. Love the heavy bass on this one. 
4. Akon feat. Rick Ross – Give It To ‘Em (5:06): I love that this song goes fast, then quiet, which is perfect for when I switch exercises and explain what we are doing next. 

Cardio + Weights

1. Chiddy Bang – Truth (2:54): Very light weights/body bars, and some steps and risers, are a great recipe to get your heart rate into that fat burning zone. 
2. Kid Cudi feat. MGMT and Ratatat – Pursuit of Happiness (Steve Aoki Remix)(6:14): Again, cheating a little bit with this house remix, but this version is far superior to the original. Perfect for compound movement exercises. 
3. Jay-Z – U Don’t Know (3:19): This song is a CLASSIC gym banger. Just listen to that beat! 
4. Kanye West – Hell of a Life (5:28): Like I said, this playlist is definitely for mature audiences. Not sure what the old ladies’ reactions would be to this song. 

Cool Down

1. Kid Cudi – Soundtrack 2 My Life (3:55): Another one of my favorite current rappers. Definitely the king of downtempo rap right now. 
2. DJ Fergie Ferg – Nightfire (5:03): This is a mashup of Childish Gambino’s Firefly and the 80’s sounding theme song to the movie Drive, Nightcall by Kavinsky. Both of these songs are straight fire flames, and the mashup is even better. Perfect for a cool down/post workout stretch. 

Thanks for reading!

(okay, how awesome is he?) 

Spotify (Nocturnal)

iTunes (Peaches) (Yet 5 minutes later this playlist did not work…)

Spotify (Peaches)

iTunes (Psycho Killer)  (Same with this.)

Spotify (Psycho Killer)

^iTunes Ping really, really annoys me. I am thinking of ONLY posting SPOTIFY playlists from now on. Is there ANY READER on here that would be offended by this? PLEASE tell me, because I have no idea otherwise. I would hate to take it away if you guys love it, but half of the time I publish and they don’t work.  LET ME KNOW! Thanks.

I guess there was a football game today, but I napped through it, and make cookies instead. Since I teach on Sundays though, I’m looking forward to teaching on Super Bowl Sunday! I will have to think of a fun playlist for that theme.

So, I have 3 playlists for you today.  One is from this past Saturday where I did my first sub class at Beacon Hill Athletic Clubs.  The club was in Newton, MA, which is right outside Boston but there are still quite a few apartments and young folk in the area.  I made a kick-ass playlist filled with Rihanna, Skrillex, Swedish House Mafia, and tons of other fun pump up songs.  I got to the gym, asked the cute guy at the front desk what the Saturday morning 9 a.m. crowd was like, and he explained that it’s middle aged folk who are VERY particular about their music.  They are strictly classic rock.  I am so happy I talked to him beforehand because I had the complete opposite from classic rock lined up.  Talk about adapataion – I made a new playlist on the spot with all of my classic rock songs on my iPhone.  I was a hit, is all I will say.  Have you ever had to adapt like that RIGHT before class? I told them what the boy at the front desk said and they got a kick out of it, and appreciated that I changed my playlist around for them.

The first one is from the class I’ll teach this week, the second one is from Spynergy’s class today, and the third one is from the sub class – classic rock galore.  I’m not going to post soundcloud jams to the classic rock playlist. One note for the second playlist listed – we started with 1 song warmup, and then we climbed to two songs and then had a flat – repeat 3 more times, then a cool down. Seriously fun times.

Nocturnal:

1. Carolina Liar, I’m Not Over (3:24): Warmup! Thanks to Jules for this suggestion! 

2. The Hood Internet, Chromeo v. Rihanna, Don’t Stop The Fancy Footwork (2:14):  I love this mashup by the Hood Internet. It’s got Chromeo, Rihanna, and some Michael Jackson mixed in. Secondary warmup with resistance. 

3. The Rapture, How Deep Is Your Love? (6:26): As I mentioned last week, obsessed with this song, had to use it at the other gym for this week! Climb. 

4. Robyn, Call Your Girlfriend (3:47): Jumps with resistance. 

5. The M Machine, Promise Me a Rose Garden (5:32): I still love this one so much, especially for rolling hills. 

6. Lady Gaga, Hair (5:08): Hey Gaga. Jumps. 

7. Dougie Dubstep, (Bassnectar v. CSD) (4:05):  I posted this remix a long time ago, but I edited out the 10000 swears myself. It sounded annoying with how many times it went silent because of the swears.  I happened to come across this version which is CLEAN! on youtube. Check it out, it’s super fun. Even BETH likes it – the queen of Beiber. Heavy resistance. 

8. Chromeo, Night by Night (Robots with Rayguns Remix) (4:38):  I’ve used the regular version of this song before but I love this remix.  Resistance and some sprints. 

9. Big Gigantic, Nocturnal (5:01):  This is off Big G’s new album called “Nocturnal”, and I love it.  Their new album is fabulous, and it does sound a lot like their older stuff but I am still super into it.  They are coming to Boston soon and I can not WAIT for that show.  It’s slow for the first 3 minutes or so and then speeds up like crazy. 

10. Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears, Booty City (2:41): Fast flat. 

11. Jennifer Lopez, Papi (3:40): Jumps. 

12. Jane’s Addiction, Jane Says (4:46): Slow, heavy resistance. 

13. Journey & Guetta, Journey Without You (3LAU and Acetronik Mashup) (4:44): This mashups interesting. I’m okay with it but I don’t love it.  Sprints to end the class when the beat drops. 

14. Blind Melon, Change (3:42): Their most underrated song.  Check it out, great for a cooldown. 

Peaches:

1. Shakira, She Wolf (3:10): Warmup! 

2. Spoon, The Way We Get By (2:40): Heard this one while watching Shameless on Showtime recently and had to download it.  First song to climb to, small pace pickups during the fast parts – only 10 or 12 seconds, and one longer one to end the song.  

3. The Heavy ft. the Dap Kings Horns, How You Like Me Now (3:38): Obsessed with this song. Saw them open for Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings.  Same thing as the song above, some quick pace pickups, and one 40 second pickup to end the song. End of hill #1. 

4. Pitbull, Bon Bon (3:36): Fast flat.  I don’t speak Spanish. I have no idea what this song is about. 

5. Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Paris (Ooo La La) (3:16): Beginning of hill #2. Get comfortable with resistance, we’ll be here for a little while. 

6. R.E.M., Shiny Happy People (3:46): Towards the last minute or so of the song there is a long pickup that we sped up for. End of climb #2. 

7. The Infamous Stringdusters, Black Rock (3:32): I saw these guys back in October and loved that concert so much.  I used this song for a cool down.  Straight bluegrass instrumental, doing a fast flat, with a few pickups (you can kind of pick and chose since they come and go so often in the song) but there is one 30 second fast part to end it.  They are also coming back to Boston soon. I will be there for sure.

8. LCD Soundsystem, Someone Great (6:26): Climb #3. 

9. The Naked and Famous, Young Blood (3:32): Love this song. Endurance climb in this 3rd loop.  No real pickups or intervals, just steady climbing for 10 minutes (total). 

10. Dev ft. Fabulous, Kiss My Lips (DJ Kue Remix) (4:42): Flat! 1:00 – 1:30, 2:00 – 2:30, 3:00 – 4:00 sprints with light – moderate resistance. 

11. Muse, Starlight (4:00): Start of last climb. 

12. The Black Keys, Gold On the Ceiling (3:44): Great new tune off their new album, El Camino.  End of last climb. 

13. Presidents of the United States of America, Peaches (2:53): Love this tune – brings me back to middle school. Sprints to end with moderate resistance when the beat picks up! 

14. Sia, Breathe Me (4:35): Favorite cooldown song of all time. Yes. 

Psycho Killer:

1. Annie Lenox, Walking on Broken Glass – warmup.

2. Van Morrison, Wild Night – warmed up, quick pace.

3. Rob Thomas and Carlos Santa, Smooth – pickups during the chorus.

4. Bob Segar, Hollywood Nights – heavy resistance, try to stay ahead of the beat during the chorus.

5. R.E.M., Shiny Happy People – heavy.

6. David Bowie and Queen, Under Pressure – jumps on your own with heavy resistance.

7.Grateful Dead, Shakedown Street – moderate resistance, feel the beat for this song.

8. Jane’s Addiction, Jane Says – on your own, suggest heavy resistance.

9. The Rolling Stones, Gimme Shelter – starting the climb.

10. Led Zeppelin, When the Levee Breaks – super heavy climb.

11. The Talking Heads, Pyscho Killer – jumps with resistance.

12. The Who, Who Are You – fast flat.

13. Hall and Oates, Rich Girl – cooldown.

Spotify

I hope you all took some action today in being apart of the SOPA + PIPA protests online today.  I figured out how to blackout my site (thank you WordPress!) without completely and utterly ruining my life’s work here on this blog.

In more important news (so self-centered) I also, if you haven’t noticed yet, did a little theme change-up on this piece.  I would love any feedback you may have – I think it’s a little easier to read, and it feels more organized.  I tried not to stray too far from the theme that I previously had so it was still easy to maneuver around.  I like that each post is shortened on the homepage, so that you don’t have to scroll for days to find older posts.  Let me know what you think, and a huge, HUGE Cheers to my best friend Brandon who has been working on a logo for my blog.  He gave me a bunch of different types of logos (all belonging to the same family though) to use for different things, so expect some new things to pop up once I have them organized on my computer.  I have already uploaded the banner, which you should be able to see at the top of the page.  He is the greatest, isn’t he?

I only taught one real class this week – had something come up for another class, but, exciting news, I survived my first audition! I am now on the sub list for the Beacon Hill Athletic Clubs around Boston, which I am psyched about since two are super close to my apartment.  The audition was about a half hour long with just me and the group fitness director, and it felt super quick and painless.  One might even say I had fun.

Question for you: Is there a device that I can buy that will tell me my RPM’s for any bike I put it on? I’d also like something to give me total distance.  Does anyone have any suggestions? I haven’t done much research for this, but what I have found is that some of these devices need to be drilled into a bike.  Not going to happen. I am a wiz with tools since my full time job requires manual labor at times (it’s tough being an environmental scientist, okay?), but I do not own the instructor bikes, and I’m pretty sure the owners of the studios would not appreciate that.

Now, onto the tunes:

1. Ben Lee, Catch My Disease (4:14): Warmup. 

2. Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears, Booty City (2:41): Fast flat.  This song is full of soul and makes you want to dance. Be prepared. 

3. Cascada, What Hurts the Most (3:42): Sprints during the chorus, there is about 3 sets of 30 seconds of sprints, methinks. 

4. Pheonix, 1901 (3:19): Just a few 20 second pickups with moderate resistance on during the chorus.  

5. The Rapture, How Deep Is Your Love (6:26): Thanks to Jimmy for this song – he sent it to me on Spotify, and I am embarrased at how addicted to it I became. It reminds me a lot of LCD Soundsystem, and I really liked it for it’s length, and the constant steady beat of the song for a climb. 

6. DJ Earworm, United States of Pop 2011 (4:41): This is quite an interesting mashup.  It’s sort of similar to the one I posted a few weeks ago, whereas it’s mostly the most-overplayed songs of 2011 all smashed up into one song.  We did a 15 second sprint at 45-1:00, a 45 second sprint at 1:30-2:15, a 30 second sprint at 2:30-3:00, and then one final 1 minute push from 3:24-4:26. 

7. Of Monsters and Men, Little Talks (4:27): This is a really cute song. It reminds me a little of The XX, where it’s a male and female duo.  We did little pace pickups during the chorus when it gets fast. 

8. Avicii, Levels (3:22): We did a Sprint in the FULL sense of the word “sprint” in spinning. We found our “10″, and did 30 seconds all out from 53-1:16, and then recovered the rest of the song. Spent!  

9. The Talking Heads, Psycho Killer (4:21): Heavy, steady to the beat, and switching the positions during “psycho killer – que’s que ce… fa fa fa fa” etc. (pardon my french), have fun with this one! 

10. Jane’s Addiction, Jane Says (4:46): I used this as a “this is YOUR song” song, suggesting that they go pretty heavy with resistance and just find a nice 4.5 minute climb in their own zone.  

11. Nelly Furtado, Say It Right (3:45): Keep up with a climb.  

12. Smashing Pumpkins, Tonight, Tonight (4:21): There are a few little fast parts in this song where we picked up the pace, but then at around 2:45 until 3:50 it gets pretty fast, so we picked up the pace with moderate-heavy resistance for 65 seconds.  

13. The Killers, Read My Mind (4:07): A few perfectly executed 30 second sprints during the chorus. Don’t you love when song chorus’ are always ending in a 0 or 5!? It totally helps you remember.  

14. Aimee Mann, The Scientist (Live) (4:20): Beautiful Aimee Mann cover of Coldplay’s “The Scientist” to end the class. Mr. Foley, I totally thought you sent this to my Spotify and I wanted to give you credit for it but now that I look at my inbox I don’t see it. This is what it’s like to get old, I suppose. 

Audition Playlist (about 34 minutes long total) (Not posting the songs since I’ve used them all before):

DJ Vitamin, No Love For The Hard Times (Gramatik Remix) (3:30): Warmup.

Outkast v. Deadmau5, Ghosts Over Baghdad (3:40): A few 15 second pickups to warm up, you can hit it right usually on the 00, 15, 30 and 45′s however you want to. Or make the pickups 30-45 seconds long, play around with it!

Pretty Lights, Jay Z Empire State of Mind Remix (4:37): Love this song – jumps on a serious hill during the chorus on a slow 8 count.

Big Gigantic, High and Rising (5:52): Another favorite. Stay on that hill for 2.5 minutes, until you hit 2:35 or so where the music starts to speed up. Take a little resistance off as the song gets faster until the end. By the end, you’ll be hauling ass on a flat road.

Matchbox 20, How Far We’ve Come (3:31): Great song for sprints during the chorus – a few 23 second sprints, and one 50 second sprint to end. You’ll hear it.

Rusko, Hold On (ft. Amber Coffman) (4:35): Rolling hills, I love the subtle wobbly bass lines in this song and Amber’s beautiful voice.

Adele, Cold Shoulder (Basement Jaxx Remix) (2:53): A few 15 second pickups and a 30 second pickup.

Michal Menert, Tomorrow May Never Come (5:38): Cool down!

SOPA AND PIPA WILL AFFECT YOU IF THESE TWO BILLS ARE PASSED THROUGH CONGRESS.

If you have no idea what I am talking about, then you need to read this Wikipedia article.

After you are done reading that Wikipedia article and have a brief, general, impartial understanding of what SOPA and PIPA are, think about what a world of CENSORED INTERNET would mean for us.

First off, you wouldn’t even be able to READ anymore Wikipedia articles. Wikipedia would be gone. Youtube would be gone.  If you upload a video of your child singing along to a Rihanna song, maybe you’ll get sued. The Pirate Bay would be gone.  Reddit would be gone.  Firefox might be gone, and when you go to search something in Google (who knows if that would still exist), ONLY WEBSITES THE GOVERNMENT APPROVE OF WOULD SHOW UP.

WE ARE NOT CHINA! OR MALAYSIA! OR IRAN!  THIS IS AMER’KA! We are granted with the privilege of FREEDOM OF PRESS and FREEDOM OF SPEECH and both SOPA and PIPA would be a complete infringement on those rights.

TAKE ACTION TODAY! Sites like Google, Reddit, Wikipedia, and even your favorite work procrastination sites like Cheezeburger are “blacked out” today (censored) to protest the bills and to show how crappy the internet would become if passed. Who knows how it would affect your favorite SPINNING MUSIC BLOG (cough, cough) and how would you listen to songs that your favorite blogger (cough, cough) wants to share with YOU if sites like soundcloud and youtube are GONE?! (womp womp).

TAKE ACTION BY CLICKING HERE AND SIGNING THE PROTEST

Tell your friends. This is important.

Hey everybody, my name is Joel Attardo, and I will be your guest blogger on SpinMuse this week! I have written a few blogs for my amazing friend Lindsay’s site, PinkSneaks, and I plan on being a regular contributor to this site as well (if Amanda approves!). (<–I APPROVE! – ALB)

I HATE talking about myself, but I will give you a little background on me. I am currently a Nutritionist (University of Arizona, BS in Nutrition, 2010) and Certified Personal Trainer (NSCA) working at Boston Sports Clubs. In addition to giving nutritional consults and training clients, one of my favorite things to do is teach group exercise classes. I have a background in Mixed Martial Arts, specifically Muay Thai kickboxing, so I love to teach cardio kickboxing, boxing technique, and, my favorite, BOOTCAMP.

My first blog is going to take you through my latest bootcamp playlist. Each of my bootcamp classes varies, but they usually take on the same basic structure. Introduction (warmup and stretch) for 10 minutes, cardio (mostly bodyweight, high intensity movements) for 15 minutes, weight training (light weight, compound movements using two or more joints), more cardio (with some light weight) for 15 minutes, then a cool down for about 5 minutes. I like to switch up my playlists every week, as I do have a lot of regulars in my classes, and music can get stale, as any workout can as well. So, here is my newest playlist to get your sweat on to.

Introduction

1.     Nero – My Eyes (4:50) : One of my favorite slow electronic jams from 2011. I use this song to talk about myself and the class for the non-regulars. 

2.     Justice – On ‘n’ On (4:31): Another slower paced song. We are getting into a nice stretch and warmup.

Cardio

1.     Jay-Z – Public Service Announcement (2:53): Nothing like a little Jay-Z to let everyone know I mean business. 

2.     Swedish House Mafia feat. Deborah Cox – Leave This World Behind (2:50): Sets the tempo for the rest of the cardio portion of the workout. The build up to the high beats per minute is perfect for high intensity, quick movements. Burpee time.  

3.     Pendulum – Watercolour (5:04): I usually start this song at around the minute thirty mark. The quick drum and bass continues with the theme of high intensity. 

4.     LMFAO – Champagne Showers (4:30): Probably my favorite LMFAO song, and definitely their most uptempo. 

Weight Training

1.     Kap Slap – E.T. Feels Starry Eyed (3LAU Remix) (4:17): One of the better mashups out there, this one features Katy Perry, Ellie Goulding, and Kanye West, among others, under a great electronic beat. This song kicks off the weight portion of the workout. 

2.     Lupe Fiasco – Lupe Back (4:31): I can’t stop listening to Lupe Fiasco’s new mixtape, Friend of the People, where he raps over a number of dance beats. This is my favorite off the mixtape, which samples a loud, intense Nero beat. 

3.     Wolfgang Gartner feat. Will.I.Am. – Forever (5:45): This song has the perfect BPM to keep everyone pumping iron in unison. 

4.     Taio Cruz feat. Kylie Minogue – Higher (3:08): Another great song that has an ideal beats per minute for compound weight lifting movements. 

 Cardio + Weights

1.     Daft Punk feat. M83 – Fall (3:55): This is a gem from the Tron: Legacy soundtrack, and is a great blend of fast and slow beats for the cardio plus weight portion of the workout. This is where I like to switch up the exercises frequently. 

2.     Fedde Le Grand – So Much Love (2:52): Such an infectious song! I like this song when I incorporate risers and steps into the bootcamp. 

3.     Coldplay – Paradise (Fedde Le Grand Remix) (3:00): Not really a big Coldplay fan, but this remix is really good, and it gets the middle aged women in my class REALLY fired up.   

4.     Avicii – Levels (Skrillex Remix) (4:44): A little dubstep twist on a song that I’m sure everyone is getting sick of by now. 

 Cooldown

1.     Steve Aoki feat. Lovefoxxx – Heartbreaker (4:15): This is a great downtempo song from Steve Aoki’s new album, Wonderland. Perfect for a cooldown and post stretching session. 

2.     Collin McLoughlin – Bromance (3:17): A casual remix of Avicii’s popular track, Seek Bromance. And that is a wrap for bootcamp! 

I hope you enjoy those songs, and can throw a few of them onto your iPod to listen to during your workouts! I’ll be back again with another playlist, as well as some nutritional and diet advice, and some strength and conditioning tips. Thanks for reading!