How to make it harder, better, longer (my workout, that is)

I used to watch TV while I exercised. I would plan my workout time around “Friends” reruns and play little games with myself during my runs: I can’t look down at the mileage or time until this commercial break is over, or I can’t take a sip of water until this scene ends. I had problems when someone else was in the workout room before me, watching sports, or when I would have to hold on to the side of the treadmill while running: The TV was off to the side, meaning if I didn’t hold on, I’d run right off the back of the treadmill.

My friend Erin used to have an apartment in Queens without a TV. If there was a show she wanted to watch, she would go to the gym. I always admired this about her – what a great way to feel justified watching television and not being a couch potato!

I can’t remember when I discovered music while running, but once I did, I knew a TV could never distract me sufficiently again. There’s something to be said about having a beat to push you along during a workout. Sometimes I want to work out just so I can hear some great music.

I created a workout playlist in iTunes a long time ago, and I’ve been running with it ever since. I used to use my Shuffle, until I discovered the imapmyrun.com program for the iPhone. Since I used to run outside all the time, having GPS tracking was golden. Even now that I’ve turned to the gym to get me through the winter, I still love having that program even if I do have to type it in manually at the end.

A few months ago I started getting really bored with my workout playlist. I would be at the gym, running my heart out, and have to fiddle with my iPod to change the song every few minutes. That was distracting, and not in a good way.

So the other day I completely wiped my workout playlist, and I started from scratch. I brought back a few of the songs I know will get me through the last few minutes of a really tough run, but other than a select few, it’s all new stuff. I polled Chris, who’s been on a hip-hop kick lately, and he advised me on some of the latest songs to use. (Sidenote: I don’t listen to the radio much – and I know several of these have got to be overplayed to most of you, but not to me!) Check it out:

I polled my Twitter and Facebook friends after showing them the list, asking what was missing. I got some fun suggestions, including:

–        Sparkle and Shine by Econoline Crush; Jesus Built My Hotrod  by Ministry; Headz Up by Nappy Roots, suggested by Heather

–        The power of Independent Trucking by Big Black, suggested by Michael

–       Jessica sent me her workout playlist, and she said some of her favorites include Timebomb by Rancid ; Green Light by John Legend and Andre 3000; and American Idiot by Green Day.

–        And a link to some great workout music, given to me by Joanna.

I have added Michael’s song to my playlist but haven’t gotten any others yet.

The verdict is still out on how well many of these songs work: I have used the new playlist a few times. Typically I run about 4 miles at the gym; the first time I used the playlist, I ran 7.51 miles. I’d say it is effective so far!

I wonder if a few of these are too slow (Natasha Bedingfield for example) but I’ll give them a fair shot before deleting them.

So what do you think of the playlist? What am I missing? What’s your favorite song to work out to?