Have you ever shared a track or playlist from Spotify with a friend? PRO member sandyballardini shared this awesome playlist spin for glory with me and while I was listening to it play this morning, this track from the band Santigold really jumped out at me.
It's endurance season here in the frozen north and I love to string together multiple, interesting tracks in the mid 70's for long sub threshold climbs. Santigold — Disparate Youth taps out at 76 RPM with just the right amount of intensity to communicate where I needed everyone to be.
Maybe I should define what I mean by an interesting track = one that causes or requires the riders to stay mentally engaged; i.e. music that sounds just a little bit "off", confusing or slightly hard to follow.
It's no secret that teaching endurance classes (while keeping the group focused) can be challenging. In the past I've used very long tracks, that are almost hypnotic, for the purpose of helping everyone disassociate from the effort. Jim Karanas' ZENDURANCE PRO/Playlist has a bunch of great examples and 15 minute Pili Pili — Pili Pili is my favorite.
But there are times when I want to bring students back mentally, so I'll throw in an interesting track like Santigold — Disparate Youth to snap them back to reality.
Do you have a favorite you'd like to see as the Friday Favorite? Yes? Then send it to me user johnmac11
Here's a fun cover you can download 🙂
John is a member on the AFS (Association of Fitness Studios) Advisory Council.
Holding certifications from; Schwinn, Heart Zones, Team ICG and Life Time Fitness, John's held regularly scheduled cycling classes between 1998 and 2015 when he moved to Florida.
When the weather permits, you'll find him riding and leading outdoor groups by himself or with his Tandem partner (wife) Amy.
Thanks for the shout our John and I’m glad you liked Santigold. Truth be told I was just getting to know Spotify and although the songs in the playlist are all songs I would use for class, they aren’t in a class order. My second attempt at a Spotify playlist is in the order I would choose. If you haven’t seen it , my user name sandyballardini and the playlist is called “spin for guts”. LOVE the second and last working song the most, WOR by Django Django and BEGGIN by Madcon. Check it out!
Sandy it looks like you’ve been busy here http://open.spotify.com/user/sandyballardini/playlist/2GcjSGTY22rz62ceW2vuWp