Happy New Year!! It's been a great year for music and I always like to start my new year with two special playlists. One being a “Best of” playlist and the other a “New Year” themed playlist. I'll be sharing both of these playlists later today on my blog. In the meantime, here are a few of my favorite New Year themed songs as well as two new releases that I'm sure you're going to want to add to your playlists soon!
The first song, Auld Lang Syne by the Red Hot Chili Peppers is a rockin', short and sweet version of the traditional New Years song. It starts out slow and builds throughout the two minutes so your legs should follow suit. I like that you can use this one as a working song, but there are many slower versions you can use as a cool down/stretch. Check out 10 excellent versions of the song here.
The second song, New Year's Day-Ferry Coston Remix, is one that I know most of us have used if we've made a New Years playlist in the past. If you haven't seen this remix though , it's got more of a beat to it and can be used as a hill, seated or standing at around 68 RPM's. The Spotify link is for a 4:37 version, the iTunes link is a version that clocks in at 9:41.
And the last song is one of my favorites to pull out each New Year. I've used it as both a flat road and a warm up, but I particularly like it for a warm up because I just love the lyrics, and it's a great way to start both the new year and your workout!
“Another year you made a promise
Another chance to turn it all around
And do not save this for tomorrow
Embrace the past and you can live for now.”
Another climb at around 65 RPM's. If you enjoy house music with a driving beat every once in a while, then this one is definitely for you: (sorry, I was unable to find an iTunes link)
Have a great new year and here's to more great music in 2016!
Take a listen to this new one that dropped last Friday by American Authors. While it may not be destined to be as popular as ” Best Day of My Life” and “Believer”, it's still pretty catchy and makes a great fast flat road. I'll also be using it as a warm up. Here is “Pride”:
With the holidays upon us, I thought it was only appropriate to dedicate this post to a song or two that you might use over the next few weeks. I personally don't create playlists dedicated to strictly holiday songs. I typically sprinkle a few in here and there in the weeks leading up to Christmas, and I try to keep them pretty non-traditional. One of my favorite go-to bands for Christmas tunes is the progressive rock band Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Here are two of my favorites:
Christmas Eve/Sarajevo: This one starts out slow and then picks up at about the 30 second mark. Slowing down again at around 1:30, then really picking up around 2:20 all the way to the finish.
Wizards in Winter: I use this one for accelerations on a flat road. Accelerations happen at :30 (20 seconds); 1:15 (25 seconds); and 2:10 (50 seconds: begin to accelerate and build to a sprint for the final 20 seconds).
One of my favorite climbing songs of all time is “Preliator” by Globus (from their album Epicon). I use this type of music sparingly in my classes, but I really love coaching my classes through songs such as these. The music provides so much motivation and just begs your legs to climb. Globus' music has been described as ‘symphonic rock' or ‘symphonic metal', and this particular song is epic enough to have been used in several movie trailers. Check out the live version here:
I was recently turned on to another song from the same album called “Europa”. I'll be using this one as a seated climb at around 70 rpm's, adding gear every minute. The music slows briefly at 2:10, but don't let that slow your climb. Continue on and finish this nearly 4 minute climb strong! Enjoy!
Their newest album, Death of a Bachelor, is set to release in January of 2016 and I'm loving the singles that have been released so far. Here they are, in order of release:
“Hallelujah” was released as the lead single on April 20, 2015. Use it as a hill or flat road at 80 rpm's. Fun fact: The very beginning of the song samples Question 67 and 68 by Chicago.
“Victorious” was released on September 29, 2015. I've used this as as fast flat road and a warm up. It could also be used as a flat road.
“Emperor's New Clothes”was released on October 22, 2015. Another fast flat road at around 96 rpm's. You can also use this one as speed work-accelerating on the chorus.
“LA Devotee” was released on the 27th of November 2015 (today)! It's around 88 rpm's so it would work great as a flat road. It would also make a great warm up.
I can't wait to see what the rest of the album brings!
