Gym Playlists

It occurred to me yesterday, as I was pulling my iPod out of my pocket for the fifth time to find a more suitably-energetic song, that I really do need a gym playlist. I'd toyed with the idea over the weekend but nearly falling off the bike thanks to my distraction was the final straw. So I came home and put a couple together - 'Instrumental Gym' and 'Alternative Gym'. Now, I'll admit to cheating with the first one but I love the song so much (blame David Starkey's recent series for that) that it's a perfect start to an energetic biking routine.

Instrumental Gym

1. 'Zadok the Priest'
2. 'William Tell: Overture'
3. 'Overture - Austerity Britain' from Betty Blue Eyes
4. 'Overture' from Gypsy
5. 'Overture' from Mack and Mabel
6. 'Overture' from Mame
7. 'In the Mood' by Glenn Miller
8. 'American Patrol' by Glenn Miller 
9. 'Arrival' by ABBA
10. 'The Carousel Waltz' from Carousel
11. 'The March of the Siamese Children' from The King and I

Alternative Gym

1. 'Come Follow the Band' from Barnum
2. 'A Lot of Livin' To Do' from Bye Bye Birdie
3. 'Ever After' from Into the Woods
4. 'Impossible' from Cinderella
5. 'A Parade in Town' from Anyone Can Whistle
6. 'Join the Circus' from Barnum
7. 'Lionheart' by Betty Blue Eyes
8. 'You Can't Stop the Beat' from Hairspray
9. 'Big Time' from Mack and Mabel
10. 'Something's Gotta Give' by Ella Fitzgerald
11. 'I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do' from Mamma Mia
12. 'Come So Far (Got So Far to Go)' from Hairspray

My love of musical theatre really comes out there, doesn't it? Demonstrates why the usual music played in gyms has been driving me mad over the last few sessions.

At the moment I'm still trying to get into a routine. Five kilometres on the bike, with increasing effort levels' is taking me about twenty minutes. The rest of the playlist will be taken up with a spell on the cross trainer and resistance training. I have to endure the gym's own music while I'm on the rower because my iPod falls out of my pocket. As for the treadmill...no, thanks. I tend to have lapses in concentration so imagine a whoosh, thud and a yelp and you've got a decent picture of what would happen to me on there.