Up all night and morning cycle

I am loving the 6AM class! But unsure if it will last long. This is May: early sunrises, clear skies, relaxed drivers… I wonder how I’ll feel when the dark mornings, rushes to get to work, or worse, when the June gloom will hit So Cal! Let’s take it one day at a time, shall we?! Here is the playlist I use. Again, I think you will see a lot of familiar songs and patterns. As I am new to these time slots, I can repeat some of the rides I have used before with slight changes considering the time of day. No AC/DC to warm-up!

This routine works your strength. Lots of climbing and resistance all the way through.

As for the songs, I had tried Alex Clare before without feeling enchanted but, surprise, he makes for a great early morning ride.

1. Your eyes – Bombay Bicycle Club (5:21). Warm up and finish in 2nd with easy resistance.

2. Up in flames – She Wants Revenge (3:44). Move to 3rd with added resistance. My little crunches: navel to spine, move hips back to center in sync with the beat. Wait about 1:30 to start.

3. Back in time – Pitbull (DJ First Rmx) (4:08). So fun to jump on this tune! Jumps with resistance of 7 starting at 0:34. At 3:20, sit down and finish the song on a hill.

4. Banquet – Bloc Party (3:21). Jog steady switching from 2nd to 3rd about every 45 sec to 1 min. Level 6-7.

5. Save tonight – Eagle Eye Cherry (Simon ShOut Remix) (6:04). Alternate between high-speed on high resistance and lower speed with lower resistance (never under a level 7 though).

6. Take a card – The Preachers (3:29). Straight hill with increasing resistance at 0:50, 1:16, 1:59, 2:48, 3:25. Finish at a minimum of 90% of maximum resistance.

7. Up all night – Alex Clare (2:43). Seated runs from 0:50-1:09; 1:38-1:58; 2:23-2:43. Level 5, flat road.

8. Sur le papier – Housse de Racket (Scottish Fold Remix) (4:15). Rolling hills. 1st position at level 6-7 until 0:41. 2nd position at level 7 until 1:10. Stay in 2nd, increase to level 8 until 1:40. Move to 3rd position until 2:10. Increase to a level 9 until 2:38. Back down to level 6 in 1st position until 3:08. Increase again to a level 8 until 3:38. Finish with same resistance in 2nd position.

9. Dogs days are over – Florence+The Machine (4:13).Always count on Florence Welsh for some good sprints. Power up in 2nd (flat road): 1:17-1:43; 2:15-2:53; 3:06-3:45.

10. Up Up Up – The Givers (4:34). Climb the “stairs”, minimizing the up and down movements of the body. Quads working like crazy! 1:24-1:56; 2:30-3:00; 3:55-4:30.

11. Too close – Alex Clare (4:10). Steady sneaky climb! In 1st, 70% of maximum resistance until 1:15. Add half a turn and come up to 3rd until 1:45. Sit, don’t touch the resistance until 2:24. Add half a turn, come up to 3rd until 3:00. Sit, don’t touch the resistance until 3:15. Add the maximum you can sustain, come up to 3rd until 3:49. Sit down and finish the climb in 1st.

12. Some nights. .fun (4:35). Go home with a few seated runs at a level 4-5 from 0:36-1:11 and 1:31-2:06. Finish the song on flat to cool down.

13. In the death car – Goran Bregovic (5:05). Stretch. If you have not seen Arizona Dream from Emir Kusturica, I encourage you too. Especially if you are “half tripping”… This man is nuts, in a good way! I started looking for a good video of the song and feel on this edit of the movie. Man, do I feel old seeing how young Johnny Depp looks in it. Time for Botox?!!! Kidding, I don’t have the money (all spent on chocolate and wine).

On yet another note, I am excited to soon meet a French DJ. I had met Bob Sinclar a few years back and had a few great evenings in the company of his family. It was exciting to see his work process from a more personal point of view than Youtube! This DJ is apparently extremely “techno”, which is not my cup of soup. But I still feel like we all can learn from everyone. Never underestimate knowledge of facts and of the world. It applies to life as well as to a playlist. Ignorance is bliss but fuels mistakes.

Oh, the name of the DJ is Joachim Garraud!

Good Morning Spin

I picked up a new AM class. 6AM to be precise. I am very happy: it will give me the opportunity to experience a different vibe from the mid-morning and evening classes. The current instructor had decided to drop the classes to move on to other adventures in a month. Good for me. But it turned out that she got hurt and now need an immediate replacement. Not so good.

Here is the playlist I taught last morning. It was meant to be more low-key, with more time to warm up and wake up body and soul. I hope students enjoyed it. I am still “feeling the room.” I don’t mind making teaching and music adjustments according to the crowd, but I have yet to figure them out! It looked like a fair mix of students: more guys than in the usual day classes, slightly older too for the most part, and who know each other well… That is going to be fun!

All the tunes I have used before. I wanted to feel acquainted and comfortable with my timings so that I would focus on teaching and observing.

1. Rifle’s spiral – The Shins (3:30). Warm-up.

2. We will become silhouettes – Postal Service (5:01). After 40 sec, add resistance and go to 3rd for 1min30, then switch to 2nd for another 1min30, and finish the song seated. Adjust the resistance to move from a 7 to a strong 8 from a scale of 1 to 10.

3. Dancing in Houston – Zooash (4:00). I really enjoy this mix. Sprints in 2nd at a level 7 from 1:06-1:38; 2:10-2:45, 3:01-3:35.

4. Warrior – Kimbra+Mark Foster+A-trak (4:14). Heavy in 1st and at 1:30, move up to 3rd. Increase the resistance twice more throughout the song.

5. Resistance – Muse (5:47). Sprints in ladders: 1) increase the resistance to an 8 and power up the legs, 2) decrease the resistance and go even faster, 3) increase back the resistance but slow down the legs. Here are the timings: 1:38, 2:07, 2:31 / 3:15, 3:41, 4:09. At 4:54, keep the resistance up and sit down to finish the song.

6. The sound of winter – Bush (3:29). Straight hill climb. Seated.

7. Lights – Ellie Goulding (3:32). Lower the resistance to a flat road. After 30 sec, increase a full turn. After 15 sec, increase another quarter of a turn and stand up in 2nd. Jog (fast but without much resistance) in 2nd and 3rd for over a minute each. Keep the heart rate up.

8. For your entertainment – Adam Lambert (3:35). Come up to third with enough resistance to be in sync with the tempo. Add just a bit more. After a minute, move your hips back to center, center to back in a 1-2 rhythm. All core. Light on the handlebars.

9. Free- Graffiti 6 (3:51). Seated. Increase the resistance to a strong level 8 until 1:08. Decrease the resistance to a level 7 (a turn) and increase the leg speed until 1:56. Increase the resistance back a full turn and slow the legs a bit until 2:38. Finally, decrease the resistance and power up the legs until the end.

10. Volcano – Dragonette (3:34). Sprints with resistance (7-8) in 2nd position. 0:48-1:03; 1:37-2:07; 2:43-3:30.

11. Shark in the water – VV Brown (3:04). Isolate the lower body works by minimizing the up and downs. Climb the stairs at 0:39-0:59; 1:32-2:00; 2:21-3:00.

12. The real thing – Audra Mae and the Almighty Sound (2:57). Seated runs with low resistance: 0:30-0:49; 1:09-1:38; 2:10-2:52.

13. Helena beat – Foster the People (4:36). Rolling hills, switching position every 45 seconds or so and levels of resistance every 30 seconds.

Run, spin, and drive

It has been two weeks. I missed you. Been working a lot on too many other things!

Before I start with the routine, I have had someone asking me how to adapt a cycling routine to a running routine. The best and simplest way is to adjust your profile to the songs’ tempo to my opinion. But if you really want to follow a typical cycling course, then I would advise to do so on a treadmill by adjusting the incline: the highest the incline, the highest the resistance in a spinning routine. To slow down, you must find a hill, and to accelerate, you must decrease your incline or pick up the speed at a medium incline.

If you must run outdoor, then again, the easiest is to follow the songs and this time ignore the profile of your road: this, by the way, will give you an extra challenge by not always allowing you to go faster downhill and to slow down uphill, but on the opposite, at times, to have to go faster up a hill (or at least try) and focus on your form and stride on a flat road or downhill because the music slowed down. Good luck!

Sometimes I get stuck on a profile. Not by the lack of songs or inspiration (which happens also but not this time). When this happens, I go old fashion. A picture is worth a thousand words (debatable… but today, I will surrender).

Arts and craft!

Do you find this funny? Me too. Very old school. Very last hour before the final exam. Just can’t fail!

Here is what all this snipping and tucking lead to:

1. The rifle’s spiral – The Shins (3:30). Warm up.

2. Machinehead – Bush (4:16).At 0:38, stand up in 2nd with level 6 of resistance. Add one gear and go to 3rd at 1:44. Take off half a turn and seat back down in 1st at 2:58.

3. Panic switch – Silversun Pickups(5:42).Runs with resistance in 2nd position on flats at 1:35-2:03, 3:02-3:31, 4:29-5:12.

4. Take a walk – Passion Pit (4:23). Back down to 1st. Then at 1:30, load up the resistance and come up to 3rd. Add more at 2:37. Add again and last at 3:30.

5. Faint – Linkin Park (2:44). I enjoy this group more now that I am older. No comment. Runs on flat in 1st at 0:52-1:07, 1:31-2:00, 2:11-2:44.

6. November skies feat. Nina Kinert – Tomas Barfod (5:48). Rolling hills with switch in positions and in resistance at 1:15, 1:47, 2:17, 2:50, 3:17, 4:40, 5:19.

7. Hear your voice – Pennywise (3:44). Up in 2nd at a level 7, and seated for sprints without touching the resistance between 0:49-1:20, 2:03-2:34, 2:53-3:40.

8. Somebody to love – Jefferson Airplane (3:01). Crunches in 3rd: move the hips back to center a couple of inches in sync with the tempo of the song.

9. Need your love RAC Mix – the Temper Trap (3:24). I was a bit let down by this new song from the group who had such great vocals on Sweet disposition and Fader, but that mix makes it a little more bearable. I can work with that (I think, I ‘ll let you know after I teach tomorrow!). Straight hill climb here.

10. Youth without youth – Metric (4:17). Invertedly, I am fairly impressed by this song that I discovered on KROQ’s website (which I found highly ironic, not having a supreme esteem of this extremely mainstream radio station in California). Jogs (medium resistance of about 6) in 2nd and 3rd positions (2 minutes each).

11. Wishing he was dead – The Like (2:52). This song is all about having fun (not). Without kidding, it’s a good melody but I will never understand the urges of jealousy and distrust. I say, “do what you want, just don’t bug me with your remorse: I don’t have time for this! Gotta go (run, spin, teach, eat)!” …or maybe I am just old Runs in 2nd with resistance (7-8) between 0:43-0:58, 1:34-1:48, 2:03-2:33.

12. Little talks – Of Monsters and Men (4:04). Seated sprints between 0:55-1:15, 1:52-2:30, 3:06-3:43.

13. Called out in the dark – Snow Patrol (4:01). Rolling hills every 45 sec.

14. Nightcall – Kavinsky and Lovefoxx (4:20). Cool down… I hadn’t bought a whole album for a long time, let alone a soundtrack. This was the only way I could revive the roller coaster of emotions that Drive took me through. This movie is a movie. I can’t go to or watch movies very often anymore sadly. But a gem like Drive was like reading a great book from beginning to end without sleeping, without eating, it is so good!

Why I drive a stick:

If you like this sing, there are amazing remixes of it, including the two chosen by Kavinsky and the label themselves (the first being a Frenchman apparently :

http://youtu.be/0bZzL6KW2Fw

http://youtu.be/PHjdiHV305I

Charlie Brown and Ruby riding on a bike… No one fell off!

This week is pretty loaded with resistance again. The music is absolutely not mainstreamed. I have been doing a lot of popular music lately and after a few classes, they get a bit… boring. It is however a bit more difficult to motivate a class on “not-so popular” tunes.

To sum up, I have a single solution: tire them all so they don’t have the breath or strength to complain .

1. Charlie brown – Coldplay (4:45). Warm-up.

2. Back in time (DJ First Rmx) – Pitbull (4:08). Start jumps on heavy resistance at :34. At 3:22, sit down and add (level 8 on scale of 1 to 10, or 80%). Thanks to Chris from Chrispin for that one!

3. When lilies die – IO Echo (3:38). My downstairs neighbor drums in the band. Always love a referral! At 0:05, decrease the resistance back to 70% and increase the speed (still seated). Increase the resistance at 1:15, come up to 2nd, keep up. At 2:05, back to level 7 of resistance but increase the speed. At 3:20, increase the resistance, this time staying seated.

4. Banquet – Bloc Party (3:21). Steady jogs through the three positions. Switches at 1:04 and 1:56 and 2:34.

5. Brightside (DiscoTech remix) – The Knocks (4:43). Simply alternating between high intensity and high resistance (85%) and lower intensity with lowered resistance (70%). Time breaks: 0:50; 1:50; 3:03; 4:08.

6. Take a card – The Preachers (3:29). Hill climb: 60% until 0:50; 70% from 0:50 to 1:16; 80% from 1:16 to 1:59; 85% from 1:59 to 2:48; and finally reach a strong 90% from 2:48 until the end.

7. Up all night – Alex Clare (2:43). Simple runs in 1st at 0:50-1:09; 1:38-1:58; 2:23-2:43. I can’t wait for some remixes of this song!

8. Sur le papier (Scottish fold remix) – Housse de Racket (4:15). Rolling hills. In 1st until 0:41. From 0:40 to 1:10, come up to 2nd on a level 7. Increase the resistance to a level 8 and try to keep up from 1:10 to 1:40. Decrease the resistance and come up to 3rd from 1:40 to 2:10. Increase the resistance, stay in 3rd from 2:10 to 2:38. Lower the resistance and sit down from 2:38 to 3:08. Increase the resistance, stay in 1st from 3:08 to 3:38. Finish in 2nd with the same amount of resistance until the end.

9. Dog days are over – Florence + The Machine (4:13). Nice sprints in second with a fair amount of resistance slowing you down. Timing: 1:17-1:43; 2:28-2:53; 3:06-3:45.

10. All along the watchtower – Jimi Hendrix experience (4:00). High resistance (8). “Climb the stairs” or basically quiet the upper body (limit the up and down or side to side movements), isolating the work of the legs from 0:53-1:09; 1:43-2:00; 3:24-3:56.

11. Too close – Alex Clare (4:10). Sit in 1st with 70% resistance. At 1:15 increase the resistance half a turn and come up to 3rd. Power up until 1:45. Sit, keep the resistance the same. At 3:20, increase the resistance half a turn, come up to 3rd until 3:01. Sit, keep the resistance the same. At 3:15, increase the resistance as much as you can and come up to 3rd until 3:49. Finish the song seated with the highest level of resistance. Keep the energy up in 3rd!

12. Shut up and let pink go (Pink vs the Ting Tings) – XAM (3:06). Simple jogs in 2nd and 3rd. About 45 sec each time. Resistance on the lighter side (6).

13. Shadowplay – Melih Ask meets the Killers (4:01). Moderate resistance. Jumps with a break between 2:14 and 2:50.

14. Simply falling – Iyeoka (3:58). Cool down.

15. Ruby – Foster the People (5:58). Stretch more… Just because I love those two past songs!

Beats to the Beatles

I am not necessarily a big fan of Paul Mc Cartney. No one can deny him the Beatles though, right? So, there is a lil’ sugar at the end of this post with Natalie Portman and Johnny Depp…

As for the workout this week, it is a steadily intense routine with very few recoveries.

1. When tomorrow comes – Eurythmics (4:30). Warm-up.

2. Learnalilgivinanlovin – Gotye (2:50). Come up to 2nd for a near 3 min jog. Level 6 to 7 on a scale of 1 to 10.

3. drive by (Maxxxi Mixed) (3:50). Add some resistance every 45 seconds or so starting in 2nd and going through the 3 positions. Legs speed remain the same no matter the position.

4. Green city case – Green day vs. Owl City mashup (3:23). 48 sec regular pace at level 6 to 7; at 0:48 decrease the resistance to run on flats until 1:43; raise back the resistance and slow down until 2:30; go down again until 3:12. Keep the pace fairly high even through the higher resistance. Recover from 3:12 to 3:23.

5. What a feeling- Alex Gaudino Feat. Kelly Rowland (2:59). Jumps with high resistance starting at 1:44.

6. Warrior – Mark Foster + Kimbra + A-Trak (4:14). Standing sprints (high energy) with a level 7 of resistance. 2 levels of work: 1st power up the legs, 2nd, give it all. Timing: 0:44-1:00-1:20; 1:53-2:10-2:45; 3:20 until the end.

7. Devils’ sundown – Wolgang Gartner and Skrillex vs. Chris Lake 2 (koyote bootleg) (4:19). Rolling hills.

8. Back in the USSR – The Beatles (2:43). Steady seated sprints on flats (I did single leg’s work for 30 sec each in the middle of the song).

9. Up in flames – She Wants Revenge (3:44). Increase the resistance by a turn to two; stand up in 2nd. Isolate the legs, limit the up-and-down and side-to-side movement in the upper body from 0:46 to 1:18, 1:56 to 2:27, 2:58 to 3:30.

10. Trojans – Atlas Genius (3:39). Stay in 2nd. Resistance at 7. Power up the legs in 3rd at 0:34-0:55, 1:22-1:36, 2:34-3:15. At 3:15, sit and recover.

11. Baby be night (ugly kids mash) – Breakbot vs. Chromeo (3:38). Start in 2nd. Reduce the resistance to a strong flat and stay there throughout the 2nd. Switch position every 45 sec. Keep the energy up!

12. Burnin’ for you – Shiny Toy Guns (4:46). Sprints in 2nd at level 6 (about a turn up from last song). Same work as in song #6. Timing: 0:55-1:05-1:30; 2:20-2:30-2:55; 3:30-3:54-4:41.

13. Di bella – Ficarus (Madeon vs. Adele vs. J.Cole vs. the Wanted) (4:20). Recover in 2nd until 1:08. Then sit down without touching the resistance and keep climbing until the end of the song by adding resistance every 45 seconds.

14. Young turks – Rod Stewart (5:03). Finish by going through 2nd and 3rd and back to 2nd on flats (1 minute each) and cool down.

15. Only for you – Heartless Bastards (5:08). Cool down and stretch.

BONUS:

Never getting down!

I have had this playlist for a full week and had the chance to play it twice in class already. Both times were a blast. Heart rate stays fairly high throughout the class either by keeping the resistance above a flat road or by bringing the leg speed up.

1. Babe, it’s time 4 stew – Ryan Nellis (5:03). Warm up.

2. Dela – Johnny Clegg and Savuka (4:16). I don’t know how big Johnny Clegg in the U.S. At the time of his “fame”, I was living in France. Let me tell you, he was hu-ge there! Many French have roots in Africa so songs inspired by its countries always strike a chord (aha!). I personally love his rhythms and the enthusiasm that transpires in his songs. Here, we did jumps at a medium level of resistance (7), starting at 0:56.

3. Paper in fire – john Mellencamp (3:52). Trying to revisit songs from the past? yes. And I love the re-visiting! Out of the saddle, rolling hills. Start at a level 6 and increase three times the resistance (every 15 to 30 seconds). Then decrease twice and go back up for a second short hill.

4. Getting down – The Kills (2:56). Moving hips back to center on position 3. Engage the abs, move legs with the tempo (resistance at 6-7).

5. Must be the feeling – Nero (Jyvhouse remix) (4:53). Breezy jog here. Bring the resistance in par with the tempo (about 7). Add a quarter to half a turn (make sure it’s enough for the legs to stay challenged throughout the song but not too much so that it becomes a hill).

6. Gone – Kelly Clarkson (3:26). Standing sprints with resistance above a flat road (standing): from 0:33 to 1:05, 1:39 to 2:11 (break from 2:25 to 2:40) and back on sprints from 2:40 to the end.

7. Back in the USSR – The Beatles (2:43). I ended up skipping this time because I was short on time (of breath???:p) but was going to do fast jumps with resistance at 6.

8. Ray of light – Madonna (5:21). Mixed terrain. Start at level 6, seated. At 1:08, power up the legs keeping the resistance where it is. Slow down at 1:30 and come up to 2nd; jog in 2nd while adding half a turn of resistance. At 2:40, don’t  touch the resistance and seat in saddle. Decrease the resistance half a turn at 3:23 but power up and increase the legs speed. At 3:55, come back up in 2nd. Power up the legs in 2nd at 4:24. At 4:48, slow down and stay in 2nd. Pffff!!!!!!!

9. Black velveteen – Lenny Kravitz (4:49). Straight hill climb.

10. The kids aren’t all right – The Offspring (3:00). Seated sprints from 0:58 to 1:16, 1:55 to 2:14, and from 2:34 to 2:55.

11. Shuffle – Bombay Bicycle Club (3:55). I have been meaning to use this song for a while. Jog in 2nd with increases in legs speed from 0:27 to 0:43, 1:11 to 1:44, (break from 1:44 to 2:37, slow down), 2:37 to 3:29.

12. Warrior – Mark Foster + A-Track + Kimbra (4:14). That is what I call team work! Rolling hills here (see song #3).

13. We are the crowd – Rumor Mill (3:34). Sprints on flat (level 5) with two levels of attack (speed up + give it all u got!) for each sprint: 0:42-1:14, 1:48-2:20, 2:56-3:26.

Dream intervals

This week’s playlist is all about intervals. Fast, slow, high, low: it will not let you fall back into daydreaming! No worries, I did put a remix of Dreams to offset this lack

If you look back at the routine, you might also notice that it loops somehow. The second part of the mix changes a little compared to the first but really the two halves have a very similar pattern. So even though I keep you on your toes (feet flat on pedals however!) by not letting you relax into a routine for a full song, I let your muscles have an advantage by having them do the same workout twice!

1. Ray no speak Americano – FAROFF (3:18). Warm up song.

2. Candy boy – Concorde (3:08). Continue the warm up: seated, 2nd and 3rd at a level 6 to 7 on scale of 1 to 10. 1 minute each.

3. Brighter than the sun – Colbie Caillat (3:51). Request. It’s good, I had never listened to this singer. Stand up to 2nd, resistance at a strong level 6. Increase a full gear and double up the leg speed from 0:31 to 0:51, 1:16 to 1:35 and 2:11 to 2:50. Finish in 2nd.

4. Girls and Boys – Blur (4:50). Stay in 2nd and increase the resistance half a turn at least (feel the shift). Power up in 3rd position from 1:04 to 1:35, 2:24 to 2:55, 3:12 to 4:18. To sum up 30 sec resistance spurs three times. Heart rate should go hiiiighhhh

5. Dreams (dave Edwards remix) – Fleetwood Mac (5:46). Hill climb starting in 2nd for 1 min, go to 3rd while increasing resistance for 2 min, down to 1st for 1 min 30 sec, and finish back in 3rd position for 1 min.

6. Everybody talks – Neon Trees (2:59). Seated sprints from 0:31 to 0:51, 1:12 to 1:33, 2:09 to 2:55 (x20. x20, x45).

7. 19-2000 (Souldchild remix) – Gorillaz (3:30). 2nd flat road (level 5-6) with sprints with increase resistance from 0:39 to 0:59, 1:35 to 1:55, 2:31 to 3:21 (x20, x20,x50).

8. Off the Hook – CSS (2:41). Stay in 2nd but adjust the resistance to a strong 7. Power up in 3rd position from 0:20 to 0:35, 0:56 to 1:17, 1:55 to 2:10 (x15,x20,x15).

9. Disparate youth – Santigold (4:45). Rolling hills here at a fairly fast pace. Again heart rate up!

10. Spitting game – Snow Patrol (3:48). 3rd position “crunches” moving hips back to center a few inches only. Follow tempo and adjust resistance for tempo too.

11. Blood for poppies – Garbage (3:38). Had to use it in my new mix! I heart Garbage… Start seated at level 5. Double up the leg speed for 55 sec. Increase a full gear. Stand up to 2nd and power up from 0:55 to 1:15. Stay in 2nd with the resistance up (single leg speed). Power up from 2:05 to 2:25. Sit down from 2:25 to 2:54 (double leg speed… or at least try!). Turn the resistance back up and stand back up in 2nd: power up from 2:54 to 3:24. Finish in 2nd with decreased resistance (1/2 gear).

12. New killer star – David Bowie (4:30). I invite all to check out a live performance of this song on youtube. I wish I were Bowie. I really do! High resistance (8). Leg work isolation (upper body stabilizes from 1:08 to 1:25 and 3:04 to 3:21. In between those times climb in 3rd (about 1:30 to 2:30 and 3:30 to 4:30).

13. The real thing – Audra Mae and the Almighty Sound (2:57). Fast finish. Run on flat and speed increases from 0:30 to 0:49, 1:09 to 1:38, and 2:10 to 2:52.

By the way, the song is a free download in the Amazon mp3 store!

Song of the DAY!

 

Who wasn’t a Garbage fan? Not me!

Blood for Poppies by GARBAGE

 

 

Endure

Second playlist of the day (refer to the previous post: Resist, for more details on the workout intentions and the music redundancies).

Cardio Endurance

1. Everlasting light – Black Keys (3:24). Warm up. A few pushes and pulls on the bike for a nice upper body warm up. I am researching some more active stretch moves lately because, as most of you know, it seems better to warm up with dynamic stretches and cool down with more steady, “passive” stretches. It is more efficient at preventing injuries this way. Nevertheless, I feel limited with my stretches on and off the bike because of time and space limits. I end up often using the same moves before and after class. It is still better than none but I want to adapt them better to the specific workout that is indoor cycling. Stay in touch for more developments on the matter

2. Part of me (Mikael Wills remix) – Katy Perry (3:41). I didn’t lie when I wrote that I thought that song was the best of two worlds: pop and spinning! 2nd position at level 6. Increase the resistance and keep up with the tempo from 0:32 to 1:00, 1:30 to 2:00 and from 2:30 to 3:32.

3. Shout (Mustache remix) – Tears for Fears (4:41). Another great remix. Thanks to all these music lovers who allow me to use such classics in my classes without feeling I am doing a themed class (We love the 80′s, yoohoo!). Rolling hills: going through each position with a slight increase of resistance.

4. Work remix – the 2 Bears (3:10). High resistance jumps.

5. We are young (Reidiculous remix) – .fun (5:30). Three levels of resistance in each position. Here is how I broke up the song: 0:50/1:36/2:06/2:22/3:05/3:39/4:07/4:22/4:52/5:07. The last two timings are used at a medium level of resistance in 2nd then in 3rd.

6. Rain dance Maggie – Hot Chili Peppers (4:42). Hill Climb.

7. Hang Icarus up (Fissunix mix) – Madeon vs Ting Tings (4:09). Seated sprints on slightly above flats (resistance from 5 to 6). From 0:30 to 1:00, 1:39 to 2:24, 2:47 to 3:18, 3:49 to 4:09.

8. Eyes wide open – Gotye (3:08). Again! Yes! I know! Here, one minute through each position with same resistance as above (adjust upon standing): jogging. Keep the heart rate up.

9. Stay gold – The Big Pink (3:38). Steady increases in resistance to go through a tough climb. First minute and a half in 2nd , finish in 3rd.

10. Wraith pinned to the mist… – Of Montreal (4:11). Lower resistance to a 7 (not less). Stay there in position 3 for a minute. Then 3 minutes of “crunches”, moving the hips back to center a couple of inches. (Break from 1:40 to 2:07).

11. Mondegreen – Yeasayer (4:40). Lower the resistance to 5 (flat). From 1:00 to 1:30, stand to 2 while increasing the resistance a gear and run; stay in 2nd but slow down; seat and run from 1:50 to 2:24; Come back up to 2 and run from 2:24 to 2:56; and again come down to 1 until 3:34. At 3:34, increase the resistance to a 7-8 and come up to 3rd position and climb until the end of the song. Pffff!

12. Time – PinkFloyd (7:00). Started the song at the bell rings. Lower the resistance to a high 7 and keep climbing in 3rd position until 2:30. Then lower to a 6-7 and go to 2nd until 3:30. Finish by 1 more minute in seated position at resistance 6. Great way to transition off the workout, let me tell you! Cool down…

As a side note, I have been trying to figure out more about wordpress, including, but not limited to, embedding music into the posts. So, as a test, below should be a song from a French band (so obvious, such accents!:) that I have been listening to quite a lot:

Candy boy by CONCORDE

Resist

Here are two playlists with some cross-references in music! I often work on two playlists at a time and can’t help but incorporating the songs that really worked well in my first class (or that I really enjoyed) onto the next. See the example below. The first routine is a very classic profile with ups and downs in sequence while the second is up hill for the first part of the class with an easing resistance (and more speed) in the second part. Both routines are aimed at strength, but the first will bring your heart rate high and low at shorter intervals; the second routine requires a more sustained and longer effort. Resistance vs Endurance.

I will post the two routines into two different posts. It might be easier this way to find one or the other later on…

Cardio resistance

1. Midnight city – M83 (4:03). Warm up.

2. Paralyzed – Rock kills kid (3:07). Second position warm-up. Hands from 2nd to 3rd.

3. Rock your body – Justin Timberlake(4:31).3 levels of intensity through the three cycling positions in and out the saddle. easy, medium and hard in each position. Note that the resistance will however be higher in positions out of the saddle to adjust for the body weight helping.

4. Believe me – Ellie Goulding (4:05). 1:00 at a steady resistance (level 5 to 6) in seated position. Jogs in 2nd with resistance of 6 to 7 from 1:00 to 1:39, 2:09 to 2:40, and 3:23 to the end.

5. Wraith pinned to the mist… – Of Montreal (4:11). Resistance in par with tempo. 3rd position. “Crunches” (move hips back to center in rhythm only a couple of inches; keep upper body relaxed and adjusted slight angle at hip level).

6. The only one – Amannda (3:39). Trying to stay young with this song. But honestly, just blah… Climb on steep hill; get to a high level of resistance fast so as to reaaaalllly climb by 1:30.

7. Keep the cars running – Arcade Fire (3:31). That’s what I am talking about! Runs on flat at a steady level 5. Feel the slight resistance.

8. Open the other eye – Whispertown (3:28).Jumps on flats.

9. Part of me (Mikael Wills remix) – Katy Perry (3:41). Pretty powerful remix of this song if you ask me = how to keep pop music in my classes without feeling too bubble gum… Do you know what I mean?! Increase the resistance to 7-8 and bring the legs to double the speed from 1:13 to 1:28, and from 1:58 to 2:28. This should already be pretty tiring with that amount of resistance, but…

10. It’s time – Imagine Dragons (3:59). …keep the position and do one more double speed on resistance from 0:55 to 1:12. Then move to 3rd and double speed from 2:08 to 2:45 and from 3:04 to 3:40. Sit down at 3:40 and lower a full turn to reach a level 6-7 of resistance.

11. Eyes wide open – Gotye (3:08). I guess I am as fond of Gotye as others of Lana del Rey. Still convinced I made the right choice! Come on, the guy can play anything, a-ny-thing! Give him a frappucino, he’ll make music out of it! Here, we remain at a 6-7 level of resistance and stay there throughout the song. First half in 2nd, last in 3rd. Nice breezy jog!

12. Little talks – Of monsters and Men (4:27).One of the best songs that I come up recently to run on and sprint during chorus. Shake those legs. They should need that!

13. Bright lights – Gary Clark Jr. (5:24). I need me some mixing software. I love this song and would love to use more than as a cool down but I feel it would still need some faster tempo. what do you think?