If you’re not sure what this is about, start by heading HERE and reading the introduction to this section of my blog.
For my tenth successful mix, I’ve changed things up significantly! The worst enemy of working out is of course: not wanting to work out. And the number 1 reason for me: Its boring!
That means I have to change up my methods from time to time. Its all well and good to run 7 days a week but if by day 3 you hate it, you’re not doing it right. If you cant make exercise new and exciting, you WILL give up. It happens to me all the time. In an effort to stop that, this week I’ve added a serious workout section in-between to short runs. When it comes to lifting weights, just find some music that gets you pumped. Here, I’m going to focus on those 2 small runs that go hand in hand.
10 Minute Warm Up Run
1. Returns a King – Tyler Bates
2. J-E-N-O-V-A – Nobuo Uematsu
3. Those Who Fight Further – The Black Mages
The main idea here is start off you pre-workout with a ten minute warm up run. The format here being Warm Up – Stride – Burnout, and then heading into your physical workout.
10 Minute Burst Run
1. Start Something – Lost Prophets
2. Jesus Walks – Kanye West
3. What’s the Use of Wond’rin? – Amanda Palmer
The burst run has no warm up! In fact, it starts with a Burnout, then Stride and Cool Down. At the end of a workout I always have pent up energy. I think its adrenaline do to the fact that I just used my body to its full potential. The first few minutes of this burst run are meant to be met at full speed to drag out any left over energy in your body before a final rest.
My warm up run started off slow. It had been a while since I heard this song so after the initial choir section, I thought it would pick up immediately. My body felt ready to spring but the music was still chugging along in a second louder choir section. Just when I was ready to accept this song as a failure of a warm up, the song burst forth letting me pick up the pace. Use this as long as you’re prepared for and extended walking period for the first two minutes.
Something about boss battle music in Final Fantasy games is just perfect for running. While most end up as burnouts, “J-E-N-O-V-A” has a more steady pace that lends itself well to a stride.
Speaking of Final Fantasy… This excellent reworking of the Final Fantasy VII boss battle theme by Nobuo Uematsu’s prog metal band The Black Mages is a great burnout. I think it succeeds for me mostly on the merits of the organ part at 0:24 that repeats throughout the song. My feet land with such conviction when that organ plays.
All in all a great warm up run that got me ready for the heavy lifting and woke my body up from a lazy slumber.
My warm up run was more soundtrack oriented so I decided to make my burst run full of modern influences.
I knew I wanted to run full speed for this section so I pulled out the insanely rageful “Start Something”. That guitar riff that leads into the “1 2 3 4!” combined with some pretty heavy rhythm guitars turn this into a great burnout as long as metal and screaming motivate you. And it gives you a bit of respite at the end with some beautiful piano.
The marching nature of “Jesus Walks” provides the perfect momentum for a relentless stride. I cranked up the intensity on this one when the rest of my body was begging for rest and it got me to keep going full power. Not to mention, as a christian, being reminded that “Jesus walks with me” while on a difficult walk… You get what I’m saying. Empowering.
I’ve always wanted to use this really out there almost unrecognizable Amanda Palmer number for a cool down and I finally got a chance. It did not disappoint! As long as you’re a fan of AFP.
So there you have it! Another successful run that brings something different to the table to keep things interesting. Thanks again to anyone who reads these. I hope they help and inspire you to create your own workout mixes!
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