Build a Workout Stride: A R Rahman – Aaj Ki Raat

Here’s another from the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack. “Aaj Ki Raat” is a monster of a stride topping out at over 6 minutes! It kept me going  with its simple danceable beat and trance inducing singers mesmerizing me for the entire time. So pretty!

Build a Workout Mix: Successful Mix 5

If you’re not sure what this is about, start by heading HERE and reading the introduction to this section of my blog.

This mix is an altered version of Successful Mix 4 which you can find HERE

1. One-Winged Angel (orchestral version) – Nobuo Uematsu

2. Du Hast – Rammstein

3. IT’S SHOWTIME!! – B’z 2003

4. Aaj Ki Raat – A R Rahman

5. My Body Is A Cage – Arcade Fire

6. Totalimmortal – AFI

7. Baby Boy – Beyoncé

8. Path Vol 2 – Apocalyptica

9. Aint No Sunshine – Bill Withers

10. Down to the River to Pray – Alison Krauss

The first thing you’ll notice about this mix is that it is LONGER! It’s a good idea that you constantly push yourself to run further and faster. To run longer, obviously you want to add more songs but you also want to have more strides since this is the portion where you can gain some steady productivity. Faster requires more burnouts to encourage you to run your hardest. Lets look at the changes.

I started off with a new warm up. Most people who know “One-Winged Angel” would immediately think of burnout. The final boss music for one of the most beloved videogame villain of all time. I chose the lighter orchestral version specifically so that I could use it as a warm up. The song does have a slowly progressive nature as it spins and winds toward something grander. This allowed my body to start off at a gentler pace and slowly work my way faster. It never got me running at top speed but it definitely prepared me for the additional ten minutes on the end of this run.

Industrial Metal and specifically Rammstein music lends itself VERY WELL to the stride. Strides are all about keeping a steady pacing which is most easily found in dance music. Metal rhythms are also great because a good guitar riff works much the same way. “Du Hast” works to combine these two elements into something great. The metal side adds lots of little guitar flourishes to keep your brain occupied and the dance side adds little digital noises like at 2:04. I must also mention that the drums are beast!

Continuing this so far all new mix, we have a new burnout in the form of B’z’s all caps “IT’S SHOWTIME!!” How can a song with a title in all caps and two exclamation points not be a burnout? This song was used a lot in Japan for national sporting events and even the 2004 Olympics. The song was specifically made to ramp you up and thats exactly what it does!

I was then treated to ANOTHER new stride! Here’s another from the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack. “Aaj Ki Raat” is a monster of a stride topping out at over 6 minutes! It kept me going with its simple danceable beat and trance inducing singers mesmerizing me for the entire time. So pretty!

We finally get to some familiar ground with the newly located “My Body is a Cage” warm up which I absolutely loved in my last run and couldnt bear to part with yet.

This was followed by two other recent staples, the burnout “Totalimmortal” and the stride “Baby Boy” which both continue to succeed completely. I was definitely getting tired by the time I got to “Baby Boy” and thought I’d slow to a walk. The beat was so good I had to keep running for another four minutes!

“Path Volume 2” by Apocalyptica is one of the rare occasions where the band is accompanied by a singer. This song blew my mind the first time I heard it years ago and I knew it would work perfectly as a burnout. I mentioned how tired I was at the beginning of “Baby Boy” and this point I was ready to collapse. The haunting vocals and insane chugging cellos made it impossible for me to slow down and there I was off sprinting all over again!

Wow. What a beautiful cool down! Bill Withers sexy voice and thumping guitar slowed me way down so that I could stretch out my sore muscles walking the last couple minute of my workout in perfect bliss.

“Aint No Sunshine” was originally intended to finish off the mix. This leads to another lesson for a successful mix: ALWAYS CARRY SOME BACKUPS! In this case, my legs just werent ready to stop walking. They were really tensing up and cramping and I needed another couple minutes to walk it off. Thankfully I always pack some spares so I simply pulled out this wonderful acapella spiritual that I first heard on the O’Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack and walked off those extra couple minutes in peace. This song is the perfect way to cool down after a long and tiresome run.

Build a Workout Mix: Successful Mix 2

If you’re not sure what this is about, start by heading HERE and reading the introduction to this section of my blog.

This is a reworking of Successful Mix 1 which you can read about HERE.

Here is the new tracklist:

1. Lose Yourself – Eminem

2. I Get Around – The Beach Boys

3. Prayer of the Refugee – Rise Against

4. Seventeen Years – Ratatat

5. Toreador – Apocalyptica

6. Misirlou – Dick Dale

7. Ringa Ringa – A R Rahman

8. … To Die For – Hanz Zimmer

9. Una Pistola Per Ringo – Ennio Morricone

I’m happy to announce that another successful mix has been made though today, my body tried to give out on me at multiple points. I cant wait until my legs become accustomed to running and theres less pain and ache for the rest of the day after a run.

“Lose Yourself” turned out to be PERFECT as a warm up! The soft piano eases you in and then once the beat starts to build, there is no stopping this engine. Even Eminem’s flow and lyrics are dead set on getting your body pumped up and ready. I think the song really proves the effect of mood on a work out. Starting out a running mix with this song adds a layer of context to your run. It gets your brain thinking seriously about making things happen. The run becomes more important and that sense of duty moves your body along effortlessly. 

Unfortunately the mood created bu “Lose Yourself” was pretty much killed by “I Get Around“. It wasn’t bad enough to ruin my mix and I did keep moving through the whole song but it does point out the importance of constructing a mix with a theme for it to be perfect. At some point I do plan on putting out some much more calculated mixes that come with high recommendation. These will definitely focus on setting a mood that stays steady through out. It may be serious like “Lose Yourself” or all for fun like “I Get Around” but blending them can cause a hiccup if not done correctly.

“Prayer of the Refuge” brought the mood back down to a more serious place and it still kept me going as a good burn out. I must also again point out that the combination of “Seventeen Years” followed by “Toreador” works extremely well together and will definitely be combined again in an advanced mix.

You’ll notice that I finally switched out “Liberi Fatali” for the new burnout “Misirlou” which you may recognize from the amazing Pulp Fiction! The Beach Boys surf rock encouraged me to try again and Dick Dale does not disappoint with this fast paced guitar party with horn accompaniment. Crazy that I can no longer think of this song without hearing The Black Eyed Peas “Pump It”

The stride staple “Ringa Ringa” helped ease me through a tough cramp during this run and I was thankful that it allows you to keep the beat at a slower pace if need be.

Anyone who didnt think the stampede song was going to end up here as a burnout really doesnt know me very well. One of Hanz Zimmer’s masterworks, this emotional and powerful song accompanies one of the saddest deaths in all of movie history. I seriously cant hear this song without getting crazy emotional. Thankfully it also works to make me run like theres a herd of wildebeests chasing me! Now there’s two ways to go with this one. The second half of this song is clearly a cool down so you can either skip ahead to the next song once the intense part ends or you can do what I did here and place it near a cool down to give you a bit of extra time to rest your body and mourn the death of Mufasa.

Ennio Morricone is a soundtrack king mostly because all of his songs make you feel like the coolest person on the planet. Even his slower music can be used on runs because a good cool down should always make you feel like the hero at the end of a movie.

Overall I didnt think the ruined mood was enough to mark this as a failed mix but it did teach me about the importance of mood for creating the best running mixes so be sure to keep that in mind when you make your own.

 

Build a Workout: Successful Mix 1

If you’re not sure what this is about, start by heading HERE and reading the introduction to this section of my blog.

This mix was built off of Failed Mix 3 which you can read about HERE

This mix isnt perfect but it definitely got the job done without any hiccups! Let’s start with the playlist.

1. Akatsuki – Takanashi Yasuhara

2. I Get Around – The Beach Boys

3. Bloody Mary – Lady Gaga

4. Prayer for the Refuge – Rise Against

5. Seventeen Years – Ratatat

6. Toreador – Apocalyptica

7. Liberi Fatali – Nobuo Uematsu

8. Ringa Ringa – A R Rahman

9. Forever Young – Alphaville

I changed a couple things around for this one. I removed the second warm up at the beginning of the mix for a stride, in this case “I Get Around” and then coupled that with a second stride to keep me going longer. I moved up “Bloody Mary” to keep a familiar song at the beginning of my run. “Prayer for the Refuge” was moved to the burnout position followed by newcomer stride “Seventeen Years” and warm up “Toreador” replacing “Americano”. I put my burnout staple “Liberi Fatali” towards the end of my mix followed by the comfortable “Ringa Ringa” and closed out the mix with a new cool down: “Forever Young”

Lets start at the beginning. “Akatsuki” has been doing a great job as a warm up and today was no exception.

I was a little nervous about using “I Get Around” as a stride but the songs happy-go-lucky nature helped get me in the mood to run and its simple straightforward pacing provided excellent motivation for a steady continued run. I guess surf rock can be used for running too.

“Bloody Mary” worked well as a second stride as its beat continues to keep my legs pumping.

I first used “Prayer for the Reduge” as a stride but the jump in energy from the verse to the chorus didnt really help my body maintain a consistent pace. The songs hardcore punk sound definitely work well to get my blood pumping for another 4 minutes as a burnout at the end of a 6 minute stride. The song is definitely lighter than some of my other burnouts as the slower verse sections allow a bit of leeway in terms of pacing while still providing the all out fire necessary for a burnout during the choruses and the excellent guitar solo and final rush!

Ratatat’s “Seventeen Years” turned out to be a perfect stride! It bursts out in full on electric guitar pop beats and drums early on and keeps things fresh with some fun guitar solos. The longer a stride song is, the more you want there to be a bit of variety so your brain doesnt grow board from hearing the same basic beats. Here this is accomplished by the sheer variety of guitar riffs as well as a subtle shift in the energy of the song about halfway through. This “taking it down a notch” affect allows for your body to adjust accordingly either remaining at higher speeds or slowing down with the music to save some breathe. I can definitely see “Seventeen Years” used to anchor the center of a workout allowing for a quick cool down embedded in the stride before the next warm up.

Apocolyptica doesnt seem like the ideal work out music since it is performed by a band of all Cello’s with absolutely no drums. Thankfully the power of said cellos is more than enough to both keep the beat and encourages those muscles to build some adrenaline. Im a huge fan of stringed instruments and they always make me feel like I’m in some epic fantasy land. “Toreador” is actually a perfect warm up! It starts off very slow and deliberate. With each minute, layer upon layer is added to the song as it starts to grow a bit faster with each minute. By the two minute mark, your feet will be moving and the cello solos will keep you on your toes. This warm up  is great if you want a bit more of a gradual build that still leaves you sweating by the end of it.

At this point, you’ll notice the familiar “Liberi Fatali” and “Ringa Ringa” combination. I did this because it’s important that the songs near the end of your run are the most solid. When you’re tired and ready to quit, you’ll want to make sure you have songs guaranteed to rescue you from that place. Thats why I’ll always faze songs towards the back of my mix and add new songs towards the front.

I guess it all depends on how you feel about the genre but 80’s pop ballads are almost guaranteed to work as cool downs! Something about their cheesy synth pop nature and addictive over the top choruses just really works to make you feel like you had a successful run. “Forever Young” is no exception and it was the perfect endcap to a great run.

Overall I’m happy with my mix and my run today! I took a couple days off to visit my brother in Ann Arbor and celebrate Memorial Day with my family. It’s always tough to get back into a running mood after you’ve had a few days off. Unfortunately your body can also give up earlier due to lack of practice. I’d like to say it was partially due to this mix that I made it through todays run and still kept my time and distance up. Cant wait to run again!

Build a Workout Stride: A R Rahman – Ringa Ringa

You may recognize “Ringa Ringa” from the movie Slumdog Millionaire. I find that the best strides have a consistent drum beat. This song is just 4 and half minutes of stride bliss. The slick tapping drums kept my body moving and the vocals kept my mind distracted and entranced the whole time keeping from thinking too deeply about my run. Thats a good thing.

Build a Workout: Failed Mix 2

If you’re not sure what this is about, start by heading HERE and reading the introduction to this section of my blog.

Another run and another failed mix, a bit for the same reasons and a bit for different ones. This mix was developed off of Failed Mix 1 which you can read about HERE.

Here’s the tracklist:

1. Akatsuki – Takahashi Yasunara

2. Viva Rock – Orange Range

3. Liberi Fatali – Nobuo Uematsu

4. Ringa Ringa – A R Rahman

5. Americano – Lady Gaga

6. The Decisive Battle – Powerglove

7. Bloody Mary – Lady Gaga

8. We Are the Champions – Queen

Changes to this mix include adding a new warm up to the beginning of the mix, sliding  “Viva Rock” into the stride position previously occupied by “Born This Way” and replacing the stride “Government Hooker” with “Ringa Ringa”.

What went wrong? Two problems.

The first is that I still didnt like “Viva Rock” in my workout. It didn’t work out as a warm up so I thought it might as a stride due to its happy go lucky bounciness. I just wasnt feeling it. I felt like my body could never get into a good pace with the song while running which is never a good thing for a stride. I powered through it but at the end of the day, its possible “Viva Rock” just isnt meant for running.

The second and more important problem was mix length. This was actually my most productive run so far! It could be that it was my third one this week and my body is becoming more accustomed to it. I made the changes to this mix last minute and failed to look down at the length of the mix ahead of time. Currently I’ve been running 30 minutes and you’ll notice my first two mixes were approximately 32 minutes in length. I like to tack on a little space just in case. This mix clocked in at 28:21! If it had been a tiring day where I didnt feel like going the distance it wouldnt have been a problem. Instead, I had completed my usually distance at 25 minutes and was definitely ready for another stride to keep me going! Instead I was served a cool down and there went the end of my workout. Lesson: Know what you want ahead of time and plan for it. Now that I know my body is developing a bit for longer runs, I’ll either have to increase the length or increase the intensity. Either way this mix just didnt reach that standard.

How did the run actually go?

I started off with the Naruto villain theme music “Akatsuki”. This was an excellent warm up! The song has a full on chorus and lots of organ which are huge pluses in my get pumped to work out brain. The song also has a nice level build giving me enough time to get into the mood. The song keeps heaping on tension so that by the end of the two minutes youre ready to go. If the song has any weakness to take note of, it is definitely the length. This song being two minutes is probably what docked my overall time on my mix. Know yourself, if you need more than 2 minutes of warm up, you may want to tack this on the beginning of another warm up for some extra time.

“Viva Rock” once again disappointed as I mentioned above.

“Liberi Fatali” was just as excellent as ever as a burnout.

You may recognize “Ringa Ringa” from the movie Slumdog Millionaire. I find that the best strides have a consistent drum beat. This song is just 4 and half minutes of stride bliss. The slick tapping drums kept my body moving and the vocals kept my mind distracted and entranced the whole time keeping from thinking too deeply about my run. Thats a good thing.

“Americano” continues to provide a great mid-level warm up that brought me out of my stride to and even faster paced run.

I was starting to get tired but once again “The Decisive Battle” kept me racing for another 4 minutes!

“Blood Mary” rounded out my run with another encouraging stride. All I wanted to do was head into another burn out when it ended.

Unfortunately I went into “We Are the Champions“, my cool down. I definitely felt like a champion, I just wanted to go further.

So yes, another failed mix but its only by failing that we can learn to succeed! Thanks for continuing to read. I hope soon I’ll add enough songs and ideas that you can begin building your own mixes. Please comment, share, like and stay connected.

Song of the Day 11/14/12: Amadou and Mariam – Sabali

Amadou and Mariam are a blind couple from Mali that make some truly amazing and unique music together. Sabali is my favorite song by them as well as the first I’d heard by them. I thought it was about time I shared the love.

Song of the Day 02/04/11: Yoshida Brothers – Storm

Yoshida Brothers was recommended to me by my wonderful sister in Japan and is the story of two brothers who learned the ancient Japanese musical style of Tsugaru-jamisen.  Both brothers play the Japanese instrument known as the shamisen, but they added western influences, modern musical techniques and drum machines to make some truly original music.  Most of it is instrumental.  “Storm” is probably my favorite track by them.  Norwegian Recycling used it in a Kanye beat mash-up, and it just made me wanna go back and celebrate the original.