Planning Your Playlist

I just spent an hour on iTunes, desperately searching through my library for “new” music to add to my Gym/Training playlist. It’s been a project on my Daily To Do list for, oh, I’d say about three months now, and maybe even longer than that. Somehow it never seems to make it to the top of the list, despite the fact that I kick myself every morning at the gym for not having gotten to it the previous day.

For the last few weeks, I’ve spent a good deal of my time between sets hitting the fast forward button on my iPod shuffle over and over and over again, searching for just the right song; the song that has the right beat, the right drive, the right energy to power me through a set of deadlifts or shoulder push presses. The goal is to have the music play in the background and be so intent on my training that I hear it, but don’t hear it because I’m so focused.  But, well, that doesn’t always happen and when the music isn’t right, it can be a major distraction and deterrent.

So, I made the commitment to search through my library this morning, maybe buy a couple new tunes I’d Shazamed recently (I can use that as a verb now, right. Kind of like Googled?) and have a brand new list ready to go for today’s training.

What struck me as I was scrolling through my fairly extensive iTunes library was how similar it felt to standing in front of my closet, looking for something to wear. There is a ton of good stuff in there, but it’s all too familiar to be exciting or inspiring. And another similarity – I had a hard time removing songs from the current playlist. “What if I really want to hear that one day?” Never mind that I’ve fast-forwarded past it 8 out of the last 10 times it started to play.

In an effort to minimize the perplexity (and the time involved) in the project in the future, I’m setting myself some ground rules:

Rule #1

In my closet, I follow a strict rule that if I haven’t worn something in a year (formal wear and special vintage pieces excluded), out it goes. Time to employ the same tactic with my playlist. If I have consistently fast forwarded past a song for 2 weeks, it’s off the list. Harsh, true, but unlike the wardrobe scenario, I can also put a song back on the list when it calls to me once again.

Rule #2

I don’t buy much music, but I’m going to change that. Not a ton, mind you, but since it is a pretty critical part of my day, I’ve decided it’s worth a little investment. I have no patience searching iTunes or elsewhere to find new music, but I do use the Shazam app on my iPhone quite a bit when I’m out and about when I hear a beat, a song that makes me move. It’s time to take the next step and hit the “Purchase with iTunes” button they make so handy. I also listen to several music sites/apps – Pandora, FitRadio, iHeart Radio – during my cardio sessions and instead of just passively enjoying the moment, I’m going to take note of those songs that are particularly moving and add them to my own library.

Do you have any suggestions keeping your gym playlist updated, fresh, and inspiring? Any sites you particularly like to find music that is motivating and gets you moving? Any tricks you employ to keep this from being such a daunting task (or maybe it’s just me that finds it daunting….that’s okay, you can tell me that, too!)?

 

Photo credit: jd3825

 

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Tags: fitness, ipod, music, playlists, workout