That's Fit

Motivational pop and rock music is the key to strength training success. Really. A 2006 U.K. study says so.

A York St. John University study found that students could hold a 2.4-pound weight straight out in front of their bodies at shoulder height for up to 10 percent longer when strong lyrics were booming around them. All-music workouts beat out both a partial-music workout and a white noise workout but only when the tunes were powerful enough to pump up exercisers.

Pick a song you'd belt out recklessly in the shower or in your car and use it to power your next workout. Or borrow this Women's Health recommended playlist. Or this one, compliments of Divine Caroline. Or this one, offered by Fitness magazine.

Fitness magazine offers the perfect workout playlist in its May issue. "Freshen up your routine with these new tunes," reads page 18 in this inspiring publication. Five songs are featured, each with a specific purpose in mind. Here they are.

• Good Day by Tally Hall: A great feel-good song to get you started
  
  

• Mercy by Duffy: This retro soul tune will help you find your rhythm
  
  

• Elevator by Flo Rida: The hip-hop beat is hypnotic and will push you to go the distance
  
  

• 4 Minutes To Save the World by Madonna: This high energy track with Justin Timberlake and Timbaland will keep you going
  
  

• Touch My Body by Mariah Carey: Wind down with this hot new single

Rebecca Brown over at Divine Caroline says she's worthless at her workouts without a good playlist to motor her along. I'm with Rebecca. My MP3 player is strapped to my arm whenever I exercise. I don't do well with silence and running, silence and weight training, silence and treadmilling. Silence and writing: I love the combination. But anything that causes me to sweat and huff and puff simply must be set to music.

Rebecca's got a bunch of readers sharing their playlists here. Check out this one.

• Paula Abdul - Dance Like There's No Tomorrow
  
• Matchbox 20 - How Far We've Come
  
• Limp Bizcuit - Nookie
• Britney Spears - Stronger
• Jars of Clay - Faith Like A Child
  
  

Check out some more if you're in the market for some new tunes. Borrow a song or two. Heck, use an entire playlist if you wish. And let us know what you've got playing in your ears.

These days, iPods are a a standard fixture at the gym. Everyone has them and everyone uses them to fuel their workout with heart-pumping tunes. But did you ever wonder what tunes your favourite celeb listens to while they work out? Glamour Magazine has revealed a few of the tunes on Reese Witherspoon's playlist. They include:

• Soak Up the Sun, by Sheryl Crow
  
• Buttons, by The Pussycat Dolls
  
• Walk On, by U2
  
• Sweet Home Alabama, by B.A.M.A.
• Stop This Train, by John Mayer

These certainly aren't on my iPod, but to each their own. What's on your playlist?

While some days I really enjoy jumping on the treadmill, stretching out at yoga or sweating through some strength training, there are days when I just cannot motivate myself to work out. I find that a lot of the time on these occasions, it's because of the mood I'm in -- grumpy, sad and even excited. However, I tend to find that exercising to music that matches my mood can help me get through a session I'm really not up for. If you ever feel the same way, here are a few songs to try depending on how you're feeling:

• After a break-up, the last thing I feel like doing is leaving the comfort of my bed to work out. But exercising releases endorphins AND it will help you lose any weight you may have gained while nesting in a long-term relationship. My favorite broken-heart workout song is Romeo by Basement Jaxx. It's all about telling off a former flame.
• So you've had a terrible day and it's got you steaming? Don't take it out on a piece of cake, get moving to Sabotage by the Beastie Boys. It's loud and screamy, and will help you get that aggression out -- along with some kickboxing perhaps?
• Sometimes emotional-eaters like to overindulge when they're happy. Instead of skipping your daily routine because you're cheery and would rather relax with pizza, maybe try doing some strength training to The Sweet Escape by Gwen Stefani? You can sing along to the 'Woohoo, Weehoo' chorus while you count your reps.
• If you're feeling too mellow to work out, you can always do some at-home yoga poses while listening to the album Big Calm by Morcheeba. Pretty much the entire CD is befitting a mellow stretch-out but my favorite is The Sea.
• Are you excited about a big night out and don't want to spend time exercising when you could be getting ready to head out looking your best? Even a quick work-out is better than no work-out so run or jog for 20 minutes on a treadmill and imagine grooving on the dance floor to one of the best body-moving songs ever, Don't Stop Till You Get Enough by Michael Jackson. It'll get you good and pumped for the fun to come.

If you're looking for any more great work-out playlist suggestions take a look here. Have you got any favorite songs to exercise to?

Having just learned to run with earphones, I am still deciding whether I like it or not. There are the issues of safety foremost, and then also comfort and logistics (where does that cord go when you run?)

What music should be on my list is something I haven't even begun to refine. But I do know that loud music when it's hot out makes me feel sick, and new agey music when I'm running in the deep of night with the stars overhead is blissful.

Just in time for my exploration of the perfect running playlist, there's a new resource for adding some oomph to my next run, walk, jog, or skate. The Martha Stewart magazine called Blueprint is offering downloadable jogging playlists of their staffers' favorite exercise music, which they promise to update frequently throughout the fall. Whether they have good taste remains to be seen, and will surely be a decision for each reader/downloader to decide for him or herself.

What's on your exercise playlist? Is it free and downloadable? If so, give us a link!

[Photo by Leonid Mamchenkov.]