January 2015 Cardio Playlist (+ Musical Cardio workout)
Hi! How’s the day going so far? I taught a fun BODYPUMP class and took Liv to her gymnastics class, which is basically the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.
The Pilot and I are into our little detox, and while the day has been relatively normal for me, it’s also my “chocolate and tea/coffee” time of the day. I’m sipping tea and eating crunchy veggies with hummus.
A snapshot of some of the eats:
Breakfast (huge smoothie, Paleo bread, eggs)
and lunch:
(a giant salad with chopped fresh veggies, sweet potato, chicken, avocado and homemade dressing)
Since we watched the (sad) basketball game last night, I’m just now catching up on the Golden Globes (did you watch?!), and getting things ready for spin.
Today, I wanted to share a recent playlist if you’re looking to amp up your cardio music. I’m always on the hunt for new power songs, so please let me know if you have a new one you’re loving!
Here are some cardio guidelines if you want to play some musical cardio (my favorite kind of cardio!):
You can do this on the treadmill, spin bike or elliptical. As always, modify as needed and listen to your body.
1) Warm up: stretch, find and maintain a steady, easy pace.
2) Speed builder: maintain your steady pace, and each minute, add 1-2mph to your speed.
3) Steady incline: keep a moderate, steady pace (Rate of Perceived Exertion, RPE, 6 on a 1-10 scale), and add a moderate incline (4-6%).
4) Intervals: sprint 30 seconds, rest for 1 minute, on a fairly flat (1%) incline. Repeat for the duration of the song.
5) Climb and sprint: during the verses, take it down to a walk and CRANK up the resistance. During the chorus, decrease the incline (back down to 1%) and pick up your speed.
6) Hard intervals. Jog or power walk during the verses, sprint your heart out during the choruses. For extra intensity, increase your incline 2-3% for the last sprint.
7) Recovery! Take your pace down to a moderate jog or walk, and use this to recover and decrease your heart rate. Be sure to stay within a working zone (heart rate 70-83%), so you’re not cooling down completely.
8) Rolling hills: find a moderate pace and a flat incline. During the chorus, maintain your pace and increase the incline/resistance. Take the incline back down and keep your speed for the verses.
9) Walking hill: take your speed down to a quick or moderate walk. Start at an incline of 4%, and increase it 1-2% every 30 seconds until you reach your personal max. Hold it here until the end of the song. Feel free to decrease your speed if you need to! Focus on resistance.
10) Tempo: find a moderate speed, and during each chorus, add onto your speed. Finish the song at a sprint.
11) Cool down and stretch! Walk, let your heart rate recover, and finish it off with a stretch.
Let me know if you give it a try! <3
Have a great night and I’ll see you in the morning!
xoxo
Gina
Must-try snack: These protein brownie batter bites!
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I’ve been doing circuit training with a spin bike. This playlist will be perfect!
let me know what you think! 🙂
Love this playlist!! Lindsey Sterling is also one of my faves! And I love that Days of Our Lives song. I actually overplayed it too much so I’m giving it a rest now. Lately I’m loving some Calvin Harris–his beats are amaze! And remixes of songs. I’m obsessed with Soundcloud. You can download free remixes. The Chainsmokers are my absolute fave! They have dynamic and amazing beats and do a lot of remixes to stuff like Bastille; Beyonce etc..
Also–this isn’t exactly a power song–but iTunes just released an Ellie Goulding song from the “50 Shades” soundtrack–OMG!!! Love!!!
I’m actually really excited to see the movie–I couldn’t read the book–but Jamie Dornan–mmmmm mmmmmm! He’s quite yummy! 😉
ohhh i will definitely check out the remixes. i had forgotten about sound cloud!
and YES. i can’t wait for the movie! the books were meh but the movie looks like it’s going to be steamy amazing
UPTOWN FUNK IS MY JAM! <3 In love with Bru bru.
Fun playlist! I did watch the Golden Globes last night. There’s a ton of movies I want to see now. 🙂
right?! and i had no idea!
2 Things I love about this post:
1) It reminded me to start adding sweet potato to my lunch salads again
2) New songs to listen to! I’ve just got spotify and have been struggling with what to add to workout lists
Thank you! =) Jill
Latest Post: Flat Belly Myths Debunked + Life Changing FODMAP Diet
love sweet potato in salads!
happy you got some new music! xoxo
Since I don’t usually run on a treadmill, I love using music to set the pace for harder runs outside, too! I’ll sprint the choruses and slow down to a run or jog for the verses to recover. It’s much more fun than staring at a stopwatch or Garmin 🙂
I can’t stop listing to Uptown Funk!!!!!!
Uptown Funk is one of my favorite songs right now 🙂 Have you seen the music video? It’s so fun. I saw Bruno Mars in concert and the music video reminded me of that with all of the dancing.
Great songs!! These really get me up and moving!
LOVEING Uptown Funk lately! My son and I were actually dancing to it earlier today. He says he’s funky 🙂
My copy of HIIT IT showed up today and I’m so excited to read it! Skimmed through and it looks awesome:) Definitely had a laugh at the shout out for those who only bought it for the roon recipes (half true for me!!)
that breakfast looks so good!
Love this playlist! I’ve been in a cardio rut lately, maybe some good tunes is what I need to get going 🙂
mhmm i need to bring smoothies back! what was in yours? i sometimes have a hard time deciding what to eat with a big smoothie.
it was almond milk, shakeology, spinach, berries, and udo’s oil
I was going to ask the same thing about your smoothie. Do you drink Shakeology every day? I am looking forward to reading about your detox… and thinking about doing it myself. Having some BAD, BAD cravings.