When exercising, music can be so important.  It can get you pumped and keep you motivated.  For my cross training/weight lifting workouts, I need music.  Below is a sample of some the songs I love.

As you can see, my taste in music is pretty much songs that were popular during my high school years, or even earlier.  There is something about the 90’s and early 2000’s that I really like.  It was before everything got really rappy with super strong beats.  I  also have positive associations with most of these songs so it works for me.  When making your song selections, remember: you are the only one listening to it.  In addition to these, I also have a bunch of S Club 7 and music from my dance team (Indian/African/Latin).  Not the most current choices, but I like them.

Do what works for you.  And if your on the prowl for new music, do a swap with friends.  About 90% of these songs came from my friend Erica.

Now what about long runs?  When running for 40+ minutes, music can get a little boring.  I do multiple long runs per week, and with training for my half marathon, they are only going to get longer.  I just know I’ll get sick of my music. For this, I listen to podcasts.

If you’re unfamiliar with podcasts, you can download them to you iPod/iPhone to listen whenever.  They range in topics so there is something out there for everyone.  Here are three of my favorites.

This one has 2 hosts, Cristen and Caroline, and they put out 2 episodes per week, between 20-40 minutes long.  They generally focus on women’s issues, but not in a über feminist way.  Topics range from history of nail polish and corsets, to attraction and dating, to equality in the US and other countries.  They are very light hearted and use humor in each podcast.  They also do a lot of research on each topic, using very credible studies to support themselves.   Highly recommended.

Stuff you Should Know is from the same website as Stuff Mom Never Told You.  It is hosted by Chuck and Josh and they take on pretty much any topic under the sun.  These tend to be a bit longer, closer to 40 minutes each.  They are also very funny and have great research.  This was the first podcast I got into, and that was about 3 years ago.  Some episodes are How Vampires Work, Is Stockholm Syndrome Real?, How Book Banning Works and How Diamonds Work.  Again, a huge range of topics so you are bound to find something that peaks your interest.

This podcast is actually a radio program on NPR.  It’s a news game show where they talk about the weeks’ news with a panel of comedians.  They also have people call in and answer questions.  They tend to highlight some of the funnier things that have happened during the week and put a positive spin on some of the more serious issues in politics.  Very funny, if your into political humor.

There are a ton of options out there for both music and podcasts, so just pick something that motivates you and you can’t go wrong.

What do you listen to during workouts?