Monday Motivation: I {HEART} Music!

I've had some friends mention to me lately that they wish that they could find the motivation to lose weight/start exercising/eat healthy.  Sometimes I have a hard time getting motivated too.  I find my motivation in success stories, in quotes, in things that people pin on Pinterest, in reading about my friends' successes on My Fitness Pal and in music.  

I can't imagine a life without music.  Music makes me run faster.  It makes my workouts go by faster.  I'll confess I can't listen to music without lip synching the words (just call me Beyonce) whether I'm on the treadmill, running outside or working out in a class.  I've also been known to tap out the beat with my hands on the treadmill and if I'm outside you may catch me playing air drums.  

Don't pretend you never play air drums.  

Here are a few songs that I've been digging lately.  Some are new, some are not.  Several have already made their way to my playlist, others are hanging out on Spotify waiting for someone (ahem...Aaron) to purchase me an iTunes gift card.  

   
I'm also loving the Pandora Skid Row station.  Who could be in a bad mood with 80's rock on?  Sometimes it's all I can do not to throw up a fist pump on the treadmill when "Youth Gone Wild" comes on.  

I just found this really awesome website recently called jog.fm. Their slogan is "jog.fm helps you find the perfect music for your run."  And that they do.

You put in what your pace (or your goal pace) is and it will give you a list of songs with beats to match.  My current pace is 10:30-11:30 but my current goal pace is 9:45-10 (with a goal to finish a 5K in under 30 minutes by the summer).  When I put in 10 minutes as my pace it gives me a huge selection of songs to choose from.  And they are good, well known songs too.

A few that were on the list:

It tells you the song, artist, beats per minute, and what pace it is best for.  When I put in a 10 minute mile pace, it give me 94 PAGES of songs to choose from!

But even better is the iPhone app.  You enter in your pace and it automatically finds songs from your own iTunes library!  You can also launch it from in the Nike+ or Runkeeper apps.  The app cost $2.99.  I haven't purchased it yet but again, waiting on an iTunes gift card...or pay day.  Whichever comes first.

I'm currently working on some new playlists for upcoming runs.  I was planning an 80's rock playlist for the Cupid Crawl but since I wasn't able to run that one I'll use the 80's rock list for my March race.  I'm thinking for the Flying Pirate half I may go girl power.  Have I mentioned how much I love music?  It makes me happy.  :)

And because no music post is complete without some music, here's a great song for your Monday:

"Try" by Pink...you gotta get up and try, try, try.  Love the lyrics SO much. And I would like Pink's biceps, thighs, and her spray tan.  Thanks so much. 

Do you listen to music when you workout?  What are your favorite songs to exercise to?