Category — Tips

I just discovered a new site for getting music that has caused me to get not a drop of work done today!! The website is Masterbeat.com.  As an avid (and by “avid” I mean rabid, mouth-foaming with excitement) fan of dance remixes, I could not contain my excitement while perusing their outstanding collection of remixes, electronica, and dance music.  So here’s a no-brainer:  What’s better for our Spinning Profiles and Group Fitness Classes than music the participants know and love?  Answer: Music they know and love with a beat that makes them want to dance!

I know you are going to find something here you can’t live without. I just listened to the Top Ten List in the Right-Hand menu and cannot wait to start putting a ride together for this! I’m setting to work on that playlist and I will share when I’ve got it together. I’ll also have to figure out how to link directly to a song — so far I’m only getting albums. But I digress. Get there. Go now! Grab your headphones and start downloading!! Here’s that website again:

Masterbeat.com

You know you want to dance!!

Raise your hand if you downloaded the Mamma Mia mix from last week’s Step Choreography post and were totally rocking it out, loving the energy, partying like a rock star and then WHAM!!!  Deafening obnoxious pause as track 1 ended and the CD player waited for track 2 to begin?  ARRRRGH!!!   I imagine that when an elephant trips and falls it feels about the same as having that irritating 2 second lull interrupt your flow.  I can’t stand it in my Spinning or Pilates classes either, which is why I started DJ’ing my music long ago.  You can too!  There are ways to avoid that annoying pause, but beware — it could take a bit of effort.
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GroupFitPower is very excited to be adding iTunes to our playlists and choreography notes.  Now, in addition to accessing songs and playlists on Napster, you will have links to open the same great music in iTunes as well!  No more copy/pasting or endless searching to make these great profiles go with iTunes.   It will take some time for archived profiles to be updated, so please be patient as we add iTunes to old posts.  I’ll be working from most popular to least popular — if you have a request, please leave me a comment and I’ll be happy to get to those as quickly as I can!

Here is the first profile that’s been updated.  I hope you find the new style useful.  Feel free to provide feedback on how it could be more readable/usable!  Check out the 90-min Endurance Ride

Thanks to all of you for helping make this the go-to site for Group Fitness and Indoor Cycling choreography, profiles and playlists!

Here is another outstanding contribution from Biray Alsac on a topic of great personal interest to me!  Music plays a very large role in how our classes are received, so I know you will appreciate this great info from Biray!

Music Outside the JukeBox!
By Biray Alsac

It’s no secret – music can make or break any group fitness class. Without good tunes, members may tune out (or listen to their iPod while exercising to their own beat). So, instructors are always looking for new songs (or remix of old songs) that continue to engage and motivate participants.

With websites like iTunes, Napster and Pandora (a site that recommends new music based on songs you already like), there are endless opportunities to discover new material. But sometimes we don’t have time to search for new music or find different resources on the web. Read below to learn new ways to create your perfect soundtrack for class.

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Before I get to the series of posts I have planned, I want to share with you a book that is being released this week. It is called 42 Rules for Working Women and I wrote Rule #11: Succeed at Staying Fit. Unfortunately for us, I don’t plug group fitness classes exclusively, but I make the case for non-traditional exercise, otherwise known as getting up and moving!

I make absolutely zero money from the sales of this book (who negotiated *that* contract? LOL) but I do want to let you know that it is available and ask you to share it with the Working Women in your life who could benefit from some solid, “life-balancing” advice from women who do it everyday.

Thanks for letting my plug my single published work!

I am really hard to impress.  At least, when it comes to buying stuff.  I have what my grandma calls the blood of a “Scotch-Irish Indian” which accounts for all or most of my penny-pinching, value-searching, non-impulse-buying characteristics.  I’m a tough sell, and for good reason — I worked hard for this money and I’m not a fool to be soon parted with it!

That said, when I find a product that I find particularly valuable or that is money well-spent, I enjoy sharing it with the friends I think can benefit from it.   That’s why I want to tell you about a program I joined just before Christmas 2007, called iTRAIN.  iTRAIN is an excellent place to download workouts to your iPod/mp3 Player for use on traditional cardio equipment or in the weight room.  At first, I was skeptical of the concept.  I mean, I am a Fitness Instructor for goodness’ sake.  I can do this stuff on my own, right?  However, I went for it and have gotten several benefits from using the program.
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