Workout Playlists: Cycling Songs | Women's Health Magazine

Why it works It's not because all spin instructors are ecstasy-loving club kids in disguise. It's because fast music inspires you to move. A 2007 study at Brunel University in London found that runners on a treadmill were more productive when they matched their stride to music with a tempo of 120 to 140 beats per minute (aka bpm--for the average music buff, that's the number of times you tap your foot to a song in one minute).

How does this translate to spin class? According to a study by Costas Karageorghis, Ph.D., a senior lecturer in sports psychology at Brunel, you'll work up to 7 percent harder while grooving to music synched to your pedal stroke and not feel any more fatigued. To get the most pedal power from your playlist, Karageorghis recommends songs around 120 bpm for medium to high levels of exertion (when you can speak in spurts of three or four words). When it's time to raise the intensity, bump up your soundtrack to 140.

People Are People Depeche Mode

Control Janet Jackson

How Bizarre (Mix) OMC

I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing Pet Shop Boys

Blue Monday New Order

You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) Dead or Alive

Higher Ground Stevie Wonder

Clocks Coldplay

Run-Around Blues Traveler

Maneater Nelly Furtado

Have an awesome playlist? Send it to us at playlists@womenshealthmag.com.

Source: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/workout-songs-cycling-playlist

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