Spinning Music’s Top 5 Playlists of 2011

Each year, I list the playlists from the previous year that garnered the most page views.  But you know what?  By far the most popular playlists on the blog are the ones that readers post.  The Reader Playlist page saw 25,784 views in 2011, more than any other playlist.

1.  Gonna Make You Sweat Spin Mix (43 minutes) – 25,524 views (the #1 playlist every year.  Could it have something to do with the title?  Last year it got even more views.)

2.  Best of 2010 Spin Mix Version 2 (45 minutes) – 7,682 views (new!)

3.  Give Me Everything Spin Mix (75 minutes) – 7,658 views (new!)

4.  Best of 2010 Spin Mix (47 minutes) – 5,730 views (new!)

5.  Rock ‘n Roll Spin Mix (43 minutes) – 4,711 views (the #2 playlist in 2009 and #3 in 2010)

Spinning Music’s Top 25 Spinning Tunes of 2011

Happy New Year!  Here is Spinning Music’s fourth annual list of the top 25 spinning tunes of the year.  It was a great year for music with lots to choose from.  Lady GaGa cleaned up this year with three entries, while Rihanna, David Guetta, and Flo Rida all scored two.  Adam Levine of Maroon 5 was close behind with one song of his own and featured in another.  Regular readers know that I have a huge soft spot for Canadian artists, and five of the artists on this year’s list hail (as I do) from Canada.  You can find all 25 songs in one playlist on iTunes Ping – my handle there is Spinning Music.

It was a great year here at Spinning Music, too.  Traffic mushroomed to 640,000 views this year (about 1,750 per day) and surpassed 1,000,000 all-time views over Labour Day weekend in September 2011.  The blog accumulated another 250,000 views in the last four months of 2011 – more traffic than it attracted in 2008 and 2009 put together.  344 people now follow the blog, plus more than 1,000 who follow on Ping.

A huge thank you to everyone who visited or took the time to comment or ask a question or post a ride in 2011.  You’ve helped me create a welcoming community of individuals from every continent except Antarctica, bonded by our passion for indoor cycling.  I love hearing what you’re spinning to.  I especially want to thank J.R. Atwood over at www.spinningmixes.wordpress.com and David McQuillen over at The Sufferfest for being the top two referring sites for this blog.  I also want to give a big shout out to Judy, Dana, Ellis Rutherford, Carsten, and Lisa, the top five contributors to the blog for 2011.  Thank you!

Big changes are afoot for Spinning Music in 2012.  I am planning a move to a dedicated domain and have enlisted someone far more tech-savvy than me to spiff up the blog and really make it shine.  The reader playlist page and Bike Cafe will become forums (no more crashes due to too many comments!), there will be more searchability, and (one of my 2012 resolutions) more posts.  I’d like to hear from you.  Is there anything else you’d like to see?

Here we go, the top 25 spinning tunes of 2011…

1.  The Edge of Glory – Lady GaGa (was there ever any doubt that this is the best spinning song of the year?  A gorgeous combo of climbing for the versus and sprinting for the choruses.  Even when I think I’m utterly spent, I find a little more juice when I hear this song.  GaGa wrote it about the death of her grandfather in 2010 and the late Clarence Clemons contributed a wonderful sax solo).

2.  We Found Love (feat. Calvin Harris) – Rihanna (another great climbing song, this one had to grow on me but it deserves the #2 spot.  I never tire of it).

3.  Moves Like Jagger – Maroon 5 (more climbing.  A great year for Levine.  He had a huge hit with this song, a regular TV gig as a judge on The Voice, and featured on Stereo Hearts, another great tune).

4.  Sweat (Snoop Dogg vs. David Guetta) – Snoop Dogg and David Guetta (still more climbing).

5.  Sexy and I Know It – LMFAO (nobody had more fun in 2011 than the dudes in LMFAO and this is a perfect, light-hearted start for a spin class that also works for jumps).

6.  Rolling in the Deep – Adele (2011 was Adele’s year, no question.  Her album 21 went to #1 in 18 countries and created all sorts of records, including a match for one previously held by the Beatles.  She’s uber-talented, but most of her music isn’t really suited for spinning.  Rolling in the Deep works as an energetic warmup, thanks to the drumbeat.  A confession: her other huge hit, Someone Like You, is gorgeous, but the lyrics veer too close to pathetic stalkery self-absorbtion for me to be able to enjoy it.  I recogize I am in the minority on this one).

7.  S&M – Rihanna (more climbing, with jumps at the chorus.  This one also gets the prize for being the FM radio hit you least want your kids to sing along to).

8.  Jet Lag (feat. Natasha Bedingfield) – Simple Plan (a sprinting song with sweet pop deliciousness, plus they hail from Montreal, Canada.).

9.  Tonight Tonight – Hot Chelle Rae (jumps.  Pure pop perfection).

10.  Niton (The Reason) [Radio Edit] – Eric Prydz (I couldn’t get enough of this tempo drill; extended mixes take it as long as 8 minutes).

11.  Every Teardrop is a Waterfall – Coldplay (another gorgeous climbing song from Coldplay, but it can’t top 2008′s Viva La Vida, which is one of my favourite spinning songs of all-time).

12.  Marry the Night – Lady GaGa (despite being a huge GaGa fan, I only discovered this song recently.  A great sprinting tune).

13.  Born this Way – Lady GaGa (more sprints).

14.  Give Me Everything (feat. Ne-Yo) – Pitbull (gorgeous cool down energy).

15.  Brand New Chick – Anjulie (a versatile tune that works for climbing or jumps, and the artist even hails from my home town of Oakville, Ontario).

16.  Mr. Saxobeat (Radio Edit) – Alexandra Stan (another versatile tune that works as a warm up, climb or tempo drill from Romanian artist Stan.  The song has done well in Europe, Australia and North America).

17.  Good Feeling – Flo Rida (great for climbing or jumps).

18.  Where Them Girls At (feat. Nicki Minaj) – David Guetta, Flo Rida & Nicki Minaj (another climb).

19.  Pumped Up Kicks – Foster the People (the underdog of the year.  Dark, dark lyrics disguised in a catchy pop riff – like finding a razor blade in your cotton candy).

20.  Beautiful People – Chris Brown (fantastic warm up energy).

21. Tonight (I’m Lovin’ You) [feat. Ludacris] – Enrique Iglesias (the original version is cocky… and filthy.  A great song for jumps).

22.  When We Stand Together - Nickelback (double-time jumps make this one of the toughest jumping songs I’ve ever used, plus the band hails from Alberta, Canada).

23.  Haven’t Had Enough – Marianas Trench (a jumping song from this Vancouver, Canada band).

24.  Invincible – Hedley (inspiring lyrics for this seated grind of a climb by British Columbia rockers, Hedley.  Trivia: the lead singer was a contestant on Canadian Idol in 2004-05 but dropped out near the end).

25.  Stereo Hearts (feat. Adam Levine) – Gym Class Heroes (a perfect cool down song).

Well, did I get it right?  You might quibble with the order (I quibble with it myself – every time I pulled up this draft post, I moved something around).  Did I leave out any of your favourites?

If you follow the charts there probably weren’t many surprises on this list – all of these songs did very well in 2011.  For a more eclectic list of great spinning songs (not limited to songs that came out in 2011), check out ICI Pro Indoor Cycling 2.0‘s blog post here.

Stayin’ Hot Spin Mix (50 minutes)

Ahh, fall.  We’re getting the summer we never had.  It’s been glorious.  I haven’t been able to enjoy it as much as I’d like, due to a large work deadline that looms on November 10.  What’s a girl to do when a large deadline looms?

Create a new spin mix, of course!  I never get more done than when I’m avoiding what I should be doing.  My house is clean, my fridge full, and my laundry basket empty.  Hell, I even went to yoga last Saturday afternoon.

This is the playlist I used in class tonight.  My riders gave it two thumbs up and the general consensus was that this is a tough ride.  “What got into you this week?” one of them shouted after I exhorted them to tackle all three of the final sprints standing.  “Hallowe’en candy!” I replied.  At least, I think sugar made me do it.

The profile for this class is simple: four sets of rolling hills and jumps, followed by some speed work to finish it off.  It’s a 50/50 mix of new music and some recent favourites.

This Night (Max Graham Remix) – Filo & Peri (feat. Audrey Gallagher) (6:26):  My first class of the month so the warm up today was all about proper bike fit.  More talking calls for a longer warm up.  (For a summary of what I tell my class, click here.)  This is a recent tune from Dirty Mexican Lemonade.  My apologies – when I went back to include a link to the page with the song, I couldn’t find it.  DML, can you help me out here?

Good Feeling – Flo Rida (4:07):  First set starts here with some rolling hills.  When I do rolling hills, I coach a standing climb with tension changes every 15-60 seconds as the mood strikes me.

Stayin’ Hot (Nelly vs. Bee Gees) - Lobsterdust (4:16):  On to jumps on a hill.  This song comes from DJ Lobsterdust – one of my favourite sources for mashups.  (Yes, this time I included a direct link to the song.)  Crank that tension up to 8/10 and give me 90 seconds each of 8 counts, 4 counts, and 2 counts.  Hup!

We Found Love (feat. Calvin Harris) – Rihanna (3:36):  Second set… more rolling hills.  This song didn’t grab me when it first came out, but on repeated listens, I’m drawn to the keyboards in the peppy chorus.

When We Stand Together – Nickelback (3:10):  Okay, Nickelback is the Canadian band that Canadians love to hate, but come on – this is one catchy tune.  It’s the lead single from their next album, Here and Now.  (I love that they’re still called albums.  I remember albums.)  This is a ridiculously tough jump drill.  I thought it would be tough – until I did it.  Holy crap.  It’s really tough.  Here’s the catch: we do everything double time.  8 counts for the verses and 4 for the choruses, but twice as fast as the beat, so really, it’s more like a series of short, standing runs with tension at 5/10.  Believe me, 5/10 is plenty.

Sexy Bitch (feat. Akon) – David Guetta (3:16):  This is the tune that made me fall in love with David Guetta.  How can you not dance when you hear this?  Third set of rolling hills start right here.  If b**ch is too risque for your club, Sexy Chick by GG is virtually identical, without the problematic lyrics.

Sexy and I Know It – LMFAO (3:19):  This fun ditty peaked at #1 on the Billboard Chart.  More jumps – 7/10 tension, 8 counts for the verses, 4 counts for the choruses.

Moves Like Jagger (The Voice Performance) [feat. Christina Aguilera] – Maroon 5 (3:21):  This song topped the charts in Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and the United States.  I find it fascinating when songs have such wide appeal.  Last set starts here.  Rolling hills.  Yep, again.

Haven’t Had Enough – Marianas Trench (3:30):  Vancouver pop punk rockers Marianas Trench released this single from their latest album back in July 2011.  It hit #1 on Canada’s iTunes download chart (a chart I peruse regularly for ideas.)  Highest tension of the day: 9/10.  8 counts for the verses, 4 for the choruses.

Find Yourself (Radio Edit) – John O’Callaghan (2:32):  Finally, a chance to just ride.  Close your eyes, choose a tension and a cadence that is slightly uncomfortable for you (about 80% of your maximum effort), and appreciate how good it feels to move.

The Edge of Glory – Lady GaGa (5:21):  I admit it: I’d finish up every class with this song if I could get away with it.  A combo drill – more climbing, but with three sprints at the choruses 30/30/60 seconds.  (They’re at 1:04 – 1:34, 2:28 – 2:58, 4:02 – 5:02).  I coach riders to choose one of three options: standing (toughest), seated (medium), and surges (seated, least intense).  I will often ask: “Show of hands – who’s got the juice to do all three standing?”  Having stuck a hand in the air, people feel accountable to keep their word.  Sometimes I can keep the whole class on their feet.

Stereo Hearts (feat. Adam Levine) – Gym Class Heroes (3:32): This one peaked at #1 on the US Billboard Chart but languished at #47 in Romania, #48 in France, and #49 in Belgium.  Those Belgians are tough customers.  And yep, that’s the ubiquitous Adam Levine on the chorus.  A well-deserved cool down.

Fight For You – Jason DeRulo (4:02):  DeRulo’s recent hit pays homage to Toto’s 1982 smash, Africa.  It’s the second recent song to reference Toto’s version.  Canadian Karl Wolf pulled out a fab version (also called Africa) that I’ve used here on the blog.  Which is better?  Tough call.  I like the rapping in Wolf’s version, but the backup singing on DeRulo’s is awesome.  Wolf’s career is really taking off in the USA and I just want to give him kudos for doing it first – his version was released in December 2008.  More cool down and goodbye music.

I went trick-or-treating this year for the first time since 1980.  My daughter was a scary tiger.  We taught her to roar,  knock on doors, and say “boo!” – all useful life skills, as a friend pointed out to me.  K. was right into getting treats from people, and she doesn’t even eat them.  (She’s like her Dad – more interested in a pork chop than a candy bar.)

We live downtown, on a street with many rental properties.  There are three toddlers on our block at the moment, but we had no luck at any other houses on our street – people weren’t home, or came to the door and confessed they didn’t have any candy.  Hello!  Who doesn’t have candy on Hallowe’en?  Half a dozen people gave K. loonies ($1 coins) or toonies ($2 coins) instead of candy.  One woman on another street (bless her) gave out delicious homemade lemony shortbread cookies, thus single-handedly redeeming the entire neighbourhood.

Hallowe’en Spin Mixes?

I’ve been mulling over Hallowe’en Spin Mix options this week.  I have my go-to Hallowe’en playlist here and reader Beth Ann posted a Hallowe’en mix on the Reader Playlists page in October 2009, while readers Marianne and Bob both posted Hallowe’en rides on the Reader Playlists page in October 2010.

I am thinking it’s time to spiff up my ride, so here’s the question:  Do you have a Hallowe’en ride (or heck, a Hallowe’en song) that you really like?  I need inspiration…

And We Have a Winner….

I am delighted to announce that the winner of Spinning Music’s 1,000,000 Views contest is…. Elizabeth A. 

Elizabeth has won a $25 iTunes gift card and a Ride Hard Bondi headband in her choice of black, orange, or lime green.

Congratulations, Elizabeth!

Thank you so much to everyone who entered the contest or who sent along well wishes for the blog - we now have a wicked list of your all-time favourite spinning songs.  I am going to distill those into a separate post so that they are easy to find in one place (plus, it will be searchable).

 

Mercy Spin Mix (50 minutes)

Nothing new here, just a rearrangement of some of my favourite songs.

Sexy and I Know It – LMFAO (3:19):  Warm up.

Sinnerman (Felix Da Housecat’s Heavenly House Mix) – Nina Simone and Felix Da Housecat (4:35):  Surges.  From 0 – 0:30 keep it easy, then from 0:30 – 1:30 increase your cadence by 10%.  From 1:30 – 2:30 increase it 20%.  From 2:30 – 3:30 increase the tension and come out of the saddle to climb.  From 3:30 – 4:30, increase the tension and keep climbing.

What a Night – (DJ Kontrol Journey Mash) (feat. Claude Kelly) – Kontrol & L’il John (3:34):  One of my all-time favourite mashups, from Dirty Mexican Lemonade.  Jumps, one minute each for 8/4/2 counts.

Mercy (feat. The Game) – Duffy (3:50): An out-of-the-saddle climb on a muddy hill – tension 7/10.  Pick up the pace for each chorus.

This is How a Heart Breaks – Rob Thomas (3:51):  This song has possibly the most misguided title ever.  It should be a sappy ballad, but instead it’s a kick-ass sprinting tune.  Two quick intervals and one longer one: 15/20/1:15 at 0:44 – 1:00, 1:32 – 1:52, and 2:@0 – 3:35.  One of my all-time favourites.

Black Betty – Spiderbait (3:26):  Surging and sprinting here – from 0:12 – 0:50 surge; from 0:50 – 1:02 sprint.  Relax until 1:48 – 2:20 for another surge, and follow it up with a sprint from 2:58 – 3:13.  This song has been around for a long time.  It was first recorded in 1933, but could date as early as the 18th century.  Nobody is sure of exactly what ‘black betty’ is; the most likely meaning is a musket or a bottle of whisky.

Don’t Trust Me – 3OH!3 (3:13):  Sprints 30/30/30 at 0:30 – 1:00, 1:29 – 1:58, and 235 – 3:05.  I cringe at the offensive lyrics… but I keep playing it.

Clubbed to Death – Rob Dougan (7:27):  A seated climb starting at 5/10 and moving up to 9/10 or even 10/10.  Stand if/when you need to.  I like to get the riders to visualize a local hill and I point out the landmarks as we climb.

Lit Up – Buckcherry (3:37):  An unabashed love song to cocaine.  Come out of the saddle for this one and charge.

The Edge of Glory – Lady GaGa (5:21):  Spinning perfection.  Climb for the verses, sprint for the choruses 30/30/60 at 1:04 – 1:34, 2:28 – 2:58, and 4:02 – 5:02.  Ride like you stole it!

Stereo Love – Edward Maya and Vika Jigulina (4:08): Cool down.

If I Were a Boy – Beyonce (4:09):  Three years old now, and still as compelling as the first time I heard it.  Some extra cool down and goodbye music.

Water, Water, Everywhere…

Everybody knows that when you exercise, you’re supposed to drink as much as possible – right?  And if you exercise for more than 90 minutes, you’re supposed to switch from water to electrolyte-replenishing beverages, like Gatorade – right?

Not exactly.

A 2005 study of Boston Marathon runners found that 13% showed signs of exercise-associated hyponatremia.

Huh?  What’s that?  In a nutshell – it’s over-consuming liquids while exercising.  The excess liquid disrupts the balance of water and sodium in the body, causing all sorts of nasty symptoms, like nausea, spasms, cramps, vomiting, confusion, seizures, even death.

A recent Loyola University study concluded that up to half of recreational runners may be drinking too much.  Cyclists are also at risk.

The new advice?  Your body knows what its doing.  Drink to thirst.

Electrolyte beverages are still a good idea during lengthy workouts, but are too diluted to prevent hyponatremia.  You could take sodium tablets, but they can cause nausea – not exactly what you’re looking for during a race – and carry the risk of irritating the stomach.

The good news is that exercise-associated hyponatremia can be avoided, and is easily treated with IV saline once it is recognized.

All things in moderation… even water.