It’s been two months to date since I joined up at Fitness 19, and the good news is I’m still going; going as in driving over, walking through the doors, and working out, and going as in I appear to be intrinsically motivated to keep up this new habit with a vengeance. The better news is I still totally love it there, and have motivated others to join me and join up. The best news of all though is that T loves that darn Kids’ Club. He loves it so much that there are days that he’s the one motivating me to head on over for a workout just so he can go to Kids’ Club; in fact, we just call the gym Kids’ Club now as it makes it so much easier to get out of the house for both of us. So, yes, most days I can oblige T’s request as it means he gets one extra hour with a different group of kids playing or watching a movie (most mornings it’s the movie and I understand, it’s sort of early for summertime), and I can squeeze in one extra workout a week for those days I might not have been planning to go over there. In the end what started out as my wanting to make a habit of hitting the gym three to four times a week now has turned into a four and most weeks five times easy, so easy in fact that it’s hard for me to accept a day off sometimes.

Hi. For those who know me in real life, you might not recognize this new person, but I promise it’s me writing here.

As for my actual workout, when I started this new exercise regimen, I wasn’t doing any weights; now after incorporating strength and weight training into my routine just four weeks ago of the nine I’ve been into this, I’ve managed to drop a size and get into a pair of shorts that haven’t seen the light of day since those early breastfeeding months with T (god how I miss that method of being able to manage the weight AND getting to eat whatever and whenever I wanted, ha).  It’s true; for as much as I’d love it to be the case, cardio just can’t get the whole job done. But also true is that weights aren’t that scary either; my key to success so far anyway appears to be more reps and less heft.

One of the things I really do love about my gym is that they put iPod docking stations at all of the cardio machines. That makes it super nice especially since the desk clerks all appear to have diametrically opposed musical taste to myself when it comes to working out anyway; some days I do appreciate the selections, but they just are not tunes I can work out to or something. I also think most folks have musical taste diametrically opposed to whatever I’d prefer to listen to because music is so mood-dependent, so there’s that, too.

With that, I’ll share my list below. Depending on your mood and/or needs, perhaps there’s something you want to go grab off amazon.com next time you have that free music credit or two to burn through.

Party in the USA – Miley Cyrus
The Sign – Ace of Base
Bust-Out Brigade – The Go! Team
Ready to Go Steady – The Go! Team
Apollo Throwdown – The Go! Team
Secretary Song – The Go! Team
T.O.R.N.A.D.O. – The Go! Team
Last Man Standing – Jimmy Buffett
USS Zydecoldsmobile – Jimmy Buffett
Empire State of Mind – Jay-Z
It’s Amazing – Jem
SexyBack – Justin Timberlake
Futuresex/Lovesound – Justin Timberlake
Smile – Lily Allen
Birdhouse in Your Soul – They Might Be Giants
Istanbul (Not Constantinople) – They Might Be Giants
California Gurls – Katy Perry Feat. Snoop Dogg
Last Friday Night (TGIF) – Katy Perry
Teenage Dream – Katy Perry
Black Dirt – Sea Wolf
Middle Distance Runner – Sea Wolf
This Love – Maroon 5
Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) – Beyonce
Bottle It Up – Sara Bareilles
Love Song – Sara Bareilles
How To Save a Life – The Fray
Lost + – Coldplay Feat. Jay-Z
Mausam & Escape – A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire Soundtrack)
In the Waiting Line – Zero 7 (Garden State Soundtrack)
New Slang – The Shins (Garden State Soundtrack)
A-Punk – Vampire Weekend

So now I ask you… what’s on your work out or stress-buster play lists? What music gets you moving, keeps you moving, vaults you into that second wind, or just plain helps you rock it out when you need to blow off some steam? I’m definitely ready for and am in need of some fresh tunes, so whether we agree on taste or not, at least this list shows that I do manage to run the gamut on genre. I sure hope you can suggest at least one song if not a few for me to run with next week. Can you dig it?