1. “Jackson 5 vs Justice: I Want you D.A.N.C.E.” by ComaR / 2:40

Warm-up, do some light stretching, and get ready to ignite, baby. Today. Is. Gonna. Be. Epic.

2. “Millionaire” by A.R. Rahman / 2:45

The opening beat is a hint of what’s to come today—lots of speed work! Take the first 1:30 to settle into a race-ready position: low shoulders, loose arms, relaxed grip, steady head, eyes focused 5-10 yards ahead of you, and light legs pumping hard and fast on the pedals. Bring the knees to your chest, kick your heels with your butt, and start with light tension.

Every 15 seconds, add just a nudge of resistance.

At the 45 second mark, pick up the pace to something that’s around 80 percent of your max. Continue to breathe fully and deeply while adding a bit of tension.

At the 90 second mark, you should feel like you are going into a light headwind. You’ll also notice a change in the tone and tempo of the music and when you do, go all out for the remainder of the song. All out. ALL OUT! Power 10 spring speed—but for the entire last minute. GOGOGOGO!

3. “Oversleeping” by I’m From Barcelona / 2:20

One of my favorite songs of the moment—I crank this from my headphones as soon as I get up in the morning and can’t help but dance. Today on the bike, we’re going to add three turns of resistance. On a scale from 1-10, with 10 being straight-up Mt. Everest in a headwind, you should be at a 7 or so.

For the first 40 seconds or so, climb while seated in the saddle. Really focus on bringing your knees to your chest and making complete recvolutions with your feet.

At 0:42 (you’ll recognize it in the music), jump out the seat and hammer out a Power 1o to the 1:07 mark. Stay standing, add half a turn of tension, take a deep breath, and go into another standing almost-everything sprint from 1:22 until the song fades out. It’s a deep quad burn, and we’re hitting it hard early this morning.

4. “Eurythmics vs. Lady Gaga: Dance Dreams” by Divide & Kreate / 3:50

Spin it out and recovery for the first 45 seconds—then do a seated Power 10 sprint till the 1:00 mark. Add one turn of tension, get out of the saddle, and push out another Power 10 standing spring from 1:30-1:45. Stay standing, add a turn of tension, and at 2:18 add one more turn of tension, take a deep breath, and at 2:25 go into one more Power 10 sprint until 2:40.

At 2:40, add one more turn of tension, sit back in the saddle, and muscle it out up this super-steep climb. You should be frustrated by the level of resistance—there’s enough on there that you want to stand, but keep your butt in the seat and grind. At the 3:20 mark, pick up the pace just a bit and try to finish the seated climb with a quick turnover! Ooooooh yeah!

5. “Lights & Music” by Cut Copy / 4:40

Nothing fancy here—take off most of the resistance, picture yourself on a wide and open road, and let’s spin it out to the sunrise. The intention with this set is to focus on consistent riding at your threshold pace. Get to a level where you feel comfortable and fast and just slightly out of breath. You should be able to give a smile or thumb’s up to your neighbor, but that’s all—we’re riding hard and fast, baby!

To keep everyone honest about our effort and pace, go into a Power 20 sprint at the 2:00 mark—slow count from 1 to 10, then back down from 10 to 0. Remember, Power Sprints are done at no-holds-barred-I’m-about-to-puke-or-pass-out pace. In other words: as fast as you can possibly muster.

Try not to slow down too much after the Power Sprint: instead, focus on the breathing and let that pedal momentum take you into a nice spin at 80-90% of your max heart on the flats.

6. “Life in Technicolor ii” by Coldplay / 4:05

We’re taking it to the hills! Crank the tunes, throw on some tension, and get-up and off your saddle. Keep the butt back and your arms loose—your hands should just barely be gripping the handlebars. Steady yourself with your legs, which will work your quads and hammies, and enjoy this beautiful song as we go up and up and up above the cloud line.

Increase the resistance by a half a turn every 30-45 seconds and maybe even throw-in a Power 10, but make sure you focus on good climbing form.

7. “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley / 3:30

Time to get Rickroll’d! Grab some quick water, shake out the arms and do some light stretching, and at the 0:43 mark go into some stair-climbing exercises—or even try some speed bumps! (The form and technique for both climbing stairs and speed bumps are explained in the FAQ section.) Whatever you do, know that Rick Astley will never give you up, let you down, run around, or desert you.

8. “Vida” by Oxid Project / 6:00

This is the hardest set of today’s workout. Take off most of the tension on your bike and imagine yourself shot from a cannon right at the beginning of the song. Imagine you’ve got a 30 mph tailwind and you’re riding on a slightly downhill road and that you have Lance Armstrong’s bike—whatever you need to do to feel fast. For 2:20, that’s what we’ve got… All out speed.

It should be one long, ridiculously exhausting sprint to the 2:23 mark. Catch your breath and get some quick water, then get right back on your bike. At the 3:00 mark, you need to be in another Power ‘Til The Cows Come Home Sprint.

It’s ugly, it’s painful—I know.

It’s also awesome.

So comeonbabyplease! Let’s sprint. It. Out! GOGOGOGOGOGOGO!

9. “Fireflies” by Owl City / 3:50

After a nearly six-minute sprint (!), we need to rest and recover a bit. Do a little stretching, get some water, check your pulse, high-five your neighbor, and then put a bit of tension on your bike. Stand-up, get into an easy hill climb, and at 1:25, add a complete turn of tension and pick-up the pace a bit.

We’re gonna’ do an easy, out of saddle climb for the entire song. At 2:30, see if you can increase the resistance by another half turn or so and increase your turnover by a few more strokes per minute. Keep breathing deeply and maintain a strong riding form to the top of this hill.

10. “Stronger” by Britney Spears / 3:30

Back to the fun stuff! We have three interval sprints throughout the song. In between the sprints, I don’t care what you do—you can take off tension, stand up, stay seated, or quit pedaling entirely. Just be sure that when it’s time to do a Power Sprint, you’re give it EVERY ounce of awesomeness inside of you. These are going to be world-record fast!

The first of our sprints is at 0:40. It’s a short one, so go into it as soon as you hear “Now I’m stronger!” It’ll be over pretty quick at the 1:00 mark. You get a short break and then it’s time for another Power 10 sprint—though this one standing and out of the saddle!—from 1:25 to 1:45. Two down, one to go.

Alright… This next one is brutal. There’s no sugarcoating it.

Add some tension, take a deep breath, and at 2:28 drop the hammer! GO, baby, go! This is a hurt-so-good kind of sprint. Dig deep and push. Come on. Yes! Push through, baby! All the way till the song ends. It’s the only way to get stronger. GOGOGOGOGO!

Niiiiice.

11. “Kind of a Girl” by Tinted Windows / 3:15

A little more climbing here! Put a few turns of tension on your bike—about a level 7 out of 10, or so—and get out of the saddle. At 0:40, pick up the pace just a bit till 0:55. Add half a turn of tension, take a deep breath, and at 1:15 for into another little mini semi-sprint until 1:27.

At this point, the 90 second mark, add a full turn of tension. Stay standing, stay strong, and at 2:25 add another half-turn before the final charge to the top of the hill.

12. “Girlfriend” by Phoenix / 3:30

At this point in the workout, I like to do a little backwards spinning or some easy cruising on the open road. Note, this does not mean you are taking things easy. We get a break after the entire hourlong set. But feel free to keep the pace at something that’s just near slightly uncomfortable, if you stay on the flats. Add half a turn of tension to your bike every 30-45 seconds, just to keep yourself honest, and throw-in a random Power 10 sprint or pop-up out of the saddle to do some light hill charges. Active recovery, here.

13. “Amazing” by Aerosmith / 6:00

Keep the tension where it was from the last song—we’re rolling right into this steep mountain climb.

At 1:10, sit down in the saddle and hammer on them for a seated sprint until 1:45. Do NOT take any tension off before you do this—the point is to mash the gears, hammer the quads, and push through the pain.

At 1:45, stand back up and stretch the legs. Add a turn of tension at the 2:10 mark, and at 2:45 sit down again for another seated-push. Grind and climb it until the 3:30 mark (!) and then stand-up and go into an out-of-the-saddle Power 20. Yup! COME ON! You’re amazing, it’s amazing, life’s amazing, be amazing—amazingly hard and amazingly fast. That’s what you have to do with your bike—hammer. Speed. Push. Dig. Believe. Focus. Want it. Get it. Own it. Be it. Feel it. All the way through the guitar solo until the 5:30 mark. Come on! A full minute of seated high-tension sprints, followed by two minutes of relentless Power 20 after Power 20 after Power 20 sprint. Oooooooh yeah.

14. “Haddaway vs. Madonna vs. Who Da Funk: What Is Music” by DJ Cliver$ter / 5:15

Get back on the open road, take off most of that resistance, and ride it out!

Keep it at a pace that is 80-90% of your max speed and heart rate, and let the class know that they can decide what to do at any point throughout the song.

If no one says anything, you’ll keep it at this pace for the entire duration of the set. But if someone yells for a Power 10 (which they need to lead the count for), a standing charge, a minute worth of stairs, 90 seconds of speed bumps, or an out-of-the-saddle Power 20, that’s what you’ll do.

Put them in control, which mixes it up for everyone. Some of the more quiet and exhausted classes may only do a couple of sprints. The more competitive groups may try to one-up each other, and everyone finishes out-of-breath and with giant pools of sweat at the base of their bike. Keep it light, keep it fun, and enjoy the ride.

15. “I Know What I Am” by Band of Skulls / 3:20

Our penultimate song for the day has a White Stripes kind of feel to it, which makes for a great climbing song. At this point in the workout, the quads are thrashed, our heads are spinning, and the lungs are empty—and this makes for a great test of mental strength.

Add three, four, or even five turns of resistance to the bike. Stand up and hammer it.

Seriously—this is our last bit of strength stuff for the day. You’re gonna’ have to dig deep inside yourself, decide if you want it, if you have what it takes, and then leave it on the bike.

GRIND AND CLIMB! Find a rhythm with the beat of the song and charge to the top.

16. “Blankest Year” by Nada Surf / 2:25

That brutal mountain we just climbed?! Well, it’s time to get down! Take off your resistance and let it out, baby! This is the last song of the day, it is short, and we’re gonna’ spin spin spin. Keep it fast and furious right from the first note, but dig deep for a Power 10 between 1:15 and 1:40. Take five seconds (!) to breath and then throw it against the wall for the final 20 second sprint!

17. “You’re the World to Me” by David Gray / 3:40

Cool-down and stretch. What. A. Day.

18. “Till You Come to Me” by Spencer Day / 4:15

Goodbye music.

Power 10 Spinning!
J.R. Atwood

It’s all about performance…

(This month’s spinning mix is below the video.)

1. “Alone” by Tennis Hero / 4:40
Quality warm-up here — neck roll, shoulder shrugs, morning sunshine stretches, and some deep breathing exercises. I also recommend that you turn the music down for 20 seconds or so and encourage your riders to introduce themselves to the person on the bikes next to them. We’ve got an hour together and we are going to be sweating in our Spandex — might as well do so in a friendly environment.

2. “I Gotta Feeling” by Black Eyed Peas / 4:40
Alternate seated spinning and out-of-saddle climbing. Take the first  30 seconds to get properly settled on the bike — add some tension, keep the shoulders relaxed, and concentrate on getting the most out of your pedal stroke (pull the knees to your chest and try to kick you butt with your heels). Start to pick-up the pace so that you are around 80% of your max and on the flats by the 30 second mark. Hold it here until 1:30 — then add a complete turn of tension and stand-up out of the seat to stretch those legs. Charge for a full minute until 2:30; then add half-a-turn of tension and settle into a steady climb through 3:00. At 3:00, take off most of the tension on the bike and get back to the flats for some light-tension hard-riding through the 3:45 mark. Add two turns of tension here and stand up for the last 45 seconds of the song.

3. “Good Girls Go Bad (feat. Leighton Meester)” by Cobra Starship / 3:20
Race-pace riding on the flats. On a scale from 1-10 (1 being absolutely no tension and 10 being an impossible-to-turn heavy flywheel), settle somewhere between a 4 and 6. Scoot-up on the nose of the seat and get into a race-ready position — we’re here for the entire song. Fast, hard, charging. Nothing fancy — just some quick spinning! At the 1:40 mark, do a Power 10 sprint! (If needed, you can take a quick water break from 2:15-2:30. But once you shake out the arms and shrug the shoulders, get back on the bike for some race-ready riding!)

4. “Shattered (Turn the Car Around)” by O.A.R. / 4:15

Power climbing. Add 2-3 complete turns of tension and stay seated for the first bit of the song. This is going to be a quad-busting climb. At 0:45, stand-up out of the seat and at 1:00 go into a (standing) Power 10 sprint up the hill! When you finish the sprint, add a full turn of tension and stay out-of-the-saddle. At 2:00, we’re doing another Power 10 sprint! Go baby go baby go! Do not remove any tension, but sit back down in the saddle for some deep-muscle work on the quads. No matter how slow your turnover, stay seated and charging. At 3:20, you really need to dig deep — (seated) Power 20 uphill sprint. Do it until the song fades out!

5. “Unk vs. Avril Lavigne ft. Toni Basil – Walkin Out Yo Girlfriend” by dj lobsterdust / 3:40
Speedy spinning on the (mostly flats). Take off most of the tension from the last song and right from the get-go, get going! We’re doing some sated race-pace spinning here. Picture yourself on a wide and open road with a slight decline and the wind at your bike — I want you flying on this! The entire song should be ridden at a pace that is just slightly too-fast and hard to be comfortable. (If you can talk to your neighbor here, you are not working hard enough.)  Just to keep everyone honest, add a full turn of tension at 1:58 and go into a Power 20 seated sprint! Keep the momentum as you come out of the sprint and at 2:50 add one more turn of tension. At this mark, stand-up out of the saddle for a hard charge up a slight incline. Focus on producing a quick turnover — dance on those toes!

6. “1901″ by Phoenix / 3:15
Back to the hills! Roll straight into this from the last song and add one turn of tension. Every 15-30 seconds, add another half- to complete-turn of tension. We should be out of the saddle for this except for when a small sitting-down sprint — at 1:20, I want you to find the saddle and hammer out a Power 10 sprint! (Keep the tension where it was when you were standing.) As soon as you finish this sprint, stand-up again and get  back into your climbing groove.

7. “Don’t Trust Me (Amended)” by 3OH!3 / 3:15
Start with a climb, then down to the flats for a set of sprints! Again, roll into this from the last song — stay standing and climbing for the first 30 seconds. Your legs should be pretty exhausted from the climbing, so we’ll give them a break (sort of)… At 0:30, sit-down in the saddle, lose all the tension, and go immediately into an all-out sprint! We’re here for 30 seconds until 1:00. You can recover between 1:00 and 1:25 by sitting and spinning, or standing and doing some light and easy hill climbing. At 1:25, though, we’re going back into a seated Power 20 all-out sprint until the 2:00 mark. Now add a turn of tension, stand-up, and get into a climb. Add another turn of resistance at the 2:20 mark. At 2:35 (this is fast!), take one turn of tension off your bike and finish the song with a standing Power 20 sprint! AO!

8. “Bulletproof” by La Roux / 3:30
Stair-climbing exercises.  Go into it and work the calf muscles and lower quads. This is going to hurt-so-good. Fund a comfortable rhythm, focus on breathing deeply, and add half-a-turn of tension every 30 seconds. If you need a bit of a break, relax from 2:15-2:30, but then immediately get back into the stair climbing! (As an alternative to stair-climbing, you can do backwards spinning with this song.)

9. “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus / 4:00
Climb — just as the title of the song suggests.  The tension on your bike should be somewhere between a 6 and 8 to start this song. Stay seated and grinding for the first 45 seconds. Then add a full turn of resistance, stand-up, and attack this bad-boy of a mountain. The song is a bit slow — use this as an opportunity to really focus on your internal monologue… Do you feel like giving-up? Are you already tired? How’s your form? Are you imaging yourself riding alongside Lance Armstrong up your favorite mountain? I simply want you to be a mindful cyclist, and if you’re dragging a bit, look at yourself in the mirror or offer a head nod to the person next to you. At the 2:50 mark, go into a standing (and grueling) Power 20 sprint till the end of the song! Yes! Go! Now!

10. “Always Be” by Jimmy Eat World / 3:05
Spin it out! Get back to the flats, grab some quick water, and ride south along the coastal highway as the sun sets over the ocean on your right. Most of the tension is off your bike — this should be a simple, fun, and fast ride. Around the 2:00 mark, pick-up the pace by half-a-step. Do so again at the 2:115 mark, and again at 2:30 — finish with a stronger, faster, harder pedal-stroke than you started! AOAOAOAOAO!

11. “Ion Square” by Bloc Party / 6:30
Riders choice. Start this song by staying on the flats. Spend the first 30-45 seconds checking form and technique, and then settle back onto the bike for some race-pace riding. With this song, turn control over to your students (or someone else with whom you may be riding.) Every 30-60 seconds, ask for a suggestion from the class… And do it! Maybe someone wants to go into a Power 10 sprint, or add some tension for a seated climb, or do a standing uphill charge, or even some stair climbing. See where your students take you (and themselves).

12. “Fighter” by Christina Aguilera / 4:10
Mountain climbing! We’re going into the steep stuff with this song — dig down and find the fighter in you. I want everyone to add 4-6 complete turns of tension (so that you can just barely turn the pedals). Stay seated for some quad-busting climbing. Hammer and jam on those legs. At 1:00, stand-up and go right into an out-of-the-saddle Power 10 sprint. (Do NOT take any tension off your bike before you do this.) When you get through the sprint at the 1:20 mark, stay standing. If possible, add half-a-turn of resistance to your bike. We’re workin’, here! At 2:10 — EVERYONE! — go into another standing Power 10 sprint! Do NOT remove any tension from your bike and sit down in your saddle for some seated climbing between the 2:30 and 2:50 mark. At 2:50, stand-up and continue this climb! We’re. Almost. There! For the strongest in the class, go into another Power 10 sprint! Come on, baby! You got it! To be the best, we’ve need to work… Find the fighter, be the fighter, find the fighter, be the fighter. GO! All the way to the top! Niiiiiiice.

13. “Sex on Fire” by Kings of Leon / 3:25
Seated climbing. Take-off no more than one complete turn of tension from the last song, and sit down in your saddle. Grind it out until the 0:50 mark, at which point you get to relieve the resistance on your bike by (no more than) half-a-turn. But when you do this, you also need to go into a short Power sprint from 0:50 to 1:05. Stay seated and at 1:20 take-off another half-turn of tension; at 1:25, go into a longer (seated) Power 20 sprint through 1:55. Add one turn of tension to your bike (yup), stand-up, and at 2:20 go into a standing sprint through 2:55. This may be the hardest stretch of the workout — get to it, push through it, and love it! At the 2:55 mark, you can sit down in your seat, take off all tension, and spin it out till the song fades.

14. “Jump (Malichak Club Mix Radio Edit)” by Flo Rida / 3:20
Speed bumps! The beat on this song is real fast — take 30 seconds to explain to the class how speedbumps work (see FAQs and spinning notes),  and then go straight into some ups-and-downs. Find a rhythm that works well for you and your class — I like to go up and down on equal fast-counts of four (up, 2, 3, 4, down, 2, 3, 4…). Doing this so late in the workout will be a real test of mental fortitude — the quads will be screaming for you to stop, but this is when we need to push through! Make it hurt-so-good, baby!

15. “Lost!” by Coldplay / 3:55
Last climb of the day! Let’s leave it on the bike with this song — start with the tension/resistance at a level 7 or 8, meaning you we’re climbing Everest! Stand-up, dig deep, and know that we’re almost at the finish. It’s a slow climb and a deep burn in the legs — own it and love it, baby! If you’re feeling especially strong today, add half-a-turn (or a full turn!) of tension around the 1:45 mark. Try to pick-up the pace by half-a-step at the 2:00, 2:30, and 3:00 mark. When you get to the 3:20 mark, go into a standing Power 20 sprint that will take us all the way to the end of the song! Last one of the day, so make it count and do it right!

16. “Because the Night” by Cascada / 3:30
Sprints! Last song of the day. Take off all that tension and let’s finish on the flats with some speed! Start with a moderate amount of resistance and get into the flow of the song — at 0:40, it’s an all-out, hold-nothing back, Power 20 sprint! GOGOGOGOGOOGOGO! Hard and fast, baby! Race through the mark at 1:10 and then recover on the flats. Add one full turn of tension to your bike and get ready for another everything-sprint at 2:25. At this point, picture yourself shot out of a canon — you’re flying on the flats. Move and groove, baby! This is the last sprint of the day! Pick-it up and finish fast! All the way till the song fades out. GOGOGOGO! YES!

17. “Second Chance” by Liam Finn / 5:00
Cool-down and stretch. What a workout!

18. “Wasting Your Town” by Trevor Giuliani / 3:45
Good-bye music.

Power 10 Spinning!
J.R. Atwood

1. “Hanginaround” by Counting Crows / 4:10
Crank-it, smile, and spin… Time to warm-up. Do plenty of stretching and grab some water before we get going with today’s great workout.

2. “Square One” by Coldplay / 4:50
Easy spinning for the first 40 seconds. We’re still warming up the legs. Start picking up the page at 0:45 and add a bit of tension. At 0:58, we’re going right into a near race-pace effort. Keep the shoulders relaxed, breathe deep and slow, and push it early all the way to 1:37. At this mark, slow down a bit, shake out those arms, add a full turn of tension, and stand-up out of the saddle. Keep the butt back, eyes focused on the road ahead of your, arms still loose — all the weight should be in your legs. At 2:27, start to kick-it up again… Faster pace, harder effort. At 3:06, we’re going to do a standing  (and long) Power 20. GO! Hit it, baby! All the way — everything you have! — until the music fades a bit at 3:50. (I know that this is a near 45 second sprint, so stretch out the counting — up to 10 on slow counts every two seconds, then back down to zero.) Add a full turn of tension at 3:55, sit down, and slow the pace. Keep climbing (in a seated climb position) into the next song.

3. “Cinderella” by Aqualong / 4:40
We’re rolling right into this from the last song. At the 10 second mark, though, take off a couple turns of tension and go into a seated sprint until 0:40. Then add three full turns of tension (!) and stand-up for some more climbing till 1:30; add one more turn and grind it out! This is a slow and steady pace and we keep climbing up and up. At 2:05, keep the resistance where it is, but sit down on in the saddle. We’re busting the quads on this! Don’t be embarrassed if you start to cry early today… The pain is real and oh-so-good! Keep pushing it! Through the quicksand! At 3:22, stand-up and go into a Power 10 sprint! Come on! Digdigdigdig! Stay up and out of the saddle, and keep charging to the top of this climb at the 4:05 mark. Quick turnover — fast and light feet, with knees pulling up the chest. At 4:05, slow down and ride it out till the song fades.

4. “Magic” by Ladyhawke / 3:30
Back to the flats — we’re doing some simple spinning here. I want this entire song ridden at a pace that is 85-90% of your max. The tension is light to moderate, and we’re working on form. Quickquickquick feet. Dance on those toes. At 1:30, do a seated Power 20 sprint (this is 100% of your max) until the 2:07 mark. Settle back into your tempo pace and keep riding it on the flats through the end of the song. No cheating and no rest! Push through the discomfort, and ride until the song is over.

5. “Starlight” by Muse / 4:00
Get some quick water and stand immediately up out of the saddle; this is a standing-charge! Moderate to heavy tension, depending on how strong you feel (at least four to five complete turns of resistance/tension) — but keep the pace slightly uncomfortable, i.e., I want you to be riding just a bit quicker and harder than we would normally be doing on such a steep climb. We’re pushing our endurance speed with this set. The legs are going to get heavy, and the body is going to hurt a bit — if you expect this, you can overcome it. Focus on the breathing, get into the groove of the music, and push it — even when there isn’t an explicit Power 10 called for by the instructor. No regrets, baby! If we’re ever going to do it, let’s do it here.

6. “I Owe You a Love Song” by Shiny Toy Guns / 3:45
A bit of a recovery song — but just a bit. We’re going back to the flats and will encounter some easy rolling hills. Don’t rest completely, though — your heart rate should still be at least 60-80% of your max. To keep us honest, we’re going to do some Power sprints: from 1:04 – 1:26, stand-up and do a Power 10 uphill charge (add just a bit of tension), then sit back in the saddle; from 2:04-2:26, another Power 10 (standing or seated) — the masochistic among us can sprint all the way through till 2:42. Easy and breezy spinning for the last 60-90 seconds.

7. “On My Way” by Billy Boy on Poison / 2:45
Nothing fancy here — just lots of steep, out-of-saddle/standing climbing to this quick and dirty rock song. Start with a moderate level of tension and start to grind it out. Every 15-30 seconds, add at least half-a-turn of resistance. You won’t notice the increased tension at first, but towards the end of the song, our quads will be screaming for a break. Keep the pace of the turnover half-a-beat faster than you normally would ride. (We’re always going to push the pace a bit so that when we get out on the road, we’ll have a faster and more efficient turnover of the pedals.)

8. “Lisztomania” by Phoenix / 4:00
Backwards spinning, race-pace spinning, stair-climbing exercises, or some combination thereof. It’s a fun song, so have fun with it.

9. “So Begins Our Alabee” by Of Montreal / 4:15
Butt-back exercises or super-steep climbing — again, your choice here. No matter, we’re going to thrash the quads and hammies on this one! Start with 4-5 turns of tension, then pick-up the pace from 1:25 to 1:45 — just short of an all-out sprint. Add a full turn of resistance and stand-up (if you already aren’t). At 2:05, add another full turn of tension (yup) and try to sprint till the 2:30 mark — still out of the seat! At 2:45, sit down in the saddle and take off two turns of tension, but no more than this. You should still feel like you’re doing some climbing, but not nearly as steep as we were in the middle of the song. With the bit of relief in our legs, let’s ride at threshold pace through the end of the song… It will feel like we’re almost-sprinting into a major headwind.

10. “Boys” by Ryan Adams / 3:35
Simple speed. Take off all that tension, scoot up onto the nose of your seat, relax the shoulders, and get ready to rock. Start to pick-up the pace at 0:40 for a super short Power 5 sprint from 0:48 to 0:55. (We’ve never done anything this short, so make it count! Hard and fast right from the first beat!) Relax a bit till 1:20, when we start to pickup the pace again. Next Power Sprint will be from 1:40 till 2:13. Where the last one was short, this one is long! Dig, baby! Final Power Sprint — this one out of the seat (add a turn of tension before standing) — is from 2:55 till the song fades at 3:20. Find that extra gear around the 3:10 mark. Whew!

11. “Young Folks” by Peter Bjorn and John / 4:40
Chillax and catch your breath for the first minute — simple and easy spinning, or maybe some easy and light out-of-seat climbing. At 1:30, add three turns of tension and go into a standing sprint! BOOM! Hit it and spin it, baby! Push it through the mark at 2:00. Exhausting and awesome! Sit down, shake out the arms, and grab some quick water. Our second sprint of the song will be seated. Start to get ready at 2:40, and GOGOGO at 2:55. Haaaaaaang in there — this is one of the longest sprints of the day. All out, with everything you’ve got, for a full minute. At the 4:00 mark, add two turns of tension and stand up for the last little bit of the song. Phew!

12. “Here It Goes Again” by OK Go / 3:00
Spinning and grinning, baby! Sit down, take the tension off, and get on the flats (for a bit). At 0:30, stand-up and add three turns of tension. Climb it out till 1:14; then sit-down, take-off the resistance, and go into a Power Sprint from 1:30 until the 1:50 mark. Add the tension back on the bike, stand-up, and climb again. At 2:25, add one more turn and go into a final sprint till the end of the song! Here it goes! Here we go! GO!

13. “Like A Child” by Junior Boys / 6:10
Stay standing from the last song; we’re rolling right into this one — but tone down the pace. This is a long and steady song where we’ll simply be grinding and climbing. Add half-a-turn of tension/resistance to the bike every 30-45 seconds, clear your mind from the deafening thoughts that “this hurts too much to be safe or good,” and focus! We’ve got a beautiful, clear, sun-drenched day we’re taking advantage of here — an open and recently paved road, a light breeze at our back, and smiles on our faces. This one is going to work the mind as much as the body. “I’ve got the end in sight.” Let’s go!

14. “Watch the Tapes” by LCD Soundsystem / 3:55
Charge! Hard hill climb, baby. Let’s pick-up the pace again and tackle this baby mountain. Moderate tension, standing and attacking, with a pace that is just-shy-of-a-sprint. Your legs are cramping, I know. Your lungs can’t stay full, I know. We’re almost done, so let’s push it!

15. “In the Shadows” by The Rasmus / 4:15.
Flat and fast, baby… Or even better, downhill! After all, we’ve spend the last couple songs grinding and climbing — let’s enjoy the fruit of our labor. Take off that tension, sit down, and imagine yourself flying downhill, hugging the tight and sharp turns of this mountain, with the wind in your hair. Go fast and hard from the very beginning — this is our last song! — but make it extra intense from 1:08 till 1:43 during our first Power 20 sprint of the set.  Keep on cruising, but catch your breath — you’ll need it for a Power 1o sprint from 2:20 until 2:38. Stand-up, stretch the legs, and at 3:57 go into a standing Power 20 sprints. Then sit back down in the saddle and hammer it until the song fades away! GOGOGOGOGO! We’re finishing with back-to-back (no rest) Power 20s, with the first one out-of-the-saddle, and the second (and final) one back in the saddle. Holy geez. This. Was. Intense.

16. “Friendly Fire” by The Federalists / 2:40
Cool-down and relax… Just let those legs slow and catch your breath.

17. “If You See Her, Say Hello” by Bob Dylan / 4:50
Final stretches and goodbye.

Power 10 Spinning!
J.R. Atwood

1. “Oh Mandy” by The Spinto Band / 3:35
This song makes me think of summer romances and puts a smile on my face during our warm-up session. Roll the shoulders and your neck, practice slow and conscientious breathing, and get ready to ride. We have a great mix and workout today!

2.  “Right Round” by Flo Rida / 3:25
Who needs a peloton when you have a Wolfpack to ride with?! (Any fans of “The Hangover” out there?) Crank the volume, settle into a race-ready position on your bike, and start riding hard and fast. Tension is at a moderate level, continue to pick-up the pace, and at 0:54, add a turn of resistance and stand-up; at 1:10 we are going into a Power 10 through 1:25. Sit-down in the saddle, take off that tension, and get back to the flats. Pick up the pace, baby! At 1:55, we’re repeating things — stand-up, add some tension, and go into a Power 10 at 2:10. No no no — POWER 20! Stand and sprint uphill all the way through at least 2:40. Do not sit back down! Instead, ease-up on the pedals a bit, add another turn of tension, and grind it to the top! All the way to the end of the song. Niiiiice.

3. “Skeleton Boy” by Friendly Fire / 4:05
Nothing gets me moving and grooving quite like this song. We’re going to return to the flats for it, and do some simple (though not easy!) spinning. Take the first 20 seconds at a moderate pace, then relax the shoulders, lift your knees to your chest, hammer on the pedals, and start go into a seated Power 20 at 0:53 — all-out sprint all through the chorus at 1:25. Phew! Grab some water, add half-a-turn of tension, and stay focused. We have one more of these, with the next one coming up at 2:05. GO! Hit it hard and fast! Turn-over those legs as fast as possible! Sprint through the mark at 2:40! Take no more than 3-5 seconds to shake things out — we’ll rest at the end of the song. Stay focused as we stay on the flats all the way till the song fades out.

(By the way, the video for this song is super cool and definitely worth a watch. The skeleton effects were achieved by using little more than double-sided sticky tape, millions of tiny bean bag balls, and some fans. You can watch it below.)

4. “The Shaded Forests” by Deastro / 3:25

Keep spinning from the last song — we’re going to roll right into it. The pace should be quick, the resistance light, and then at 1:00 add some tension and stand-up for an out-of-seat charge. This is where we’ll stay for the rest of the song — charging up a moderately steep hill. Quick and light feet, then at 2:05 add a full turn of resistance and go into an all-out (and standing!) Power 20 sprint that will take us through things at 2:50. Rest for three seconds (yup, that’s it!) and then get back to the standing sprint! All. The. Way.

5. “Selective Periphera” by Ben Benjamin / 2:50

Slow song means slow climb. Sit back in the saddle, add four turns of resistance, and do a steady grind-and-climb. Keep the butt seated and just muscle through it. Breathing deep will get us there.

6. “In the End” by Linkin Park / 3:35

Short break for the first 45 seconds or so… This is not a rest, just an active recovery. Take off most of the tension on your bike, shake out the arms, roll the neck, and do some light stretching. The last half of today’s workout is pretty intense.

At 0:45 add two turns of tension, and go into a seated sprint at 0:55 — hammer it all the way through the 1:15 mark. Then add another turn of resistance, stand-up out the saddle, and get ready for a standing sprint. At 1:50 we’re going fast again — Power 10, baby, till 2:10. Slow down, catch your breath, add a turn of tension at 2:30, and 2:45 go double long — Power 20 sprint through 3:10. Take the last 20 seconds of the song — when it begins to fadeout — as a much needed and well-deserved break.

7. “Hip Hop Hooray” by Naughty by Nature / 4:25

A fun party song from the archives! Let’s start by doing some stair-climb exercises (see the FAQ for directions) through the first full chorus which begins at 1:00 and ends at 1:20. At this point, add some resistance and go into a standing climb through the next chorus, beginning at 2:00 and ending at 2:20. Add one more turn of resistance and go immediately back to the stairs — we’ll be here till the end of the song. Finishing with two minutes of the stairs is brutal, so pace yourself early and sprint at the chorus (3:17 – 3:35). Run the stairs till the song completely fades — light and soft feet!

8. “Promiscuous” by Nelly Furtado / 4:00

Mix it up here — feel the music and have the class yell out what they want to do. I like to start on some rolling hills and ask fellow riders to announce when we will go into a power climb/uphill charge, Power 10 or 20 sprint, or simple out-of-saddle climb. (Members always seem to be surprised how hard it is to cue and count for the class when riding at full pace — take advantage of the opportunity to simply ride and follow along with someone else’s announcements, but be sure to keep everyone honest. No cheating or resting here!)

9. “Poker Face” by Lady GaGa / 4:00

Back to the hard stuff. Four or five turns of resistance and stand-up for a slow quad-burning climb till 0:55. At the chorus, hammer things to turn-out a quick Power 10 that ends at 1:13. Keep the tension level where it is and simply sit down in the seat. Churn and burn, baby! Legs feel like lead, sweat is dripping down the face, and the lungs are burning. Nothing feels better than this! Work it in the saddle, then at 1:52 go into a high-tension, seated sprint! Keep the butt in the saddle and push it through the 2:10 mark. Now stand-up (but keep the tension where it is) and get back to the steep climb. If you’re feeling really strong — or want to get really strong — add a half- to full-turn of tension at 2:50, try to pick-up the pace a bit, and go into a long Power 20 spring at 3:10. Gogogogogogogo! Don’t forget to breathe! Get there, baby! YES! YES! YES! All the way to the end of the song! Wooooooooo!

10. “Closer” by Kings of Leon /4:00

No. Rest. For. The. Weary. Stay standing and keep climbing. This is a mental workout as much as a physical one — the mind is screaming “No no no!” We need to shout back, with defiance, a mighty “Yes yes yes!”

At each minute mark, add half-a-turn of resistance. This is slow. It hurts… a lot. But it’s what makes us strong, too. For the masochists out there, do a Power 20 sprint from 2:00 to 2:20, and again from 3:00 until you can’t hang on any longer.

As Tony Horton of P90X would say, “I hate it, but I love it.” True.

11. “Before the Worst” by The Script / 3:25

Back to the flats for some speed and fun. Sit down, take off most of the tension on the bike and imagine yourself riding with the wind at your back — at sunrise, along the California coast, and on an open and super-flat road. Keep a steady pace till 0:50, at which point we add one or two turns of resistance and go into an all-out sprint through 1:07. Keep the tension where it is but get back into a controlled spin. Relax the shoulders, look ahead, and at 1:40 go into another seated sprint! Hit it with everything you have until 1:58. I like to stand up till about 2:20 to stretch the legs, and then get back to the flats for a final sprint from 2:35 until the song begins to fade around 3:10. Wake-up the body and wake-up the world!

12. “Dead and Gone [Feat. Justin Timberlake]” by T.I. / 5:00

Dead and gone describes how I usually feel at this point in the workout — so I gotta’ dig deep and remind myself why I’m here: to push myself beyond otherwise assumed limits of possibility. Knowing that others in the class are working just as hard — and are just as tired — as I allows me to rally. So here we go…

Time to get back to the hills. Add some tension, and at 0:15 stand-up for a steady climb. Nothing fancy at first — just some quad-busting climbs. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. And at 1:10, add a bit of tension. Start to pick-up the pace a bit, anticipating the charge… At 1:40, Power 10 sprint! Dig deep and take it 2:08. Feel free to sit down, or stay standing — no matter your move, just keep climbing. Add another little turn of tension around 2:45; at 3:05, it’s time for another Power Sprint till 3:30. At this point, grunt and add some tension. Stay standing and climbing. At 4:05, recommit yourself to the cause: we want to get to the top as fast as possible. Put on a little charge till the song fades at 4:30. Take the last 30 seconds to get some water.

13. “Stop and Stare” by OneRepublic / 3:45

Still. Climbing. Stay in the saddle for a seated climb till 0:30 — then stand-up out of the seat, add a bit of tension, and charge into a long Power 20 sprint from 0:55 through the mark at 1:35. (Yes — 40 seconds. I didn’t say it’d be easy.) Slow the pace a bit, add a turn of tension, catch your breath, but keep climbing until 2:10 — then go into another Super Power Sprint until 2:50. Settle the pace, but stay strong, baby! Ride it out to the top.

14. “Remember” by Black Lab / 3:40

Last big set of sprints for the day! Bring things back to the flats, take off the tension from those crazy climbs, and let the legs spin free! Light resistance, fast legs. Start picking up the pace at 0:50, and at 1:00 go into a seated Power Sprint until 1:17. Get back to a pace that is about 80% of your max, add some resistance at 1:40, and at 1:55 go into another Power Sprint! Spin-it-out until 2:20! Shake the arms loose, take off  a bit of tension, and at 2:50 go into one last charge! All out — everything you have, race-pace speed and effort through the end of the song. Make it good, baby! Make it fast! We’re done before we know it, so leave it on the bike!

15. “Man in the Mirror” by Michael Jackson / 5:20

There never was a more captivating entertainer than MJ, and this is my all-time favorite song of his. It makes for a great “finish song,” too. Start slow and steady — medium tension/resistance, while seated. Stand-up at 0:30 and begin to climb at a comfortable pace. At 1:00, add a turn of tension and go into a Power 10 charge from 1:10 to 1:25. Stay standing, add some tension, and continue the climb. At 2:15 put on another charge! Give yourself a little head nod in the mirror and at 2:30 add a bit more tension. We’ve got this, baby! At 2:50 — really let it go! Just hammer and grind and climb: power sprint it home! Or at least until 3:50… Take things down a notch, and then get back into the final power climb at 4:10. Last song of the day, last charge of the day, last hill for the day, last sprint for the day. At 4:30 do a double-time sprint! All the way to the finish! Come on! “You know it, you know it, you know it, you know!”

No matter how tired I am, this song always makes me smile. Good work today, class!

16. “Going to California” by Led Zeppelin / 3:30.

Cool-down and stretch. We need to take extra care of our muscles after today’s epic workout. Take all the tension off and just spin nice and easy, slowing everything down and starting a thorough stretching routine — begin with the neck and work down to the shoulders, arms, back, quads, hamstrings, and calves. Finish with some sunshine stretches, reaching up to the sky and breathing deep — fill those lungs with air.

17. “Summer” by Joe Hisaishi / 6:30

Final stretches and goodbye music.

Power 10 Spinning!
J.R. Atwood

1. “Starry Eyed Surprise” by Oakenfold / 3:25
This song is a fitting soundtrack for the dawn of summer. Take the full song to warm-up, stretch, and introduce yourself to your neighbors — you’re going to need their help today. Our workout is awesome, but brutal!

2. “I Still Remember” by Bloc Party / 4:20
Movin’ and groovin’ early. Light to moderate tension with fast feet. Start around 70-80% of max. At 1:08, add a turn of tension and do a standing charge till 1:40 — this is just shy of an all-out sprint. You should be breathing heavy here. Stay standing and out of the seat for a climb until 2:40. Here we sit-down (don’t take any tension off!) and go into a Power 20 sprint. THIS is all out. When done with the sprint, take off one turn of tension and spin it out till the end of the song. Niiiiice.

3. “Bom Bom Bom” by Living Things / 3:05
Out-of-saddle high-tension grind and climb — start at a level 8 (on a 10-point scale). This is gonna’ hurt so good, baby. Slow, steady, deep burn… Then at 1:37 it’s a Power 10 standing sprint till 2:00! (Depending on how fast or slow you count, this may be a Power 20). Settle into the saddle and continue at a level 8 seated climb. Then at 2:35 — stand up and Power Sprint all the way to the finish! Oooooooh me oh my.

4. “Not Gonna Get Us” by T.A.T.U. / 4:25
Start flat and fast — we’ll do some rollers, but right now we’re focused on straight spinning. Lift the knees to the chest, relax the shoulders, keep the eyes looking 5 to 10 yards ahead of you, and hit it, yo! DO NOT WAIT TO ROLL INTO THIS! We hit it hard straight from the first note  – all-out to 0:50. At this point, add one or two turns of tension, stay seated, start to slowly build the pace with the music, and at 1:20 pop-up out of the seat for a Power Sprint to 1:50. Sit down, take off the tension, and continue with an all-out spin and sprint session until 2:20. Here you can get some quick water, shake the arms, and do some light stretching. At 2:50, add two turns of tension and stand up for a little climb through the silence. At 3:18, take the tension off, sit back down, and SPRINT TO THE FINISH. No cheating here… I know it burns, but it’s a good kind of hurt. GO! GO! GO! All the way, baby.

5. “Magnificent” by U2 / 5:25
First 30+ seconds are a continuation from the last song — roll right into it. At the 0:35 mark, start to pick up the pace so that by 0:45 we are redlining this climb. Go hard with the charge until 1:15, then add another turn of tension, but slow the pace. At 1:57, it’s a Power 10, baby!  Settle down, add another half-turn and keep climbing. At 3:04, it’s a loooong Power 20 sprint till 3:45! ALL OUT! GOOOOOOO! Settle again, add one more turn of tension, and simply try to hang on till the end of the song. Magnificent.

6. “Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon / 3:50
Nothing fancy here… Bring your fast legs and we’ll do some spinning. Light to moderate tension to start — the focus is on our leg turnover. Start at 75% of your max effort (roughly). At the 1:00 mark, start to really pick things up! We’re building and building and building. At 1:30 it’s a Power 10 — or if feeling really strong (crazy), a Power 20 — sprint till 1:55. Back off a bit, catch your breath, add one turn of tension, and relax till 2:25 when it’s sprint #2! Doin’ it, yo! At 2:50, add another turn of tension and stand-up for a little climb. At 3:05, sit back down and sprint all the way to the song begins to fade at 3:40! Keep the pace, keep the faith.

7. “My Only Offer” by Mates of State / 3:00
We’ve been thrashing the quads, so let’s give our calf muscles some work… Stair-climbing exercise! Stand-up and stand proud, keep the hands light and loose, thrust the butt and hips back, and isolate the quads. Picture yourself jogging up the stairs — one at a time, two at a time — whatever works. Bonus: Amazon (at the time when this blog was published) is offering this Mates of Song as a free download.

8. “Pearl’s Girl” by Underworld / 9:35
This is the meat and potatoes of today’s workout. Do not hold anything back on this… It’s not about ego; it’s about sweat. And sweat we will! Don’t be fooled by the first 45 seconds, which are kind of chill. This is the only rest we’ll have. So ease into it with some rolling and gentle hills at low to moderate tension. At 0:48, it’s time to scoot up on the nose of your seat and get into dirty-fast mode. Imagine yourself in a Tour de France time trial. Keep a low profile and your legs hammering like pistons. The tension level isn’t gonna’ hurt us, but our effort will. Ease up between 2:05 and 2:10 (5 seconds, that’s all!). At 2:10, go into a double-time, all-out, everything-you-have Power Spin. We’re gonna’ hang here for a while, so don’t even try to tell yourself that it will be over soon.

As exhausting as this set is, it’s an ever tougher mental workout. Whenever you find yourself slipping a bit — which is to say, whenever you aren’t doing an all-out sprint — look at yourself in the mirror, give yourself a head nod, and get back to hammering those legs. At 5:35 (after 3:25 of sprinting), add a turn of tension and stand up on those Jello legs. Try to keep a quick turnover on this little charge. At 6:25, sit down and get some quick water. Shake those arms, do some light stretching, and wipe the sweat from your body. After 5-15 seconds of catching your breath, get back to the road… Start to slowly pick-up the pace until you are at your threshold. The music may be fading here, but our mind has to stay sharp. Put on some goggles or adopt tunnel vision — our finish line is a few minutes up the road. Hammer strong, baby!

At 7:30, add two turns of tension and stand-up. It hurts so good, baby! Slow and steady climb here. Stay. Focused. One. Leg. At. A. Time. At 8:30, sit back down in the saddle, take that tension off, and SPRINT IT HOME!

9. “In a Cave” by Tokyo Police Club / 2:50
Backwards spinning! Stay seated, arrange the tension/resistance level so that it is at a moderate level (around a 4 to 6 on 10-point scale — 1 being no tension at all, and 10 being so much that you can’t move the wheel), and spin backwards. Don’t just let your legs flail — keep the knees angled over the center of the bike, and pull up and backwards with your legs. This is a great little exercise to flush the lactate acid from your legs, and to work your lower-body in a familiar albeit different way. Keep the pace fairly quick — you should be at 70 to 85% of your max heart rate, depending on your individual fitness goals and abilities. Another free song from Amazon!

10. “Mother We Just Can’t Get Enough” by New Radicals / 5:45
We’re hurting… All of us. But one can’t help do anything but smile when this song is played. Let the good vibes recharge your soul, add a few turns of tension, and do some seated climbing at the start. At 0:55, add one or two more turns of tension and stand up out of the seat for some grinding and climbing! “Just can’t get enough!” The legs are heavy, I know, but pick up the pace a bit. Just a bit more. And a bit more. There we go. Now at the 2:00 mark, go into a standing Power 10 spring. YES! When settling, stay strong and standing. At 2:40 you can either add another turn of tension or do a mini-charge by challenging the person next to you to a race to the top — or both! Add tension and attach the mountain! At 4:00, let’s sit back down in the saddle, get some quick water, shake the arms, and roll the neck. Don’t sit for too long — get back to the climb and at 4:40 throw it down with a Power 20! “Oh oh oh yeah. Feel good. Oh oh oh yeah.” Finish the song with a charge.

11. “Ready to Go” by Republica / 5:00
You know what to do with this… Hard and fast, baby. Throw in a couple of Power 10s for good measure. Go with the music and bring on the pain!

12. “FM” by Junior Boys / 5:55
More psychological training… This is a slow, steady, grueling climb. You have to want it. Badly. Start with a standing climb. Increase tension every 30-45 seconds. After two minutes, sit down and continue the mountain attack from the saddle. After another two minute (and don’t forget to increase tension every 30-45 seconds — just by half-a-turn at each mark), stand up again and finish with an attack. Have the class decide when to do a Power 10 or 20. Tell them that anyone can yell out “SPRINT!” at any time; when this happens, everyone goes.

13. “Sweetness” by Jimmy Eat World / 3:40
Final song, so let’s do it right! Flat and fast. Lose that tension (at least for the beginning), get into an aggressive position on the bike, and attack the road! Keep it quick — dance lightly on those toes, pull those knees to your chest, and hammer on the legs. We’re going to do a quick Power 10 at the 30 second mark. Add one full turn of tension at 0:45 and settle ever so slightly, maintaining your momentum and most of your speed. At 1:10, pop-up out of the saddle for a standing Power 20. When it’s over around 1:30, add half-a-turn of tension and stay standing and charging. At 2:10, sit back down, take off a bit of tension, and power it out with sprint to the end. Hold on as long as you can! (Don’t try to pace yourself — just go all out, and if you need a lil’ break part-way through, take five seconds and then get back to the road. This is the last song, so leave it on the bike!)

14. “We Do What We Want To” by O+S / 3:40
An awesomely beautiful song for our cool-down. Take all tension off your bike and lightly pedal through the song, breathing deeply and fully. Third free song of the mix!

15. “Horizons” by Son, Ambulance / 2:55
Final stretches and good-bye. What a day!

Power 10 Spinning!
J.R. Atwood

What a treat today! All-around awesome spinning instructor Sally Mander has been sending me some fantastic Power Songs over the last few months, and shared a fun 60-minute workout and spinning mix with readers by posting a playlist in the comments section of the About & Contact page back in March.

Sally has such a passion for spinning and a great musical ear that I asked her to put together one of her favorite mixes to share with the Power 10 Spinning community. This is an advanced sprints and hills routine based on the general training philosophy of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).

A couple quick things…

Sally has a great tip to share with current and aspiring workout/music-mix DJs: When the 30 second sample clip on iTunes or from the Amazon MP3 store is not enough to decide whether you want to buy a song, listen to the entire song after searching for it on YouTube. Simple, practical, brilliant!

Also, if you are ever in the greater Miami, Florida-area and are looking for a good spin class (or if you want to send me your own Power Songs and spinning mixes!), leave a comment or send an email to jasonatwood [at] gmail [dot] com — I’ll forward your contact info to Sally who can let you know where and when she is teaching.

On with the ride! Take it away, Sally!

SPRINTS AND HILLS

advanced spin class

For this hour-long class, we alternate between climbing hills and sprinting on the flats. All the hill songs are approximately four/five minutes, which are split-up with three/four minutes of flat riding. We’ll be doing 3-4 sets of flat sprints per song, with each spring ranging from 30-60 seconds.

Approach the hills slow and strong, and tackle the sprints hard and fast. Be sure to take advantage of the active recovery between the sprints (e.g., grab some water, do some light stretching) — you will need it.

1.  Go by Moby / 4:20
Warm-up on a decent flat gear. At 1:56 into the song the music will drop a bit—turn up the gear enough so you can get off the saddle and do a warm-up run for the rest of the song.

2. Bust Your Windows by Jazmine Sullivan / 4:30
All the hills today are about 4-5 minutes long. The music is chosen for the pace—slow. Take the hills at a gear that puts you at 60-65 RPM. This one is out of the saddle for the whole song. Practice hill form here—relaxing the upper body is key.  Hang the eyelids at half mast and the body will follow. (This technique works with running as well when you need to relax.)

3. The Police vs Coldplay: Put on the Red Light [Mash-up] by DJ Lobsterdust / 4:30
Three sprints each at the chorus for about 30 seconds. First sprint is at 1:13 and done with a flat gear. At the very start of the sprints, turn-up the gear by 1/4 turn—just enough to feel a slight change. By the 3rd sprint you are almost a full turn up from your starting gear. Take the last sprint up and running!

4. African Herbsman (Remixed by Sen Dog of Cyprus Hill) by Bob Marley / 4:50
Here we are back to using our slow-twitch muscles to climb. Watch your hill form—relax the grip on the handlebars, let the energy go to your legs, keep the peddle strokes smooth. STRENGTH, BABY, STRENGTH! Work it out, get your rhythm and follow the strong beat.

5. Vertigo by U2 / 3:15
Sprints on a flat gear. Here we have 3 sprints on the chorus ranging from 20-30 seconds each. First sprint is at :38. Turn the gear up 1/4 turn at start of sprint—hit your top speed and sustain. The sprints are short, but if you turn that gear up enough, they will be worth the effort. Take the last sprint standing—you are almost a full turn higher than when you started.

6. Sympathy for the Devil (The Neptunes remix) (Radio edit) by The Rolling Stones / 4:05
Another steep hill to conquer. Keep it steady and challenge yourself with the gear. See what you can handle!

7. Hot N Cold by Katy Perry / 3:40
Here we are at sprints again… Three sets of sprints at the chorus, first one is at :31. Don’t forget to turn up that gear at the start of the sprint… By the last sprint the gear is heavy enough so you can take it up and running. GO FOR IT!!! DIG DEEP!!! DON’T FADE OUT—KEEP IT STRONG. It’s worth it, trust me.

8. Mama Ararira by Afro Celt Sound System / 3:40
Oh it hurts! This is a slow grinding 12% grade hill. Stare it down, turn that gear up and find the level that challenges you to you to the core. This is our shortest hill today, but our slowest. Nail it!

9. Move your Ass by Scooter / 3:40
The name says it all… Fast and furious – four (!) sprints at top speed. Let the music guide you—first sprint starts right away at :13. GO! GO! GO! MOVE YOUR ASS!!!

10. Love Lockdown by Kayne West / 4:30
We are now heading towards the finish line and this is where the going gets tough … SPRINTS ON A HILL!!!! Take this hill as a seated climb with a strong and powerful gear. On the chorus, you are going to jump out of the saddle and try to sprint through the gear in position 3. First sprint at :55. The first two sprints are only 15 seconds. Sounds easy? Not if the gear is heavy! 15 seconds seems like eternity. For sprint #3, dial BACK the gear about half-a-turn because this sprint is 65 seconds!! This brings me to my knees every time. Can I do it? Yes I can.

11. Sandstorm by Darude / 7:30
Excellent sprinting song—two sprints, each for a minute (+/-) on a medium gear at your top speed. This is it! The finish line is up ahead… Dig deep and give it everything you have. Relax the face, loosen the grip, channel all the energy to your legs. The first sprint comes at 2:45. Use that time as active recovery. Gather in all your energy, find that runner’s high and work it.

You Made it to the finish Line. Raise your arms up for victory!

12. Sleepy Lagoon by Alfred Alpaka / 3:05
This is the loveliest and corniest Hawaiian Music—I love it. Use it as a cooldown. After all that hard work, you deserve a trip to Hawaii (Kona?)

13. This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) by Shawn Colvin / 4:01
Great cover of a great Talking Heads song.

Thanks to Sally for leading us on a great ride! And again, consider this an open-call for Power Songs and spinning mixes/workouts… Leave a comment or email me with your favorite tunes.

Power 10 Spinning!
J.R. Atwood

1. “Piano in Trance” by Robert Miles (3:50)
Warm-up and stretch. This is gonna’ be a hurt-so-good kind of workout.

2. “DOA” by Foo Fighters (4:10)
Add a wee bit of tension and get ready for some speed. At 20 seconds in, you should be up to 80% of your max effort. Pick up the pace till 45 seconds when we do our first all-out sprint until 1:13. Catch your breath for a few seconds, grab some water, then get back to the hard and fast flats. Our second set of sprints is coming up at 1:55 — OUT OF THE SEAT CHARGE! Power it up, all-out sprint, till 2:25. Sit back on the bike, shake things out, and remember why you love spinning… Because together, in this one class, we work harder than most of our friends and coworkers will all week long. Last Power Sprint (this time while seated) from 3:10 until the very end of the song. Hold on, hang on, and breathe deep. I know it hurts, but take it in chunks of 10 seconds. Focus. Focus. Focus. GOGOGOGO! We’re there!

3. “O… Saya” by M.I.A. (3:35)
You can tell from the first beat that this is gonna be fast. Take the first 20 seconds to recover, then add a bit of tension, and slowly start to pick up the pace to racing speed and effort. At 50 seconds, add another half turn. Relax the shoulders, lift the knees to the chest, and ride nice and smooth. We’re gonna’ spin hard and fast, but on the flats for a bit. At 1:50 add two turns of resistance and pop up out of the saddle. Light and quick feet standing climb until 2:35. At this point, sit back on the saddle, take off one turn of tension (no more!) and get back to your spinning form and speed. This is done at threshold, made even more difficult having exhausted our lungs and legs early with that first sprint. But if you can hang, you’ll be stronger for it.

4. “Where Are We Runnin’?” by Lenny Kravitz (2:40)
Alright alright alright. Let’s get to the hills. Add four turns of tension (yup!), stand up, and grind it out as we get to the top of this climb. Add half a turn at 1:11 and immediate go into a standing Power 10 sprint to 1:26. Don’t think… Just go! At 1:40, thrust the hips back over the saddle, isolate those quads, and add one more turn of resistance. Keep on climbing, baby!

5. “Rebellion (Lies)” by Arcade Fire (5:10)
Roll right into this… Keep the tension where it was from the last song and stay mentally strong as you continue to climb. We’re testing ourselves today. At 1:05 add half a turn of tension and sit down on your seat. Keep the legs turning over those pedals, no matter how slowly! Hurt so good! Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth. Deep breathing is the only way we are going to make it to the end of today’s workout. Fill the lungs with air and push everything out of your chest. Keep lifting those knees up to your chest and try to kick the back of your butt with your heels. At 2:30, add one more half-turn of resistance and stand-up! For the most crazy members of class, bust out with a standing Power 10 at the 3:00 mark. Sit back down in the seat from 3:40 to 4:10. For the last minute, see if you can add just one more baby-turn to the right and finish with a charge to the top!

6. “Yea Yeah” by Matt & Kim (3:25)
One of the more infectious and happy pop rock sounds I have heard lately. I love this b-fry on guitar and vocals, g-fry on drums duo! Anyway, for this set we are doing simple stair climbing exercises. We’ve thrashed the quads and hammies, now it’s time to work the calf muscles. Remember to land on the balls of your feet — as soon as your feet touch the ground, lift your knee up to your chest. Gently rest your hands on the handlebars for this… If you have tension or soreness in your shoulders or forearms, you are not doing this exercise properly. Shift your weight so that you are supporting yourself with your legs, not your your upper body. Everyone, at 2:50 — power stair climb home to the finish! Double-time charge. Yea yeah yea yeah yea yeah yea yeah yea yeah yea yeah!

7. “Forever” by Chris Brown (4:40)
A bit of an active recovery here… But don’t cheat! Settle into your saddle, take most of the tension off your bike, and spin it out at 80-90% effort. Throw in some rolling hills if you are feeling super strong today (or if you simply want to get super strong). “Look what I can do with my feet.”

8. “Bang Bang (feat. Adam Levine)” by K’naan (3:10)
Foothill fun! Add two turns of tension/resistance and do some hard riding in the baby hills… Stay seated for a bit; at the 0:47 mark we are doing a Power 10 sprint! When you finish at 1:04, add two more turns of tension and stand up for a quick charge. Keep the butt back and work it hard — standing quick tempo. At 1:47 we are doing a Power 20 while out of the saddle. Yeaaaah, baby! At 2:15 add just one more turn of tension and make sure to finish the last 30 seconds with the same speed as we started the song.

9. “Detroit Waves” by Matt Nathanson (3:15)
Back to the flats and back to the tempo stuff. Take off the tension from that last song and instead picture yourself on a wide open highway at sunrise or sunset — whatever you favorite time of day. The road is yours, so let’s take advantage of it. With the wind at our back we could ride all daylong. Check your form at this point in the workout — we have a tendency to get a bit sloppy as we get tired. Add no more than half a turn of resistance every 30-45 seconds while maintaining a consistent leg turnover. I like to do a Power 20 near the middle of the song at 1:57. When you finish the sprint, be sure to ride all the way to the finish! We’ll recover and grab some water between songs.

10. “Believe in Me” by Sloan (3:20)
Back to the steep stuff! Add three to four turns of tension, stand up, and increase tension every 20 seconds (even if just by a little bit). This is a slow but steady deep-burn kind of climb. Legs are hating us today!

11. “So Typical” by Trance Emerson (4:25)
Mental toughness set: Take off all tension and ride as hard and as fast as humanely possible on this! Go straight from the gun and try to get faster with every pedal stroke until 0:38. At this point, you can slow down, stretch for a bit, and catch your breath; get back on the bike with everything you have at 1:05 for another long sprint session. Go from 1:05 until 3:08. Then take another short break until 3:35. For the third and last sprint session of the song, it is all out, baby! At 3:35, we ride as if our lives depended on it till the song fades out. Go, baby, go!

12. “Half My Mind” by Damian Hagger (2:35)
Climb those stairs and thrash those calves! Stair-climbing exercise for the entire song with a double-time charge to the top of the flight of stairs at the 1:55 mark all the way to the fade-out.

13. “Happy” by Fischerspooner (4:00)
Spinning on the flats. Start off at a pace that is 70% of your max, then go into a Power 10 at the 0:55 mark. Settle into race-pace speed and effort, then hit a double-time Power 20 at 1:37 to 2:05. Catch your breath, shake things out, stay seated and strong, and stretch from 2:05 to 2:33. Then it’s time to bring it home with EVERYTHING. YOU. HAVE. It’s long, I know. It hurts,I know. But it’s also awesome. At 3:08, take a deep-breath, focus, and spring double time to the finish!

14. “It’s Beginning to Get to Me” by Snow Patrol (4:35)
Climbing. Throw on some tension, hit the foothills (seated) for the first lil’ bit. Grab some quick water. At 1:16, throw on another turn of tension and go right into a standing, out-of-the-saddle Power 10. Stay up and out, but settle into a comfortable rhythm and pace as we continue to pound on those quads. We’re doing another Power 10 at 2:12! Heck, let’s make it a Power 20! Go, yo! Settle your pace, but not your effort, and sit back down in the saddle at 3:09. Do not take any resistance off your bike! Instead, stay seated for a grind and climb to the end of the song. Workin’ it deep! If you’re a super-hero (or want to be one), put on a charge for the last 50 seconds of the song.

15. “Numb / Encore” by Jay-Z / Linkin Park (3:25)
Second to last song. We’re almost there. Let’s finish strong to get stronger. Out of saddle climbing on this. I want the tension at a level of 8, 9, or 10 — as much as you have ever done, and more than you think you can handle. Together, we’ll break through these otherwise assumed limits of possibility. Sweat is dripping and stinging the eyes in the most painful and wonderful way. “I came, I saw, I conquered … Scream till your lungs get sore.” Do it, baby! One step at a time. One lift at a time. Throw in a few Power 10s at your leisure to rock it extra hard!

16. “One Month Off” by Bloc Party (3:35)
Two songs to climb this beast of a mountain, one song to get down. I could care less about form on this… I just want it fast. Sit down, get a quick view of the awesome panorama at the summit, then start the hard-earned downhill ride. Little to no tension on this! Just pure speed. See how fast your legs can turnover. 120, 150, 180 rpms?! Knees to the chest, heels to the butt, and go! This entire song is a low-tension, downhill sprint! Feel the wind in your hair, smile, and go!

17. “Dancing Behind My Eyelids” by Mum (4:05)
Cooldown and stretches.

18. “Latika’s Theme” by A.R. Rahman (3:10)
Goodbye music.

Spin it out!
J.R. Atwood

First, major props to readers who have sent me their favorite and interesting Power Songs; some are included in this mix, with more to come in future compilations. But the biggest shout out this month goes to Sally Mander who shares a kick-arse and awesome 60 minute spinning mix via the comments section on the About & Contact page. You can check out her workout here. In addition to introducing me to the killer rad mash-ups of DJ Lobsterdust, she also shared some really great opera music to mix-up our rides. Thanks so much, Sally! I’ll be using more of your recommendations in future mixes. For now, here’s March’s 60 minute spinning mix…

1. “Stop the Clock (Peligro de Extinción) [English Version]” by Jean (4:30)
Warm-up and stretch. Get those legs loose and relaxed, as we have lots of hurt-so-good fun ahead of us today.

2. “Get It On” by The Chevelles (3:30)
Wake-up with some rock! Flat, fast, and hard. That’s how we roll on this song. Light to moderate tension with 1,000 MPH legs! Speed, spinning… Nothing finer. The entire song is one long sprint. Do it!

3. “Show Me What I’m Looking For” by Carolina Liar (4:00)
Slow it down, throw on 3-5 turns (!) of tension, and start with an in-seat climb. At 0:34, stand up and go straight into a Power 10. Stay standing as we continue to tackle this brutal mountain. At 1:34 we do a Power 20! Come on, baby! Dig deep! Stay standing, add one turn to the right (ugh!), and keep charging, even if done slowly. Quad burn is the best burn! At 2:50 add one. more. turn. of. tension. Almost there! Finish standing, tall, and proud.

4. “Selective Periphera” by Ben Benjamin (2:40)
Do not take any tension off from the last song! Seriously! (I see you in the middle row. Keep it on!) Find the saddle and settle in for a quad-busting, high-tension, Mt. Everist-like seated climb. Lift the knees to your chest, keep the shoulders relaxed, and breathe deep. This hurts. Badly. I know. But we’re in it together. Steady and strong. Steady and strong.

5. “One Week Of Danger (Album Version)” by The Virgins (2:45)
Okay, time to get back to the flats. Take off all that tension, grab a quick swig of water, then hit the open road! Wind is at your back! Smile is on your face! Threshold pace for the entire song. Increase the resistance by half-a-turn every 30-45 seconds — so slight that you barely notice it. Ride it out!

6. “Mansard Roof” by Vampire Weekend (2:10)
Stair-climbing exercises, baby! Quick feet, weight centered in your legs, with fingers just barely resting on the handlebars for balance. Pick-up the pace (and add one more turn of tension) at the 0:53 mark. Gogogogo. Last one to the top of the stairs buys lunch for everyone. (See the FAQs if you have any doubt about how to do this exercise. It should burn the calves and the quads right above the knees.)

7. “Jungle Boogie (The Jacksons vs. Guns N’ Roses)” by DJ Lobsterfest (4:20)
The first of two great mash-ups today. Roll right into a slight to moderate climb from the last song… Basically, when you get to the top of the stairs, thrust your hips back and to an out-of-seat climb. Tension should feel like you are going up some rolling hills. (But no mountains! At least not yet. But be honest… No cheating.) At 1:43, we are going to sit down and hammer it hard for a 45 second charge on the flats. Stand back up out of the saddle, and add a bit of resistance, for a climb from 2:30-3:30. Then sit down on and charge hard to the end of the song.

8. “Dream On (New Version)” by Christian Falk, Robyn & Ola Salo (3:20)
Short rollers at moderate tension: stay seated for the first 30 seconds, then at the 0:30 mark, we do 10 seconds of out-of-saddle charging, then 10 seconds of in-the-saddle riding, then 10 seconds of out-of-saddle chaging, and go back to the flats. We are going to do this for the entire song. Start with tension at around a 5-7 on a scale from 1-10. Ever minute, add one full turn of tension. Think of kicking your butt with your heels and lifting your knees to your chest for the entire set. Quick feet! (Don’t worry about pushing down on your pedals, per se; instead, focus on pulling up with your feet.)

9. “I Will Follow” by U2 (3:40)
Keeping things fast, we are going to go back to the flats for some easy (light tension, but not on effort) riding. Picture yourself on a brandly new paved road, with a slight downhill slope, and the sun rising behind you so that it sunkisses the hills in the foreground. For the first two minutes, it is an all-out, everything we have sprint. At 2:07, add three turns of tension and stand-up out of the saddle. Grind it out and charget hard till the end of the song!

10. “We Are Pilots” by Shiny Toy Guns (4:20)
Stay up stay up stay up! We’re still climbing, baby! Add one more turn of tension, slow things down a bit, and settle into a groove. Focus on that deep, full breathing. Sweat will be trickling down the face and stinging the eyes, which only serve to reaffirm how awesome we are for rocking this killer workout! Stay strong, baby. When the legs are screaming “Nonono!” is when our minds have to take over and say, “Yesyesyes!” Increase tension every 45 seconds. And if you’re feeling especially good, Power 10 at 2:18! Don’t forget to keep adding half-a-turn of tension every 45 seconds!

11. “Samskeyti (Live)” by Sigur Ros (5:30)
You can grab some quick water, but DO NOT TAKE OFF ANY RESISTANCE! Instead, sit down, settle into your saddle, and slowly churn those bulging quads. This set is a test of our mental game: Are you focused? Are you dedicated? Why did you wake up at 5:00AM to come to this hourlong class that starts and ends before the sun even rises? Whatever your reason — and you have one, or two, or three — make sure that you focus on it; make sure that you put your dreams, hopes, and goals for yourself at the top of this long climb. And you make sure that you achieve and reach and accomplish them. There they sit, waiting for us. Get there. Dig. Dig. Dig. It is only a matter of will and want. Do you want it? Will you get it? GO!

12. “Pistolero (Tarantino Radio Mix Version)” by Juno Reactor (3:40)
Relief! Take all that tension off, shake out the arms, and let’s get back to the flats. This is a mini-recovery ride, only in that we are going to spin at 75-80% of max effort. Don’t slack! Not when we’ve come this far. Ride it out, yo!

13. “Habanera from Carmen (LP Version)” by Andre Rieu (5:00)
Awesome recommendation, Sally! This opera stuff shakes things up, and sandwiched between the rock and dance stuff that we usually use on these mixes, makes for an awesome song to climb to! So dig deeo, y’all! Add 3-5 turns of tension/resistance, stand-up, and attack! With this song, I picture myself as European cartoon character in a bike race through the Alps. I dunno’. It fits; it works. Be sure to increase the resistance/tension on your bike every 30-45 seconds, even if by just half-a-turn at each interval.

14. “Geraldine” by Glasvegas (3:45)
Back to the flats, back to the speed work: light to moderate tension, an alternate between 10 seconds of hard-core, all-out, everything-you-have, puke-at-the-end sprinting with 20 seconds of recovery. Hit it, hate it, love it, get it!

15. “Focus” by Cyndi Harvell (3:55)
Last climb of the day! Stand up, add some turns of resistance. Butt back, loose and low shoulders, relaxed hands; “don’t lose your focus; keep your head up!” Power 20 at 2:20! “Get up get up get up!” Almost there! Come on, baby! Ride hard, charge the hill, and finish as the king of the mountain! Sprint to the finish!

16. “Put On The Red Light (Police vs. Coldplay vs. Thin White Duke)” by DJ Lobsterdust (4:35)
Straight from Sally’s workout: “Ok you just did an uphill sprint – breathe, shake it out. Now you are ready for some sprints on a flat. At the chorus (“Put on the redlight!”) you are going to do an all out sprint. The first two sprints are 30 seconds, the third sprint is 1 minute…(1:13–1:42)….(2:11—2:41)….(.3:24—4:23) PHEW!!!!!!” Bonus: Do the second one as a standing, uphill sprint!

17. “Signs” by Bloc Party (4:40): Cool-down and stretch.  YES! And if you have any favorite songs you want to see included in future mixes, be sure to leave a comment!

Spin it out!
J.R. Atwood

UPDATE: This is a fantastic tip from AndyD, who shared it in the comments section of this post:

Just finished this routine, and it kicked my ass. For those out there with an iPhone/iPod Touch…if you cut and paste Jason’s notes into the lyrics section of the song in iTunes, they will show up on the screen when the song is playing. Works out well if you want to follow the “class” and can’t remember all the changes.

Thanks for the great tip, AndyD. Now onto the workout…

1. “Daylight” by Matt & Kim (2:50)
A quick warm-up and stretch session. We’re gonna’ move and groove today. Get ready.

2. “Like Eating Glass” by Bloc Party (4:20)
If your legs aren’t warmed-up yet, they will be by the end of this song. Settle into the saddle, add a wee bit of tension, and hammer on those legs. Race pace speed, race pace effort. At 1:40 add two turns of tensions (yup), stand up out of the saddle, and do a standing charge. Quick feet; lift the knees to your chest; keep your shoulders relaxed; breathe slowly and fully. Sit back down in the saddle at 2:40, take off one turn of resistance, and go back to a hard spin session through the end of the song. Don’t get lazy or tired! Ride hard and fast through the end of the song.

3. “Is It Any Wonder?” by Keane (3:05)
Time to do some serious mountain climbing. Add 2-3 turns of resistance, stay seated for the first 45 seconds or so, and work those quads. At 0:50, add half a turn of tension and stand up out of your seat. Keep focused and loose as we climb up and up. At 1:40 throw-in a Power 10 (or even better, a Power 20)! As soon as you finish the Power Sprint, add another full-turn of resistance. It should feel like you are riding with a flat tire, uphill, through wet cement. Yeah, baby!

4. “Hung Up” by Madonna (5:40)
Use the first 30 seconds of this song to do some light stretching and to get a few swigs of water in you. You’re gonna’ need it… Once you feel good and ready, settle into your bike for some light-tension spinning. Focus on your form: knees to the chest, kick your butt with your heels, relaxed shoulders, eyes looking 20 yards ahead of you. By 0:45 you should be really movin’! Just under race pace speed. Take a deep breath at 1:40 and start to pick up the pace so that at 1:45, you go into a 20 second, all-out, hold-nothing-back, gut-busting sprint! Settle for a few seconds, stretch, then get back to spinning. We are doing another long sprint at 3:03 — Power 10s (one right after another) until you get to 3:50. At this point, add a bit of tension, stand up to stretch the legs and get some water. After 10 seconds or so, sit back on the saddle and start to pick up the pace a bit with the music. Faster. Faster. Faster. Faster. At 4:50 it is an all-out sprint down the home stretch to finish the song till it compeltely fades out. Go! Go!

5. “Thank U” by Alanis Morissette (4:20)
Slow things waaaaaay down. We need to recover a bit. Add two turns of resistance, stay seated, and climb up this badboy of a hill. Increase the resistance every 30 seconds by one-half to a full-turn. Every 30 seconds! Let’s do it!
[I couldn't find this song on Amazon's MP3 Store; download it from iTunes.]

6. “Anything, Anything (I’ll Give You)” by Dramarama (3:25)
As soon as the first notes of the song hit your ears, you know this is going to be a speed workout. Take all/most of the tension off your bike and when the singer goes crazy, so do we: first Power 10 sprint (it comes up fast, around 37 seconds) at the chorus; second Power 10 sprint at 1:20 — heck, let’s make this a Power 20! Recover from 1:50-2:20; at 2:20, crank it up again! By 2:38, we should be in an all-out, no-guts, no-glory sprint to the finish.

7. “Goods” by Mates of State (4:50)
Back to Everest-like climbing. Slow waaaay down, add 3-5 turns of resistance, and stay seated for an in-seat climbg throughout the first minute of the song. Stand up, add a full turn of tension, and continue climbing out-of-the-saddle till 2:30; then sit back down for a minute of quad-busting climbing. Ugh. So slow. So painful. So awesome! Around the 4:00 mark, add one more half-turn of tension, stand-up, and finish with a steady charge to the summit of this beast-of-a-climb.

8. “All My Life” by Foo Fighters (4:25)
After that last climb, it’s time to bomb down the backside of this mountain! Crank the volume, feel the wind in your hair, and go hard! Should be at race pace speed by the time the electric guitars and drums kick-in at 0:33. We’re going fast, for sure; but we can always go faster: Power 20 at 1:10! Another Power 10 sprint will be done at 2:02. We can chill a bit at the 2:30 mark. Slow down, stretch a little, and get some water. Then get. Back. On. The. Bike. Start riding and spinning — faster, faster, faster. At 3:25, rock out till the end of the song! As fast as we have ever spun! Gooooooooo! Hang on for the full minute. (If you get tired, take a few deep breaths, then dive back into this mega-sprint!)

9. “Seven Nation Army” by the While Stripes (3:50)
Time to keep rocking. Steep, high-tension, out-of-seat climb. Own it. Want it. Get it! Coach yourself up this climb. Increase tension every 30-45 seconds. Steady climbing, focused breathing. Come on!

10. “Chicago” by Sufjan Stevens (6:05)
Do not take any tension off from that last song. Instead, sit-down immediately and bust those quads on a grueling in-seat climb. After a minute or two, get back out of the seat for more hard-charging hill climbs. We are punishing the legs and lungs today. I like to add Power 10 and Power 20 sprints at 0:54 and 1:55. I sit back down in the seat to climb at mega-tension levels from 3:30-4:00, at which point I then stand again, add some more tension, and charge to the top of the mountain, starting with a Power 20 sprint. I hate it! But I love it!

11. “So Alive” by Ryan Adams (4:00)
High-tension sprints at the chorus (0:54-1:07, 1:34-2:05, and 2:28-3:30 — these are long and hard). If you only have five minutes in a day, this is the one workout I would do. (See FAQs for details about how to do high tension sprints). Utterly exhausting. Utterly awesome.

12. “Tribulations” by LCD Soundsystem (4:00)
Race day, baby! Take advantage of the open road and charge hard for the full length of the song. Quick feet! Dance on those toes. Lift those knees to your chest. Relax your shoulders. Breeeeeathe slowly.

13. “Millionaire” by A.R. Rahman (2:45)
I know the elgs are shot. The body’s screaming “NO!” This might be one of the more taxing workouts we have. But hang in there for two more songs. This one is a simple stair climb — for the entire 2:45. Again, see the FAQs linked at the top of the page for more info. Nothing fancy here; just good-ol’ calf-burning and quad-busting fun. Right when the legs start to die at 1:33, the speed of the song picks up a bit, urging us to finish quick, fast, and light on our toes.

14. “Don’t Cry Out” by Shiny Toy Guns (4:10)
One of my favorite Power Songs. In-seat sprint at first chorus (1:13-1:34) and out-of-seat uphill sprint at second chorus (2:05-2:35). Chill between 2:35 and 3:00. Then at the 3:00 mark, go go go for a 65 second seated burnout sprint to finish! Yeeeeeeeeeeeah!

15. “Dry Drunk Emperor” by TV On The Radio (6:45)
Cooldown and final stretches. What a workout! No better way to start the day!

Spin it out!
J.R. Atwood

A new year, a new look for spinningmixes.wordpress.com…

Two cool new features:

1) I am linking to the songs that are on my playlist so you can download them directly from Amazon.com MP3 store. (I prefer using Amazon over iTunes to download music because all songs on Amazon are DRM-free, often cost less, and are of higher sound quality.)

2) You can subscribe by clicking the Entries (RSS) button at the upper right very bottom of this page to get the latest mixes delivered to your broswer. [What the heck is RSS and how does it work?! Good question. More info here.]

Now let’s get sweaty in our Spandex. Time for spinning!

1. “Confines Of Gravity” by PlayRadioPlay! (2:50)
Get situated on your bike, warm-up the legs, and stretch! We have a kick-arse and awesome mix today. Be prepared to work!

2. “Faster Kill Pussycat [Featuring Brittany Murphy] (Album Version)” by Oakenfold (3:15)
Add a bit of tension, get into your race riding position, and hammer on those legs. We’re starting early with the fast stuff. Lift the knees to your chest, kick your butt with your heels, keep the shoulders relaxed, and focus on the road ahead. Fast spinning! Set the expectations of class with a Power 10 or 20 half-way through.

3. “Live Your Life (Amended Album Version) [Featuring Rihanna]” by T.I. (5:40)
Throw on a couple turns of tension and stand-up out of the seat — time to hit the hills! Add half a turn of resistance every 30-45 seconds so that by the time the song ends, the quads are on fire!  Power 20 when 3:49 into the song! Ooooooooh yeah!

4. “Untouched” by The Veronicas (4:15)
Spin it out out out! Back to the flats and back to the speed. We’re exhausting the legs and lungs early. Race pace speed, race pace effort. Power 10 at 1:05; then stand-up out of the seat for a hard charge and climb up a moderately speed hill; stay standing for a Power 20 at 2:10; sit back down and ride it out to the finish. Bonus for the ambitious: all-out sprint with just a minute left in the song… See how long you can hold on.

5. “Jai Ho” by A.R. Rahman (5:20)
Slow things down, at least in terms of speed, by adding some tension. We’re doing one minute of in-the-saddle climbing with a high resistance level; add half a turn of tension after a minute, then stand up and continue the climb. At the end of the second minute, add half a turn and sit back down in the saddle. (Ugh!) Grind and climb it out for another minute, then add one more half-turn and stand up for the final climb to the end of the song. (Note, this and the next song come from the “Slumdog Millionaire” soundtrack — hat tip to Stacia for the song suggestions. Amazon, at least on the day this spinning mix was put together, has the entire album on sale for a $5 digital download.)

6. “Paper Planes” by M.I.A. (3:25)
Okay, so we’re not quite finished with the climb. Stay standing and out of the seat for another three minutes of quad-busting awesomeness. Try to do a Power 10 at the beginning of each round of gunshots (?!): around 57 seconds in, again at 2:04, and one more time at 2:48.

7. “Mind Of The Wonderful (Club Mix)” by Blank & Jones (4:10)
Take the first 30 seconds of the song to stretch, get some water, and recover from the brutal climb we just finished. Have just enough resistance on your bike so that you are on the flats and ride into a sprint so that you are at full-sprint speed by the time the beat picks up at a 1:02. Now it’s time to race! Go go go! Power 20/double time sprint at 1:43. Hurts. So. Good!

8. “Your Love (Album Version)” by The Outfield (3:45)
Just a fun ’80s rock tune. I like to climb to this — take it as an active recovery, but don’t completely rest on it. Listen to your body and see what it needs at this juncture in the workout, but be sure to keep on sweating. You can also do a butt-back exercise here. (See FAQ’s for more info on this exercise.)

9. “Parade of Punk Rock T-Shirts” by Maritime (3:30)
Stair climbing exercise. Works those calves and quads! Add some tension, stand up out of the seat, thrust your hips and keep your butt back, isolate the quads, and try to run on water by staying light and fast on your toes. Your hands should be oh-so-gently resting on the handlebars. Lovin’ it!

10. “This Is Your Life” by The Killers (3:40)
Back to the hills. Follow the awesome opening chants of this song up up up! Increase tension every 30-45 seconds. You can do the whole song in the saddle, while standing up and charging the hill, or do a combination of standing and in-the-saddle climbing.

11. “Twelve” by Forward Russia (2:15)
This is a bit of a rough song — a bit gritty and underground, but one to which we just have to ride fast. Bring it to the flats, grab some quick water, and hit it hard and fast for 120 seconds of ridiculously intense sprinting! Go all out from the very get go.

12. “Wishes of Happiness and Prosperity, Sacred Spirit” by Yeah-Noha (4:30): Time to step back from the speed and do some mountain climbing. This song is a great soundtrack to slow down the senses and focus on the steady uphill climb we have for the next 10 minutes. Focus on your breathing, keep the arms loose and relaxed, focus on the road just 5-10 yards ahead of you, and lift those knees to your chest. Increase the tension every 45 seconds by half-a-turn. I like to stay seated for some quad-busting climbing during the first two minutes, then I stand and go into a Power 20 before settling into a steady rhythm for the last two minutes out of the saddle. (Note, I cannot find on Amazon the exact version of the song I have. If the version I linked to you doesn’t work, no big deal — substitute for something else kind of steady, mellow, and meditative.)

13. “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight (DJ Downfall)” by DJ Downfall / The Postal Service (7:00)
Another chill song perfect for our above-the-clouds climbing session. I’ve used the original version of this song in a previous spinning mix, but this remix adds something new and interesting. Keep on climbing. Focus, relax, breathe. Dig deep, add tension every 45-60 seconds, and work the lungs and legs.

14. “Love Lockdown” by Kanye West (4:30)
Spin it out! Back to the flats, take off that brutal resistance from the previous climb, and work it, baby! Throw in a couple Power 10s for fun. (Props to Kat for this song suggestion.)

15. “Lovers in Japan” by Coldplay (6:50)
I absolutely love this song… It makes me smile and want to charge some hills. Last song of the day, so add a bit of tension, stand-up, and attack this climb! Go hard, go fast, then it’s time to go home, so let’s work it, yo! Faster! Charge! Power 10s once, twice, three times! Go baby go baby go! The song fades out right around at the four minute mark. At this point, take the tension off and use the last three minutes to cool-down.

16. “Come On Get Higher” by Matt Nathanson (3:35)
Finals stretches and goodbye music. What a class!

Spinning it out!
J. R. Atwood