The Rocky Mountain News today has an article about mp3 music and gym workouts. You can now buy planned workouts. I think I could really use this. The "exercise playlist" on my iPod hasn't changed in three years. It still motivates me, since every song on it pumps me up, but I would like to have a second playlist. Also, on stationary machines, I gave up music in favor of downloading seasons of "24" from iTunes. It totally gets my heartrate up and I am so mesmerized by the show that the 45 minutes goes by before I know it. Back to music, here's the skinny:

Web sites like workoutmusic.com and fitmusic.com now offer downloadable mixes for everything from high-intensity spinning to gentle yoga, with songs painstakingly arranged according to BPM (beats per minute) to match your warmup, increased intensity and cool down. Others, such as Boulder-based fitwisetraining.com and Utah-based podfitness.com, have turned the MP3 player into a palm-size personal trainer, offering downloadable audio or video workouts, from Bosu and exercise ball moves to strength training and ski conditioning routines.

I downloaded some workout podcasts and videos from a company called i-Amplify. I really liked their spin workout except it wasn't sing-along music and for me that's half the fun. But the voices were pleasant and the workout not boring and engaging. Their full catalog is here.