Hit the Gym for a Cause

In honor of reaching the $1800 fundraising minimum required to participate in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer this October in NYC I thought I would post my top five songs for the gym.

Melissa Etheridge—I Run for Life

I should point out that I have never been a gym rat; I have a tendency to hit the gym at random moments when the mood strikes and I assure you that it does not strike often. I can be really good and get into a routine for a month or three and then quit cold turkey until the urge returns some months later. This time I have a finish line to get to, literally, the Avon Walk is 39.3 miles over two days this October and after asking friends, family, and colleagues for donations I feel obligated to cross it for everyone who has supported me on this endeavor.

This has been a long-winded intro to my first selection, “I Run for Life.” Melissa Etheridge is a breast cancer survivor and she wrote this song of her ordeal. Her battle is inspiring and her courage and strength most notably remembered in her Grammy appearance performing Piece of My Heart looking fierce with no hair left from her battle. This song helps me leave work behind and focus on what brings me to the gym every day. Other songs to warm you up include “Secret Agent” and “Giant,” which can be found on Lucky.

Heather Small—Proud

OK, I’ll admit this one is a bit cheesy but I still had to include it. You may recognize this one as the theme song for Biggest Loser but it was also on the Queer as Folk Soundtrack. “What have you done today to make you feel proud” says it all. Probably the most literal of the songs on the list but it still gets me moving in the gym. You cannot purchase the individual song on iTunes but the entire album will push you through a workout so go for it, it’s worth it.

Annie Lennox—Sing

This song was written to raise money and awareness about mother to child transmission of HIV. Rather than preachy or depressing this song is upbeat and empowering.

Sing, my sister, sing
let your voice be heard
what won’t kill you will make you strong
sing, my sister, sing

The beat and hook are great and are guaranteed to make you pick up the pace.

Jimmy Eat World—Here it Goes

I’ll admit I had a hard time with #4. I had to skip to #5 to cool down and come back to this one. My shuffle has 257 songs that take up 977 MB of its 1 GB capacity, never mind the 22 GB of music that live on iTunes. The point being that choosing just five songs to place here is harder than one might guess since my gym tastes range the vast library. I have songs from my middle school years with such greats as “Pump up the Volume” and “Mama Said Knock You Out” mixed happily beside electronic beats of The Chemical Brothers and The Crystal Method with some pop Pink and rock Rage Against the Machine and Rob Zombie shaken, not stirred to keep it interesting. After some thought I decided to keep the vibe of somewhat meaningful songs by choosing this one for #4 rather than throwing you a curve with “Never Gonna Stop” though the latter is played daily.

“Cut it to the left and I rock…Slide it to the right and I roll.” Chase this Light is an amazing album. I was fortunate enough to see Jimmy Eat World live a few months back and can assure you they get better with age! I chose “Here it Goes” for the slot because I love the opening melody and the take home point is to simply just be.

Moby—The Rain Falls and the Sky Shudders

This song is from Songs 1993-1998. Though this album isn’t as known as the single-heavy Play I actually tend to listen to it more often than Play and love the raw feel of it. This particular song is instrumental, as is much of the album. Despite the lack of words the melodic piano heard over the sound of rain brings to my mind a world of peace and calm. I love to listen to this song when cooling down at the gym, you can almost feel the mist of rain instead of sweat. “God Moves Over the Face of Water” is another great instrumental on Songs.