Opposites Attract in the 90's: Spin Profile #22

Flasback to the 90's! And it was a hit! People (including myself) had so much fun working out to this music. As an added bonus, I told a story during each song. See, I didn't just pick out random 90's songs, I picked ones that drew up strong memories. Like the first time I drove my Mom's Volvo all by myself with a good friend riding shot gun. Or my first concert by myself (No Doubt). Or hanging out in my sister's room, listening to Vanilla Ice or New Kids On The Block and thinking that she's the coolest person in the world (in her scrunchy and jams!). And of course there are the high school dance memories...

Anyways, each song has a particular meaning to me and it was fun to bring us all back into those times.

During the second song, Opposites Attract, explain the workout. Think of it as six sets of two songs. Breaks should hold off for after the second song of a particular set.

First song: Flats. Fast and Furious.
Second song: Climb!

As soon as the second song ends, turn resistance all the way down and pick the pace up. The point is to exhaust yourself in "opposite" ways from one song to the next. Work your power during the sprints, work your strength (and butts) during the climb.

NB: I finally changed my resistance scale to something that makes more sense.
0 = Flat road (FR), just enough res to feel the road beneath you(NOT no resistance)
1 = Light hill, just enough res to stand up
2 = Medium Hill, starting to feel the quads burn, but can keep up with the beat
3 = Moderately heavy hill, want to jump out of the saddle, uncomfortable, starting to want to slow down
4 = Heavy hill (top of the hill), cannot hold for more than 20 sec, cannot pick up the pace even if you try, are behind the beat of the music

1. Save Tonight by Eagle Eye Cherry (3:59)/WU, cadence, 0
*All 90's, all hour long! Get excited!
2. Opposites Attract by Paula Abdul (4:25)/WU, jumps @ 1-2
*Pre-reality TV show, Abdul was a great singer and dancer in the 80's/90's. Although there are plenty of more popular songs by her, this one happens to be my favorite. Why? Because of the awesome music video. Only in the 90's would it be cool to be dancing in your video with a cartoon wolf in a bright blue zut suit...

3. Just A Girl by No Doubt (3:26)/Pickups, 80% during verse ==> 90% max speed during chorus. 80% = cadence. Not all out sprint yet.
*In the 8th Grade me and Pam Hershey (and others) rented a white limo to take us to the No Doubt Concert at Great Woods. We thought we were so cool going to the concert in style without any parents!
4. Jumper by Third Eye Blind (4:33)/Climb, seated + standing mix FR ==> 3
*I spent the summer before sophmore year of high school learning how to play this song on the drum set. I started taking drum set lessons (in secret) my freshman year and blew people away at the jazz band auditions at the end of that summer.

5. Whoomp! (There It Is) by Tag Team (3:45)/Speed bumps, cadence/constant pace, 20 sec intervals: FR > 1 >FR. Pace stays the same no matter the changes in resistance!
*Remember to bring that resitance down quick and work the turnover. No breaks yet!
6. I'm Too Sexy by Right Said Fred (2:51)/Modified jumps @ 3
*I'm too sexy, 'nuff said.

7. What Is Love by Haddaway (4:30)/20, 30, 40 sec all out sprint interveral followed by same amount of active recovery.
*Sure, today people associate this song with the goofy dance from Night At The Roxbury. I, however, always think of Ricky from My So Called Life. He busts out his moves at the school dance, leaving Angela alone in her drama with geeky Brian and Jordan Catellano.
8. No Scrubs by TLC (3:38)/Standing climb, FR ==> 3, add in pickups during chorus
*Every 90's mix must have TLC in it. Period.

9. Blue (Da Ba Dee) by Eiffel 65 (3:30)/Keeping same fast cadence, inc resist from FR ==> 2. Slow and steady burn, do not go higher than 2. Want to keep it fast and furious.
*Still can't figure out what the heck they are singing about, but Senior year of high school this song was popular at the dances. Not knowing the lyrics would never stop me from belting the song out!
10. I will buy you a new life by Everclear/Standing Climb, 2 ==>4, adding seated pickups here and there.

11. Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice (4:31)/Speed bumps, this time changing res: FR > 1.5-2 > FR every 20 sec. Fight thru the resistance to keep that pace constant!
*Yeah, I still know the dance...
12. American Woman by Lenny Kravitz(4:22)/Isolation drills @ 3 or 4 = 20 sec isolation intervals. 20 sec isolate the legs by focusing on keeping the upper body still, slowing the pace down, circular pedal strokes, high knees. Keep the weight back! No weight in the arms. Work the core to stabilize. Flat backs, abs in, shoulders down and back. Then 20 sec of cadence. Repeat. I call out "Isolate!" and "Pace" to signal changes. Notice the difference between isolation of legs and using your body weight to help you push the pedals.
*Great running/workout song then and now.

13. Boom, boom, boom, boom! by the Vengaboys (3:22)/100% sprints during chorus, for greater challenge, bring it up to 1 or 2. But fast! Cadence during verse.
-Last chance to sprint! All out!
*Another high school dance favorite my senior year.
14. Closing Time by Semisonic (4:34)/Seated climb 1 ==> 3, standing surges during the chorus. Exhaust yourself!
*Love, love, love this song. First heard it in my car summer before junior year. Again, was the first summer that I could drive by myself (I was the last year to be able to get my license at 16.5).

15. No Rain by Blind Melon (3:37)/CD
*Great song, but in the 8th we performed it in the school chorus and butchered it. Ahhh, some songs should just not be harmonized by a group of 14 year olds.
16. Torn by Natalie Imbruglia (4:05)/CD
*I will always remember me and Rob Jack cruising in the Volvo, all the windows rolled down, belting out this song. He sang it even louder than me! End of sophomore year.