I’m a Spin/Power Pacing instructor at one of the local health clubs in Denver. Aside from knowing and leading all the exercises involved in the activity, I need to develop a routine set to music. Music not only helps everyone keep the same pace, but it makes time pass faster and makes the exercise more enjoyable. Thus, exercise seems like less effort and more people are apt to stay with the program.

I was thrust into the instructing phase with almost no prior notice. One of the instructors got a sudden job transfer to Dallas and could only give a week’s notice. As luck would have it, I was “chatty” with the director of the Spinning/Power Pacing program, and she asked me if I would be interested in taking over the class. Considering it a great honor, I readily accepted the offer.

I had wrongfully assumed that the club provided the music to the instructors, along with a routine. Her first words to me was something along the lines of, “Now, you know that you’ll have to set up your own routines and bring your own music, right?” Not wanting to sound like a dummy, I said, “Sure.”

The biggest problem was that I was pretty sure you couldn’t set an exercise routine to Country/Western music. Unfortunately, that was the extent of my entire CD collection. I had a few Rock and Pop cassettes from college, but didn’t think they would be suitable, either.

So, I went directly to Best Buy and hung out in the music department for about an hour, trying to find Various Artist compilations that would be suitable. Then, I stumbled on a very small section called “Exercise Music” and thought I was set. I didn’t see much, but did find a CD called SHAPE Fitness Music – Cardio Training 3, Disco/Funk.

Spining/Power Pacing is a cardiovascular workout, pure and simple. It is designed to build muscles in your legs, abdomen and shoulders and to get your heart rate up and the blood flowing. A Spinning/Power Pacing class will run from 45 minutes to an hour.

I looked at the tracks on the back, recognized most of them, and mentally played them back in my head. I figured most of them would be suitable, and went ahead and purchased the CD.

Because this is an exercise album and not a music album per se, I’m going to use a different way of rating everything. I am going to give my recommendations based more on usefulness for a cardio program such as Spinning/Power Pacing, because that’s what how the publisher markets the CD. I’m also going to look at the songs themselves and discuss the quality.

The first song on the CD, entitled High Energy by Evelyn Thomas, was initially released in 1994. The track is 5:07 minutes and runs at 136 beats per minute (bpm). It is considered a warm-up song, and actually does a rather good job of it. The only problem is that five minutes is an excessively long song for warming up. For Spinning/Power Pacing purposes, two to four minutes are more of the realm of reality.

Usefulness Rating: Two out of Five Stars

The next song on the disc is called You Dropped a Bomb on Me by The Gap Band. It was initially released in 1982 and runs 139bpm for 4:29 minutes. I had loved this song in high school; it was one of those great 80’s songs that were in the Top 40 forever. The first thing that I noticed was, unfortunately, they sped the song up to make it to 139bpm. The song didn’t seem natural at that speed and became a distraction. The vocals seemed rushed.

Usefulness Rating: Three out of Five Stars

The third song is Superfreak by Rick James. It was released in 1991, this song was also a favorite (but I’m pretty sure it had an earlier release date). It runs 3:06 minutes at 139bpm.

And, like Track #2, this song is played at an accelerated speed to accomplish the BPM rating. It sounds very unnatural because the vocals are running too fast. I like Rick James, and I am not totally sure he’d be enchanted with what the publisher did to his song.

Usefulness Rating: Two out of Five Stars

The fourth track is Wake Up by a group called Stop. It was released in 1985, runs 5:40 minutes and is set at a pace of 141bpm. Before playing this CD, I have never heard of Stop and I have never heard of this song. Therefore, I cannot tell if it has been accelerated as the two previous songs have been.

This track is purely instrumental. If it has been accelerated, it still sounds rather natural. A solid beat is kept in the background by either clapping or a percussion instrument that can imitate clapping. This song works very well in a Spinning/Power Pacing environment, and many exercises in the routine can be run for the length of time and the BPM this song uses.

Usefulness Rating: Five out of Five Stars

Born to be Alive by Patrick Hernandez is the next track on the CD. It runs a full five minutes at 141bpm. It doesn’t have a release date listed.

This song doesn’t come across as being sped up to suit the publisher’s goal. It is about half vocals and half instrumental, but the voices sound as if they’re running at a normal speed. Again, like Wake Up, a solid beat is kept in the background by whatever means they have to run that clapping sound. And again, like the aforementioned song, this works nicely in a Spinning/Power Pacing routine and can work on a variety of exercises.

Usefulness Rating: Five out of Five Stars

Track #6 is entitled, Savin Myself by Eria Fachin. It was released in 1987. It runs 4:12 minutes, and has a 142bpm. The beat is kept in the song by a bass guitar and drums.

This is another song I had never heard of prior to listening to the CD. The vocals and the music seem to be set at a natural pace, and the song is actually thoroughly enjoyable. It is a song that is very typical for the 1980s.

And, like many songs from that time period, it works great in a Spinning/Power Pacing environment. While it is almost a full minute shorter than the two previous songs, there are plenty of exercises in the routine that are designed to run for that period of time.

Usefulness Rating: Five out of Five Stars

Chic is one of those groups who have given my routine a lot of work to use. Track #7 is the song, Everybody Dance. It was released in 1977, runs 4:42 minutes and is set at a pace of 142bpm.

This is a song that is set slightly higher than the original speed. Stating that, it still sounds natural when listening to the vocals and the music itself. The running time of the song is nearly perfect for a variety of exercises.

Usefulness Rating: Five out of Five Stars

The next track is by a group called Gonzales. I have neither heard of them or their song Haven’t Stopped Dancing Yet. It runs only 3:07 minutes but is set at 142bpm. It was released in 1978.

To begin with, 3:07 would only fall into two useful areas for my needs. Either it will be a warm-up song, or it will be a stretching song at the end of the class. At 142bpm, this is totally inappropriate for either of those instances.

On top of that, this song is what I would classify as unenjoyable. While the song doesn’t sound as if it was accelerated, I wouldn’t want to use it even if it was longer.

Usefulness Rating: One out of Five Stars

Let It Whip by Dazz Band is the next track. It runs 3:37 minutes at a rate of 143bpm. This song was first released in 1982.

I’m very familiar with this song, have been for years, and this was definitely sped up to make the targeted BPM. As with many songs that I’ve come across on this CD, it makes the song far less enjoyable. Again, like Haven’t Stop Dancing Yet, the length of this song is suitable only for warm-up or stretching, and the BPM is much too fast for those purposes.

Usefulness Rating: One out of Five Stars

This next song, Knock on Wood has been another favorite of mine when I was in school. It is sung by Amii Stewart, and on this CD runs 3:41 at a BPM of 143. It was originally released in 1979.

The song is sped up slightly to meet the BPM rating. It isn’t anything drastic enough to take away from the overall effect of the music, but because they’ve knocked off about twenty seconds, it is a rather short song. Again, this is going to knock the usefulness rating.

Usefulness Rating: Two out of Five Stars

In 1983, Sylvester released a song called Do You Wanna Funk. This makes up the next track on the CD. It runs 5:51 minutes at 144bpm.

Getting into the six-minute running time of a song limits what exercises you can use. Many exercises in the routine get to be intensive using your arms, shoulders, back and legs. Since they are done at a fairly fast pace, they really shouldn’t be going for more than five minutes. When you go further, it can lead to exhaustion.

Typically, your six-minute exercise is going to be a hill climbing simulation. A hill climbing song must be steady and methodical. This song fits neither of those two descriptions.

Usefulness Rating: Two out of Five Stars

The next track is entitled Mandolay by La Flavour. It was released in 1979 and runs 5:17 minutes with a BPM rating of 143.

I can push the limits of my class using this song at 143bpm doing a variety of exercises. Again, there are only a few exercises that are suitable for anything of this length running at such a high BPM. A cowbell keeps up the beat, and this appears to be a dance-extended version of the song. It also seems be to sped up slightly.

However, increasing the speed of this song actually improved it.

Usefulness Rating: Three out of Five Stars

I can remember back in 1984 how much I loved the song I Feel For You by Chaka Khan. Naturally I was looking forward to this song, but was very disappointed when I heard it on this track. They almost doubled the natural pace of the song to hit a 140bpm target, and because of that, the song’s running time was cut to 2:40 minutes.

I cannot even begin to guess where I would set a song sounding this unnatural. I’m sure that the publisher could have found a much more suitable song to manipulate only slightly instead of doubling the speed. If I wanted Alvin and the Chipmunks singing, I would have shopped for an Alvin and the Chipmunks CD.

Usefulness Rating: One out of Five Stars

The final track is called Supernature by a group called Cerrone. It runs 3:51 minutes at 132bpm. It was released in 1978.

I had never before heard of Cerrone or this song. It was set on the CD to be a cooling down song, but runs a bit too fast for that purpose. Drums keep the beat and the guitars are played at a pretty swift pace. However, the lyrics are pleasant enough to listen to, and I think that overall the song might work well.

Usefulness Rating: Four out of Five Stars

I have purchased other compilation CDs that have proven useful. Unfortunately, SHAPE Fitness Music – Cardio Training 3, Disco/Funk just doesn’t work on many fronts. There are too many songs that are set to an artificial beat and it takes away from the enjoyment of the music.

With other compilations, if I find a song that works well in one area and doesn’t work well in another, I can simply delete it by burning my own CD. I can take one song on a whole CD that stinks and add it in on a custom CD normally.

However, the publisher in this case messed up that proposition as well. All the songs are “seamless” so they run into one another. The last five or six seconds on one song is overlaid on the first five or six seconds of the next. Therefore, if I were planning on using one of those songs in a routine, it would sound awful with the first and last six seconds cut off.

While I wouldn’t recommend SHAPE Fitness Music – Cardio Training 3, Disco/Funk to aerobics instructors or Spinning/Power Pacing instructors, I would recommend it to runners or speed-walkers. This could set a very nice pace on a treadmill or provide some variety for use on a Stairclimber.

For my needs, however, this particular compilation is too faulty, and therefore I cannot recommend it. However, I have used it to go out and purchase other CDs with the full versions of the songs set at the normal beats, and compiled my own CDs for my exercise routines.


Recommended: No

Great Music to Play While: Exercising