I personally find it impossible to go 5 minutes working out without music - and it has to be the right kind. If I have the right sort of playlist, I can easily "zone out" and go for much longer than I planned to.

For me, the right kind of music is really up-beat techco/electronic(I don't know all the proper terms for this genre), with minimum if any lyrics.

What playlist works for you? Do you have any suggestions? I need more music!

Here are my favorites:
Darude vs. Robert Miles - Children of the Sandstorm (popular DDR song) - Big fav! Usually what I start out with then let it shuffle the rest.
DJ Mangoo - Eurodancer
Several songs from the Half-Life 2 soundtracks (Guard Down, Last Legs, Sector Sweep, Vortal Combat)
Lan Van Dahl ft. Marsha - Castle in the Sky
Infected Mushroom - Riders on the Storm
Living Things - Oxygen
Mint Royale - Singing in the Rain
Alice Deejay - Better Off Alone
DJ Doboy - L'amour Toujours
Gorillaz - Dare

I've just spent nearly a week getting my music into my iTunes so I can get it in my iPod. Here's what I chose:

Smashing Pumpkins, Creed, Sonique, Bee Gees, Fiona Apple, Bjork, Switchfoot, Chris Isaac, The Flaming Lips, G. Love and Special Sauce, Timo Maas, dZihan and Kamien, Moby, Ricky Martin, Journey, Creed, ColdPlay, Shania Twain, Justin Timberlake, Kylie Minogue (VERY good for working out), Genesis, Mary J. Blige, Nelly Furtado.(Just to name a few out of many I like)

 Man- music makes all the difference during a work out!!!!
I love Matisyahu, Arrested Development and Mika especially, and then when I need an extra kick in the butt, I throw on some musicals (RENT, Tick, Tick...Boom, Spring Awakening, Title of Show, etc...) Odd, probably, BUT I acted forever- and I put on tunes of shows I have done, or wanted to do, as a reminder of what my body used to be able to accomplish- and motivation to get back there!

I'm exactly the same way - my ipod is my personal soundtrack so working out without it is virtually impossible.

Disclaimer: Being 24 and from Trinidad and Tobago-  I have really eclectic tastes so don't judge me - ha ha! Some of the songs you may not even know but check them out - it's worth it.

1) The Pretender by the Foo Fighters - great way to start!

2) All my life by the Foo Fighers

3) Are you gonna be my girl - Jet

4) Bleed it out - Linkin Park

5) Bodies- Drowning Pool

6) Boom - Damien Marley

7) Breaking Dishes - Rihanna

8) Bubble Like Soup - Timberlee

9) Defence - Machel Montano featuring Pitbull

10) Calabria - Enur (song from that Target ad with the two college girls dancing around)

11)Renegades of Funk - Rage against the Machine

12) Chop Suey - System of a Down

13) Closer - Neyo

14) Gimme More - Britney Spears (say what you will but it's a fun song to work out to)

15) Crushcrushcrush - Paramore

16) Bamboo Banga - M.I.A

17) Du Hast - Ramnstein

18) Push it - Static X

19) Faint - Linkin Park

20) Firestarter - Prodigy

21) Get Free - The Vines

22) Girlfriend - Avril Lavigne (great running song - if you run)

23) Given up - Linkin Park

24) Guerilla Radio - Rage Against the Machine

25) Hey Ya - Outkast (Andre 3000)

26) Hold it - Faye Ann Lyons

27) Just Dance - Lady Gaga

28) Maghelena - Sergio Mendez

29) The Middle - Jimmy Eat World

30) Paralyzer - Finger Eleven

31) Please don't stop the music - Rihanna

32) Toma - Pitbull

33) Womanizer - Britney Spears

34) When I grow up - The Pussycat Dolls

I also listen to a wealth of bellydance music and tribal drum beats - those really get the blood pumping.

So there you have it Happy Sweating everyone!

Well, although I am not really a fan of Chris Brown, his song Forever is the best workout song--even when I am beat it can get me pumped for that much longer.

Lily Allen's new album is kind of fun on the stairmaster too.

My workout music choices range from Classical (I love Carmuna Burana to warm up) to 70's disco to The Red Hot Chili Peppers, to New Age to Broadway and everything in between. My play list changes constantly since I usually load up Pandora.com and go with what is on there at the moment.

Debbie

 OH- Carmina Burana is GREAT!!! Talk about a wake up call :)