Jogging is a popular and healthy activity which combines exercise and fitness with a visual feast of our route. Jogging in parks and scenic areas allows us a mini-vacation, with park ponds, chirping birds, quail families or a beautiful seaside vista, a respite for the mind. If you're not so lucky and your regular route takes you past the gas station and local middle school, ending back at your apartment in Brooklyn, you might want a different tact to keep yourself going with your jogging program. An excellent solution? Jogging music. Many people listen to music while they jog, to provide mood and interest to keep them keepin' on. Jogging music can be powerful sensory stimulation. You'll certainly want to consider your equipment. A CD player won't do. The CD will skip with each step! Better choices include an MP3 player or portable cassette player. You'll also need secure beats headphones. Headphone clips are commercially available just for the purpose. These simply clip to your hair. Music is a wonderful thing. Everyone has their favorites, but when you're looking for jogging music selections, consider more the mood you'd like to enhance to get the most enjoyment from your run. If you're feeling rushed, maybe a little classical music will calm you and take you to a romantic place, away from the noise, crowds, everyday worries and stress. Nights in the Gardens of Spain comes to mind. Ah! Handel's Messiah might be just the thing on a brisk winters' day. Maybe you're trying to break your own record and want to push hard today. The theme from Chariots of Fire should keep you competitive. For some of us of a certain age, the 1960's and 1970's rocked! This genre of jogging music includes Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater and the Allman Brothers. Good any day of the year. The Beatles, the Stones, the Doors, Pink Floyd, ELO, Patti Smith, Frampton and Rod Stewart are all guaranteed to keep you moving. Lyrical favorites can promote creative visions or simply a reflective mood. Try some Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, B.B. King, Albert King, Bob Marley, B.I.G., Inner Journey, Louis James Corrigen, Shareffa, Rhianna, Dominico, Fat Joe or Black Uhru. Is today gray and rainy? Do you just need to get the adrenaline going? Some gym-trainer heavy-beat music can get your blood moving. Pop music artists can be your best friend for this situation. Some Madonna, BT (with a song like “Superfabulous” you'll want to run all day long!), Olivia Newton John, Fergie, Black Eyed Peas, Nine Inch Nails, Randall Brambrett, Soundgarden, Phil Brown, Peter Luts, Blue Man Group or the Chemical Brothers are worthy of investigation. You can see, with jogging music choices, it all depends on what kind of experience you're looking for today. Basically, it comes down to whatever floats your boat. Music and jogging really go hand in hand. You can create whatever world you desire, if only for the length of your run.
