I Wanna Be Sedated: iTunes Genius Gives Roxy a Rockin' Eighties Workout, Two Days in a Row

Have you tried iTunes Genius yet? While I have an iPod Classic, I believe it works on any MP3 player that you can sync with Apple's iTunes software. Anyway, I read about it about a week ago and decided to give it a try. I picked four songs and used Genius to create four playlists. I selected Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" and tried that for my workout last Friday, but it really didn't work very well. Genius chose 23 songs (including Mariah Carey's "Hero," and "Everybody Hurts " by R.E.M.) from the over 8,000 songs on my iPod that may or may not go well with Shakira in general, but weren't upbeat enough for a serious workout. The only perfect match there was "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)" by Dead Or Alive.

Yesterday and today, however, I used my Genius Billy Idol playlist, based on "Rebel Yell," and the results were awesome. Both Rex and I worked out to hard-driving five star 80's favorites like "Cum On Feel the Noize" (Quiet Riot), "I Ran (So Far Away)" by A Flock of Seagulls, Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark," Twisted Sister screamin' "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Be Sedated" by the Ramones. Yesterday, I worked out on the elliptical trainer for 32 minutes (12.5, rest, 10, rest, 10), traveling 4.5 miles, burning 475 calories and wrapping up with "My Sharona" by The Knack. Today, I lasted a little more than 30 minutes (10, rest, 10, rest, 10), went 4.35 miles, burned 450 calories, and Billy Squier finished me off with "The Stroke."