Spin playlist: Endurance training

As I mentioned in my previous post, I've been alternating between endurance classes and interval classes.

I explained it to my class this morning as follows: Endurance classes you try to keep a steady heart rate, around 60 percent (though very few people have monitors). The intervals are longer but less intense, and the rest periods are shorter.

Interval classes have short bursts of really high-intensity followed by longer rest periods.

For today's endurance class I took them up three big (5-6 minute) climbs. After each one there's a recovery then either jumps or sprints to keep things interesting. Each climb was over two songs, so I intentionally made the second song a little faster so the last two minutes or so of the climb would be more challenging. All climbs are a combination of sitting and standing. Here's the playlist:

Rolling Stones: Start Me Up -- warmup

Yael Naim - New Soul: Start climb #1 out easy. About a 3 or 4 on a scale of 1-10. Increase the last minute of the song.

Queen - Crazy Little Thing Called Love: A faster song, resistance also bumps up slightly. Save the last 60 to 90 seconds for recovery.

Matt & Kim - Ice Melts: Alternate fast and slow jumps on a very modest incline. Save the last 30 seconds for recovery.

Green Day - Last of the American Girls: Possibly take up to another minute to recover, then start the next climb modestly, bumping up the resistance in the last minute of the song.

P!nk - Trouble: Climb gets more intense, bump up resistance slightly. Save the last 30 to 60 seconds for recovery.

Pat Benatar - All Fired Up: Three sprints during the choruses.

Bon Jovi - You Give Love a Bad Name: Recover the first minute, then head into climb #3.

Presidents of the United States of America - Lump (1990s throwback!): Climb gets faster and steeper!

Lady Gaga - Starstruck: Recover first 60-90 seconds. Then some jumps on a flat. Then recover the last 30-60 seconds.

My Chemical Romance - Welcome to the Black Parade: Grueling rolling hills. VERY steep climb for the first two minutes, then a quick downhill for about a minute, then two nasty little hills at the end, finishing uphill.

Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks: Cooldown.