by Ethan Johnson
February 23, 2007

I've been fairly mum about my exercise routine, partly because the floor exercise that I found was really tearing up my knees, and partly because some things are better done than said. I quietly switched from the questionable floor exercise to using the treadmill. Today I finally hit the 30-minute mark for a single session, up from 15.

This breakthrough was made possible by a device that I like to call the "ePod": A 256MB MP3 player/FM radio that is about the length of my ring finger and could probably be swallowed. It comes with a velcro arm band, so I loaded up some tunes and hopped on the treadmill.

I am starting at a slow pace (2 mph) and building my way up. This may not thrill some exercise fans, but I'd rather make slow, steady progress than expect overnight miracles and give up (or out). Thanks to the magic of the "shuffle" feature, here's what I walked along to:

• Shocking Blue - Venus
• Justin Timberlake - Sexyback
• Basement Jaxx - Where's Your Head At
• Stevie Wonder - Higher Ground
• The Kinks - Victoria
• Sugar Ray - Every Morning
• The Trammps - Disco Inferno
• Michael Jackson - Don't Stop Til You Get Enough

Of the bunch, "Sexyback", "Where's Your Head At", and "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" were the best songs to walk to, regardless of pace. They kept my mind off of the readout and motivated me to shoot for the 30-minute mark.

Then again, 1 block of 30 minutes is only 6 Whitney Houstons, when you get right down to it. No problem.

The absolute worst was "Every Morning". It was too "lilty" to really keep my interest, and my session felt like a drudgery for those few moments. "Disco Inferno" was a close second, which surprised me.

Some songs normally disgust me for being little more than "popcorn", but they earn their keep by being good workout music. Kinda like the drum on the rowboat. Back when Mar and I used to work out at the company gym, the radio kept playing "The Game of Love" by Santana/Michelle Branch. Whenever I hear it I think of my quality time spent on the exercise bike.

So for those of you who exercise to music, what are your favorites? <EM>