May 01, 2009

Movin' to the Music: HellaSound Giveaway

Not everyone finds it essential to have a musical accompaniment to their workouts. Some of y'all are happy to just "be present" as you exercise. Depending on where you exercise, you may enjoy the ambient sounds like whooshing wind, crashing waves, barking dogs, jackhammers, piped-in gym music or the various grunting noises of fellow exercisers. If this is what you like best, go ahead, be present. Enjoy!

For me? I'm all: screw ambient noise.

I can't exercise to it. There's no beat. There's no melody! I need music. The sweetest birdsong in the world won't do anything for my adrenaline, but the pounding rhythm of a favorite song can kick my ass up a tough hill and make me feel like superwoman. (OK, a crabby middle-aged superwoman with aching knees, but you get the idea).

The problem? Not just any music will do. (Especially on the elliptical machine, for some reason). Even a fantastic song won't help me if its going at the wrong speed. Because if it's thumping along at 120 beats per minute, but I want to go more like 160 steps per minute, then I either have to ignore the beat or slow way down, neither of which I like to do.

This phenomenon has resulted in my downloading some of the most inexcusably cheesy exercise music ever recorded, just because it's got the right beat! I've got lame cover bands doing remakes of 70's disco songs; I've got classical tunes sped up to hilarious parodies of themselves. Sure, I've got some great songs too, but it takes hours and hours of scouring iTunes to line up an acceptable playlist--hours that could have been better spent watching Rachel Maddow researching health and fitness news!

What to do? Well, what if you could download 30-minute long songs composed especially for exercise and customized to the exact speed you typically run or pedal or whatever? And what if 3 giveaway winners could get it for free? Follow me over to our Product Page, where you can learn more about an awesome company called HellaSound and enter to win a free 30 minute song to exercise to!

So come on over, read more, and enter to win!

NOTE: Whoops, people seem to be commenting here, which is fine if your musical needs are met and you don't want to win any free music. But to enter the giveaway, please leave a comment at the review page!



  1. Im stuck.
    I dont use music ever to workout but thats mainly because Im too lazy to figure out how to arrange it into what Id like.
    Too cheap for an MP3 player.
    Too unorganized and KNOW Id lose my earbuds.

    who knew I liked ambient noise?

    xo xo

  2. I've got my iTunes playlist set to take me from the beat of a warm up, high intensity, then cool down.

    My favorite song? "Dance, Too Much Booty in-da Pants" Oh yeah.

  3. Too funny yum-yucky! I don't know if I've heard that one, but it sounds perfect for a goofy playlist!

  4. Mercy by Duffy makes me walk that much faster it's got a great beat!

  5. I go back and forth, the thing about the music is that i get sick of what i have on my MP3 player, but at the same time, I'm too lazy to organize it again, maybe I'll do that today, seeing as how I'm sick and BORED OUT OF MY MIND!

    thanks for the reminder!

    Have a good weekend!

  6. Oh I'm so lame when it comes to my playlist - KC & the Sunshine Band, Michael Jackson (when he still had a nose), and many others too embarrassing to name. The thing is that they do keep me moving and there's nobody else to hear (and thus have to defend my choice of music to). Whatever it takes - but like you, it takes much more than birdsongs.

  7. Hella Sound looks like a really interesting company! I can't run without music - it literally feels painful without it!

  8. I need music to get me moving, whether it be for exercise or just cleaning the house. It really helps me to stay focused on my task. But, unlike you, any music will do. As long as I enjoy it, once I'm moving, the beat of the music doesn't seem to influence me. Although, I can't like listen to sappy love songs or anything, it does have to be upbeat but how fast it goes doesn't really affect me.

  9. I'm not able to enter the giveaway, alas, so I'll leave a comment here. I'm exactly the opposite of April -- the beat is extremely important. I end up going slower during slow songs, even if I didn't plan to. And it's a pain trying to find the 'right' beat for an exercise routine.
    HellaSound is definitely on to something!

  10. Since I can no longer download music on my computer (curse you, Vista!) I tend to leave the ipod at home. But I've been known to workout to ABBA, Olivia Newton-John, and Young MC.

  11. Oh, that sounds really cool! I'll bow out of the giveaway, because have to admit that I'm a die-hard TV watcher at the gym (hello, LOST on my iPod!), and I definitely need words if I'm outside. (I like to sing along: it's fun, and people hurriedly get out of my way! Bonus!!) But the concept is really neat!

  12. I am useless at understanding that downloading stuff so I rely on my hubby for that. Like some of you, I need faster during the fast parts of my cardio.. and yes, the song I am listening to matters. I hate that techno stuff at some of the gyms. So, I am constantly moving the song forward on my iPod & do end up listening to the same songs a lot.. boring! I just have the little shuffle so holds only so much & only so much my hubby will do to spend time searching for the songs I want!!! BUT, I do need music & like the classic rock & older stuff.

    Need to check out your giveaway!

  13. Do they have music a person can amble to? Or music that would work for the structurally-challenged shuffle or when I'm going thru recycle cans, stealing other people's recycles - music? Or how 'bout when I'm pushing my cart with all my belongings in it down the street, trying to look nonchalant?

    I don't need any music. I just won Charlie's book and can't be a hog (swine!). That would just be wrong.

  14. It's good music and a cool concept! If you don't win, still go and buy it.

  15. Ha, I have a "Hella" horn on my motorcycle, it's a rally horn, it's really LOUD.

  16. I'd love to know what kind of super cheesy music you have on your playlist!! :)

  17. I don't need music to work out to - I have birds. And frogs. And various other critters...:)

  18. I finally gave in and bought an IPOD shuffle for the BROAD STREET RUN 10 mile race on MAY 3RD.My team of 15 women had their's so I decided to join them and get my own. It was fantastic. I beat my time fromlast year power walking with BARRY, NEIL, FRANK, TONY AND BARBRA. It was the best thing to my ears and the other 22,000 people got to listen to me sing from mile 5 on. I had the best time with myself.

    debra mazda


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