With all the talk about “proper” running form, cadence etc, I’ve found the perfect song to synch your stride to: Billy Idol’s “Dancing with Myself.”
The song’s in 4/4 time so if you step with each beat you’ll end up with a cadence of about 88-92 strides per minute–which is in the optimal range. I tested it on the treadmill last night, ad naseum.
Spare me the bishop polishing comments in reference to the songs meaning…
Matt
matt–you’re just asking for it, babe.
4/4 time…lol!!!
Hey, that’s important for monitoring your steps! If it were in 3/4 time you’d be f’kd with your counting.
I saw my post as a public service announcement for those looking to improve leg turnover…
when counting your cadence…do you count every stride, right and left leg or just one or the other. I know this is a rookie question, but I have never tried it. When I run with a fast cadence, I just run with what feels fast to me and have never counted.
Matt
just one leg. a cadence of 90 means 90 right foot strikes.
Now if you could find a good song in 3/4, that would be perfect for swimming laps doing bilateral breathing 
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Billy Idol rocks. He’s featured heavily in my running playlist.
ok, since we’re talking about this, I ran one of my fastest 5k times with that Bangles song hazy shade of winter. i belive it’s a 4/4 time too…and it will never leave your head.
I just can’t get past the fact that you are running with headphones on. Don’t you know how dangerous and irresponsible that is? I knew a guy once who read an article about another guy who heard that there was a guy running with headphones on and he didn’t hear a cyclist riding power cranks behind him say “on your left.” The cyclst had to swerve to get around him which caused the car behind cyclist to swerve and knock over a lemonade stand operated by a group uniformed girl scouts raising money for TNT, whiping out any chance they would be able to make a timely donation.
And its not just the children! Think about yourself man. One of the headphones might fall out and become entangled in your shoe laces causing you to fall and poke out your eye on a stick. How would that feel?
These are just two of dozens of examples of how you irresponsible iPod wearing yuppies are a scourge to the triathlon community and a burden our health insurance system.
Shame on you.
Umm…I was on a treadmill at the gym…
Ooops. Missed that. But the headphone could still fall out and become entangled in your shoelace, causing you to stumble and poke your eye out. Our the fire alarm might go off and you wouldn’t be able to hear it and then a fireman might have to come in to rescue you and get hurt or killed by falling debris, leaving his children to become wards of the state.
i tried running to emerson lake and palmer once.
I ended up with my head up my ass.
Classic.
As a matter of fact, I always run with my iPod, and I bike with it most of the time. I’m not sure if it’s magic or what, but I keep the volume reasonable, and I’m able to hear footsteps, cars, etc. just fine. Half the time I’m catching up on NPR talk programs, so maybe that’s the difference.
“Half the time I’m catching up on NPR talk programs,”???
one band you just can’t run to is Metallica.
Now if you could find a good song in 3/4, that would be perfect for swimming laps doing bilateral breathing
Last week I found a bootleg of Warren Zevon (God Bless Him) doing a slowed down version of “Dancing With Myself”
I always wanted to try that.
It’s here
My personal favorite is Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Concerto for Bass Tuba”, first movement. No headphones required - burnt into the memory banks long ago (didn’t realize the practical applications back then).
It can be played anywhere from 88 to 96 beats per minute, so there’s some flexibility there.