Growing up in Ohio and then moving to North Carolina for university, I always listened to mainstream pop music. As for my mainstay weight room beats, Metallica, Guns and Roses, and AC/DC.

Then one summer circa 2003 I visited Ibiza, a popular European summer island destination. What I was about to discover was a whole new world of energy, the vibrant sounds of house music. Not electronic trance nor techno, vocal house music, to me, brings a feeling of happiness and energy, often mixed with vocals of popular ‘pop’ remakes.

Back in New York City I realized that house music was the only type of sound I desired while working out.

The tribal drum beats accompanied with the deep base, all with a powerful, fast beat…And sing along vocals with meaning. This was sport and fitness to me….Speed and strength combined with fluidity!  All to well matched.

In the years following this adventure to Ibiza, I’ve come across some amazing tracks. A few of my favorites I’ll share with you now and I’ll begin to create a playlist.

Once the playlist is long enough, go to your local park or gym, press play, and feel the energy. There’s an addictive euphoric bounce I feel while running to this music, and I hope you feel it too… Enjoy.

After the first couple of songs, I’m going to begin building a Spotify playlist. For now, here’s the first one to make the cut:

[spotify:track:56QCGK2tyUmlma8k94zLal]