Chelsea Piers Cycle Instructor Alison Cohen’s High-Intensity Beats: Playlist Peeks

Here at Blisstree, we’re woefully dependent on good music to keep us motivated at the gym, so we were glad to find out that at least one fitness professional supports our playlist habit. Alison Cohen, a spin instructor at New York City’s Chelsea Piers, is equally into using music to get herself pumped up: “Music plays an enormous role in my workouts, making them go by faster and giving me the drive to push a little harder without even noticing. Going to the gym and working out can get monotonous, so a wide variety of music can take my mind off of the fact that I’m exercising.” It’s Alison’s job to motivate students in the cycle studio, so we were especially eager to get our hands on her tunes. Check out what she listens to when she needs to give her (or her students’) RPM a boost:

Where it lives: My playlists have three homes. Every playlist I’ve ever created is stored in my Apple desktop computer at home, and I transfer all my workout playlists onto 2 iPod Nanos that go everywhere with me. One is bright blue and the other is hot pink. I’m obsessed with vibrant, bright colors because they make me happy, energized, and cheerful — sporting them just puts me in an overall better mood.

How I listen to it: Most of the time, you can find me wearing my Sony rubber headphones — the kind that wrap snugly around the ear so they can’t fall out (ear buds drive me nuts, especially during a workout). They’re inexpensive, stay put in my ears, and most of all are comfortable to work out with.

What’s on it: I always choose my music based on what motivates me. High-intensity songs get my adrenaline pumping for interval training; alternative music helps me zone out during hills or resistance, mellow music relaxes me for cool downs. I’ve become rather beat-obsessed. I love songs that allow you to feel a high-intensity beat. When your body can actually feel the music, the beat alone can drive you to do that extra mile or two.  I love a wide variety of music, including current and 80′s music, but I’m a huge fan of Madonna, Rihanna, Darude, Chicane and David Guetta for my workout playlists. Here’s some of the music on my current workout playlist (in no particular order):

• Saltwater — Chicane
• Rabbit Heart — Florence + The Machine
• Only Girl (in the world) — Rihanna
• Out of Control — Darude
• DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love — Usher
• Chasing Cars — Snow Patrol
• Sorry (Paul Oakenfold Remix) — Madonna
• Hello Seattle (remix) — Owl City
• All the Right Moves — One Republic
• How to Save a Life — The Fray (yes I am still obsessed)
• Higher Love — Steve WInwood
• Club Can’t Handle Me — Flo Rida
• Dynamite — Taio Cruz
• All the Lovers — Kylie Minogue
• Take Over Control (radio edit) — Afrojack
• The Great Divide (radio edit) — Dance Nation
• Take It Off — Ke$ha
• A Little Respect — Erasure
• Memories (feat. Kid Cudi) — David Guetta
• Dreams — The Cranberries
• Holding Out for a Hero — Frou Frou
• Into the Nightlife — Cyndi Lauper
• Every Breath You Take — The Police
• In the Air Tonight — Phil Collins
• Thunder – Nuttin’ But Strings
• Played a Live (the bongo song) – Countdown

Cycle Studio at The Sports Center at Chelsea Piers

Alison Cohen is a Cycle Instructor at the Sports Center at Chelsea Piers, and has been spinning for over 15 years. “Biking is my daily high,” she says. Alison studied Clinical Nutrition at New York University, but her real passion is being around a group of people who leave all judgments and negative energy behind, and come together for 45 minutes as one force of energy. She loves motivating others to make changes in their lives and inspiring them to push themselves a little more each and every day.