Listen up? Recommend audio books, podcasts, music to step up your workout.

[CherylV]

I'm a big consumer of audio while I'm on the move. I get most of my steps in during my morning and afternoon commute, so I burn through a lot of hours of audiobooks, podcasts and music. Would love to hear your recommendations for new stuff. What gets you moving? What podcasts make you laugh, amaze you, inspire you, keep you connected? Here are some of my favorites:

Podcasts:

• Radiolab (NPR in-depth radio shows on everything from legal conundrums to science that will blow your mind - like the woman who can slow down light to 15MPH)
• The Nerdist (Comedy, entertainment, nerd culture hosted by Chris Hardwick.)

Audiobooks:

• The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
• To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
• Ready Player One - Ernest Cline
• The Dark Tower (I-VII) - Stephen King

Music:

This one's so much tougher, but here are some all time running favorites that you may have not considered.

• Mr. Blue Sky - ELO
• Takin' Care of Business - Bachman Turner Overdrive.
• One Thing Leads to Another - The Fixx
  
• Locked Out of Heaven - Bruno Mars
  
• Sympathy for the Devil - Rolling Stones
• Take the Long Way Home - Super Tramp
• Stand and Deliver - Adam Ant
• Crazy - Gnarls Barkley
  
• Moves Like Jagger - Maroon 5
  
• Paint It Black - Rolling Stones
  

[Jim_M]

For me, I don't do audio books/podcats.  I do music only.  But to date, I've never downloaded a song.  I go with albums/CDs (RIP the CDs and sync them to my iPod - I have 150-200 albums there now).  When I go for a walk or hit the gym, I pick an album, and play it end-to-end.  The ones originally on vinyl are usually about 45 minutes, and will fit nicely into a gym session.  And it's surprising how many "buried cuts" I've found that I really like, but had forgotten about!  (My nephew does give me grief about listening to "Dark Side of the Moon" while I work out, though.  A 90 minute walk yesterday was all Springsteen, however!)

[Direwind]

I am a total freak for audiobooks, I have listened to so many i lose count, I used to listen to unabridged audiobooks and still do, but i have found anew medium of audiobooks!

Graphicaudio!

I have listened to all the comic book adaption, the Warden mad and desert spear(AWESOME BOOK!) The whole of the survivalist books (AWSOME) and i am on the the Outlanders books, and they are freaking awesome too!

They are well read, and acted, each char in the book is read by its actor, they use well made music adapted for the book and sound effect to immerse you fully into the book. their motto is "Graphic audio, a movie in your mind" and i gotta admit, they are true to their word.

The books they have are really well written, they have some thing for everyone!

[CherylV]

Hey, if the Dark Side of the Moon gets you there, go with it! I have to say it's been forever since I've done the "album" thing. I lose patience, but absolutely agree that some of the deeper cuts on an album are absolute treasures. Always loved Elton for an album.  

If I could pursuade you to give podcasts a try, I can't recommend RadioLab enough. Great audio engineering keeps the pace in some complex deep-diving subject matter. Incredibly well-researched and downright beautiful sometimes. Give the episode "Speed" a try. http://www.radiolab.org/story/267124-speed/

Then, if you don't like it, walk away.

[CherylV]

Graphicaudio?! Sounds amazing! I've started really scraping around for audiobooks these days. The last real surprise for me was Nick Offerman's Paddle Your Own Canoe - a delightful surprise that made me want go carve something.  I'm a pretty hearty listener, so the edgier stuff is okay with me too.

I'm definitely going to try out Graphicaudio. Thanks!

[Jim_M]

---

@CherylV wrote:

Hey, if the Dark Side of the Moon gets you there, go with it! I have to say it's been forever since I've done the "album" thing. I lose patience, but absolutely agree that some of the deeper cuts on an album are absolute treasures. Always loved Elton for an album.  

If I could pursuade you to give podcasts a try, I can't recommend RadioLab enough. Great audio engineering keeps the pace in some complex deep-diving subject matter. Incredibly well-researched and downright beautiful sometimes. Give the episode "Speed" a try. http://www.radiolab.org/story/267124-speed/

Then, if you don't like it, walk away.

---

See, for me, I like the music because of the beat.  I'll slow and speed up to adjust for the beat on the treadmill, for example.

And in reality DSOM is only on occasion  - I tend to listen to something a bit "harder" at the gym! (thinking back, I often listen to lots of things like the Grateful Dead!)

[Pril]

Well for motivation mentally i use Dale Carnigie's how to win friends and influence people audio book. 

for more of a physical thing i normally rock out some buckcherry crazy b!@3h, lit up, and everything. Then I'll go to GnR and rock welcome to the jungle. 

[loveabull]

 I got a simple little MP3 player and wrote my own song list. Everything from Rhianna and Macklemore back to The Four Tops and Sinatra. It's about finding songs that you can FEEL

[Mary]

I check out audio ebooks from the digital library.  That way if I don't like a book, I just move on to the next.  

Audible.com is probably a good source for audiobook fanatics but I've never splurged on it.  

I actually also enjoy listening to Kindle books with text-to-speech, though it takes some getting used to, the machine voice.  But I like that I can set the speech speed and that there is none of the annoying accents audiobook readers tend to impart, to distinguish characters.  Plus Kindle versions are much cheaper than audiobooks, and are also available from the library often.

[SunsetRunner]

@Mary

I've been an Audible.com subscriber since their beginning ... which was even before the iPod was released. (Yikes! Sounding old here.) Anyway, I've found that subscribing is the most economical way to go. It normally brings the price/book down to less than $10. Plus, as a member, you will receive notice of plenty of sales, most tailored to your listening preferences. It may be worth a try. They offer a free, introductory period.

[Mary]

Wow, that's great, Carol.  You must listen to a lot of books.  Even at under $10/book, it doesn't beat 'free' from the library, but I'm sure someday I'll run out of options there!  Yesterday I got tired of browsing for a new book so I just checked out 50 Shades of Gray and so far it's pretty bad.  It totally reads like fanfic, which was its origin.  Not my thing.  I think I'm back to the e-library today!  

I also sometimes like listening to podcasts.  Stitcher is a nice app so you can stream them on your phone.  

I also like Pandora for music over the phone while on walks.  The nice thing about using the phone is I can listen with a bluetooth earpiece and be cord-free.  But music gets boring to me after a while.  

[shmthaus]

I use two different podcast websites to download music. The music has cadences set for beats per minute (bpm) and there are cadences for anywhere from 120 bpm's to 180 bpm's. I use the 150 bpm for running and run 4.5 on a treadmill. They also have elliptical, couch to 5k and other cadences.

Try out podrunner.com and motiontraxx.com

[CherylV]

Hey everyone! Thanks for the ideas. Some good stuff that's got new audio coming out of my ears! Recently discovered a fantastic  podcast called "The Get-Fit Guy's Quick and Dirty Tips" that is amping up my success with workouts and nutrition. I'm on an Android device, so I really had to poke around to find a good podcast app. A friend of mine recommended BeyondPod. It's the only app I've ever actually 'purchased' and it's been worth every penny. It syncs up all my favorite podcasts from all over the place.

Thanks again!

[Airin11]

My favorite podcasts:
Good job brain - pub trivia & quiz show
Joy the baker - like talking with friends

[bakecm]

I listen to music also.  I listen to songs that I have on my ipod that get my blood pumping and make you want to move too.  For audiobooks, I listen to James Patterson, John Grisham, Dena Koontz, etc.  It is amazing how far you can walk when you "get your head" in a book!