Shaun’s playlist on Spotify
30 min erg
9 songs, built for a 30-minute erg. Play it in order.
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Meataxes, if you've got a boring 30-minute erg coming up and you need some motivation to send it, I've got you covered. I built a playlist for it, I've just done the erg with it, and my splits are below.
"Music during the long training ergs can be an absolute lifesaver, getting you through and keeping you motivated and pumping your splits."
The music only helps if it fits the session, though. Generally, for any longer erg, I recommend being quite deliberate with your music, so it gives you the effect you're wanting from the session.
Pick music for the session you're doing
If you've got a 60-minute erg that's supposed to be talking pace, UT3 or UT2, whatever you want to call it, you're sitting around 140 heart rate. Pick music that encourages that type of rhythm: something steady you can settle into for the whole hour, not something that has you sprinting at the start.
The same goes for when you're wanting to push it a bit harder, like I did in this 30-minute. Pick a playlist, or create one, with music that brings the energy you need.
My 30-minute erg playlist
"It is designed for a 30-minute erg. That's exactly 31 minutes, so it gives you a little bit of time at the start to get ready and go."
Then play it in order. Don't shuffle it.
"Play it in order that I've set it up because it's set up specifically to get you through a 30 minute erg."
It starts off pretty mellow, and that's the idea of the playlist. Then it eggs you on to go harder, so the music builds as the erg goes on. The Spotify button is at the top of this page, and the full tracklist is at the bottom.
My splits on it
I've just done the erg with it, and I got excited. Here's what my monitor said at the end:
| Time | Metres | Split | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6:00.0 | 1,628 | 1:50.5 | 21 |
| 12:00.0 | 1,647 | 1:49.2 | 21 |
| 18:00.0 | 1,672 | 1:47.6 | 21 |
| 24:00.0 | 1,715 | 1:44.9 | 21 |
| 30:00.0 | 1,722 | 1:44.5 | 21 |
That's 8,383 metres at a 1:47.3 average split. Every 6 minutes was faster than the one before, and every one was at a rate of 21. The music didn't push my rate up. It egged me on to go harder.
If you want a target split for your own 30-minute, the erg calculator works it out from a distance or a time. When you're after something harder than a 30-minute, here's the 6 x 2k session that was the Kiwi eight's proving ground, the hardest erg workout we did in the Kiwi eight and, for test day, my 2k erg warm-up.
"Music can be quite a powerful tool in your arsenal, especially for getting through the longer sessions and completing the programme in the desired way."
Send this to a Meataxe who needs to hear it.
The tracklist, in order
It starts with Butterfly and finishes with Stronger, the longest track on the list.
- Butterfly, Crazy Town. The start of the playlist. Crazy Town are an American rap rock band, and Butterfly, released in October 2000, is built on a sample of "Pretty Little Ditty" from the Red Hot Chili Peppers' 1989 album Mother's Milk.
- Feel Good Inc., Gorillaz with De La Soul. The British virtual band and the American hip-hop group, on the lead single from Demon Days, released on 9 May 2005.
- Just a Lil Bit, 50 Cent. Produced by Scott Storch for The Massacre, it reached number three in the United States.
- Inhale Exhale, Nao. An English singer-songwriter from East London who calls her own sound "wonky funk".
- Highway to Hell, AC/DC. The middle of the playlist: the Australian rock band's opening track from their 1979 album of the same name.
- Pretty Fly (For a White Guy), The Offspring. The American rock band's first single from Americana, released in 1998, and a number one in 10 countries, Australia among them.
- Swing, Savage. A Kiwi one: the lead single from Savage's debut album Moonshine, released in 2005, and a number one on the New Zealand singles chart.
- Song 2, Blur. The English rock band's 1997 single, and the shortest track on the list at 2:01.
- Stronger, Kanye West. The finish, and the longest track at 5:11: from Graduation (2007), built on Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger".
Listen to the playlist on Spotify.
Sources: 30 min erg, Shaun Kirkham's playlist (Spotify); Butterfly (Crazy Town song) (Wikipedia); Feel Good Inc. (Wikipedia); Just a Lil Bit (Wikipedia); Nao (singer) (Wikipedia); Highway to Hell (song) (Wikipedia); Pretty Fly (For a White Guy) (Wikipedia); Swing (Savage song) (Wikipedia); Song 2 (Wikipedia); Stronger (Kanye West song) (Wikipedia)
