Have you been hitting the gym since the start of the year?  Punishing yourself with cardio and weights as you fight to shed those extra pounds that attached themselves limpet-like over the festive season?

I’ve been slaughtering the gym since the start of the year, but then I always do.  Not that it seems to do any good.

Whilst I’m there, pummelling away at the flab in a vain attempt to get in shape, I need some tunes to motivate me.  The music in the gym is usually dancey disco stuff, which is fine if you’re dancing, but when I’m working out I need something a bit more aggressive.

Albums by various bands get a regular spin, but I also made this iPod playlist to help me focus like a Viking ransacking a monastery.  Sometimes I’m so amped I feel like I could run through the wall, rather than just plodding on the treadmill.

You could do worse than to listen to this cacophony yourself.

1. Rocket From The Crypt – “Pushed”
2. Audioslave – “Cochise”
3. Big Chief – “Lion’s Mouth”
4. Metallica – “Die Die My Darling”
5. Foo Fighters – “The Pretender”
6. Rage Against the Machine – “Guerrilla Radio”
7. Anthrax – “Only”
8. Corrosion of Conformity – “Heaven’s Not Overflowing”
9. Pantera – “Fucking Hostile”
10. The Cult – “Rise”
11. Probot – “Shake Your Blood”
12. Suicidal Tendencies – “War Inside My Head”
13. Beastie Boys – “Sabotage”

There you go: 47 minutes of energetic, in your face music to psyche you up and get you in the mood to destroy. GO!!!