To get moving, Liz Wimmer pumps up the volume on Beyonce, Mary J. Blige and 50 Cent.

   The paralegal in Denver has lost more than 80 pounds during the past two years by setting her workouts to a playlist that mixes slower- and faster-paced music.

   Her strategy: Run for one song; sprint for two.

   "Hip-hop and rap have a steady beat, and that helps me to run fast," said Wimmer, 31.

   "Music makes working out more fun. Whenever I hear a song that I like on the radio, I go and download it."

   From techno to country, the type of music that gets the blood flowing differs. Yet several acts are mentioned repeatedly by trainers and plugged-in athletes as major motivators.

   Highest on the list: Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, the Black Eyed Peas, Avril Lavigne, 50 Cent, Fall Out Boy, Maroon 5 and Green Day.

   "Music is addictive," said Anna Sablik, a personal trainer and endurance coach.

   "It can make a workout go by so much faster and help you overcome a mood. If you're feeling groggy, just hit a fast song and you automatically feel so much better."

   In her spinning classes, she plays a variety -- including tracks by Coldplay and Van Halen, and the theme from Rocky.

   "I like to use more upbeat songs to set a fast-paced tempo," said the trainer, who prefers to run to the country band Rascal Flatts.

   "But . . . everyone has such different tastes. What gets me going might drive someone else crazy."

   According to a recent survey on Fitness magazine's Web site, readers ranked Justin Timberlake's SexyBack as their No. 1 workout song, followed by Christina Aguilera's Ain't No Other Man and Fergie's Fergalicious. Avril Lavigne's Girlfriend and Nelly Furtado's Maneater also made the top five.

   So what's in your MP3 player?

   Columbus personal trainer Rosey Hooton loads hers with '80s rock, sprinkled with some Fergie and Timbaland.

   "Can't listen to slow songs when I'm working out -- not even good hair-band ballads," said the 35-year-old, who works Downtown at Lifestyle Family Fitness.

   Hooton doesn't count herself among the people who prefer running in silence -- to ease their minds.

   "I couldn't run with no sound to clear your thoughts," she said. "I guess I run out of thoughts too quickly."

   Kelly Botts, a 22-year-old analyst who lives in Gahanna, often listens to country music -- except when she works out.

   During exercise, she favors the rock of, say, Linkin Park and Simple Plan.

   "Helps me keep my mind off the fact that I'm dying," she said (jokingly) while on a treadmill one recent afternoon, putting her iPod on "pause" for a quick chat.

   "The beat helps me run faster."
 
   Jordan Tasse, a 27-year-old physician resident, lifts weights to techno.

   "It's good when you're working out," said Tasse, who lives in the Short North. "You're just kind of in a zone."

   If you want more than tunes to help guide a workout, several sites -- including cardiocoach.com and itrain. com -- offer the ability to download audio instructions by professional trainers onto an MP3 player for a fee.

   Podfitness.com lets users create customized workouts with celebrity trainers, including aerobics guru Kathy Smith and professional bodybuilder Jay Cutler. The site also allows users to set the instructions to music from a personal library.

   Jennifer Lesea-Ames, a personal trainer at a Denver-area athletic club, is taking a different approach. She recently launched Fitwisetraining.com, which offers downloadable video workouts by professional trainers for purchase.

   "A lot of people are visual learners, so we're focusing on video," she said. "One reason people hire personal trainers is so they can see a trainer demonstrate the moves."

   Her music library, Lesea-Ames said, includes a variety, from AC/DC to Tom Petty.

   "If I'm tired, it's definitely techno -- something more fast-paced and upbeat," she said. "But if I'm feeling good and just want a chill workout, it's more classic rock."

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