I simply can't imagine exercising without music - that to me is just a crazy idea, I just don't know how people could do ever do it...
My drive to lead a healthy lifestyle stems from my dad, he passed away four years ago as a result of heart problems that then led to kidney problems and lots of ill health. Since then, his memory really motivates me to look after myself, preventing me from ever going down that road. With that in my mind as my ambition, I then use music as my ultimate motivator.
Exercise has always been a massive part of my life - I did a sport science degree at university and did sport studies at college and at high school I always played football and tennis and whatever sports I could get my hands on. I feel like it's just in my nature, I've always been a really hands on person, I'm rubbish at sitting behind a desk and doing school work and doing admin; I still am! Anything that's active suits me better and I think that's where my natural interest in sport and exercise came from.
Now, as I DJ across the world and have an incredible career and lifestyle, I've got a lot of responsibilities, so I've got to be always alert and awake and focused and I think when you eat crap food and you don't train you start to feel a bit tired and don't have any energy. I just want to make sure I always look after myself - so I'm able to do my job which I love doing.
When I'm back in London, or at home, I make sure to go to the gym every day. I use it as an opportunity to listen to promos for my radio shows and sets. It's a really good way of getting a vibe for what a tune sounds like when it's not stand alone, you get a feel for what it sounds like in the mix of a live broadcast. It's a good way of knowing whether a song would work or not and I think when you're in the gym you need something that's high energy, which is similar to in a club as well. In the club you want to dance and have a good time so you want to feel an uplifting vibe so 'the gym test' is a good way of testing that really.
When you choose songs to work out to I think it's good to have variety, they all have to have super high energy, a good beat, something catchy. You reach different points when you're running when sometimes you might need an extra boost so it is good to go to a drum and bass track or something a bit more intense and towards the end of the run you might need that extra little push again. You might want to start out with something a bit more chilled and build up.
It's something I've been thinking about a lot lately, I'm playing a set for Sure Run to Beat on 13 September, which is a 10k running event with live music across the course and a huge festival vibe. I've got to be picking tracks to give the runners loads of energy and motivation throughout their run. Events like that just make complete sense to me - music and exercise go hand in hand, I genuinely couldn't imagine working out without it.
You find your rhythm, it gives you a boost, it inspires you and provides the perfect distraction from your aching muscles! To me, there's no excuse not to train when you've got motivational music to spur you on - trust me, you'll feel a million times better for it.