It’s fun to make a themed indoor cycling music playlist and routine for St. Patrick’s Day, since there’s a lot more room for creativity and out-of-the-box thinking. When it comes to Christmas and Halloween, you’re often stuck playing the chart topping hits, because that’s what participants expect. For St. Patrick’s Day, you can throw in a bunch of quirky songs loosely related to the holiday and get away with it.
And let me tell you… I am OBSESSED with this playlist. I’ve been able to perfect it over the years and it is a HUGE hit with my indoor cycling class near St. Patrick’s Day. Whether you’re teaching indoor cycling or doing your own at-home workout, you’ll love this, too.
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I’m a big fan of tying together songs around a very broad theme, because then I can play the songs I want, and my participants get a kick out of the wackiness. This year, I’m adding a handful of Irish artists and songs about luck, gold and the color green to my St. Patrick’s Day indoor cycling playlist and routine. Because, why not?
If you’re putting together an indoor cycling playlist of your own, I encourage you to have fun with it! If you think a song will be awesome for cycling, but doesn’t fit perfectly into a theme, that’s okay.
Here’s my St. Patrick’s Day indoor cycling music playlist and routine.
As you know, I like to teach my cycling classes in a series of exercises that we do 2-4 times through, depending on the series. So, I pick a couple exercises to make up my series, and we stick to it throughout the class. That way, participants know what to expect, so they can go big when they’re supposed to and not hold back for fear of another interval around the corner.
Since it is a St. Patrick’s Day cycle playlist, the series is three songs long and the resistance on the bike mimics the shape of the rainbow. So, the resistance will get heavier for the first two songs and then dial down for the last song.
I also threw in an extra surprise sprints song between series to give folks an extra opportunity to get breathless.
Here’s the series — do it four times through.
- Song 1: Climb (Part 1). Start seated at a flat road resistance and moderate intensity. Add resistance periodically during the song to increase intensity, ending the song at hard intensity. If you do have monitors, try to stick to roughly the same RPM the whole song.
- Song 2: Climb (Part 2). Keep the resistance on the bike and continue the climb. This time, every 30 seconds we’ll go from seated to standing (and vice versa). Each time you stand, add more resistance to continue to increase intensity, starting in hard intensity and ending at breathless intensity.
- Please note: when you stand, the intensity of the ride will not be as challenging, so participants will get some reprieve during these times. Students will monitor what their intensity is like in the saddle (seated) going from hard to breathless.
- Song 3: Bring the resistance back down so that it’s just a touch above flat road and you’re working at a high-moderate intensity. When the chorus comes, students will go faster, finding a breathless intensity. If you have monitors, encourage folks to increase their revolutions per minute (RPMs) by 10-20. At the end of the chorus, go back to that initial resistance and intensity.
- Please note: if students need a longer recovery period, feel free to recover a bit longer at the beginning of the climb in Song 1.
- Between series: introduce a surprise sprints song. You call out the interval (i.e. 60 seconds) and intensity (i.e. hard or breathless) and the riders must comply. Do that until the song is over.
The St. Patrick’s Day Indoor Cycling Music Playlist
| Series Song / Workout | Song |
| Warm up | “Drunken Lullabies,” Flogging Molly |
| Song 1: Climb Part 1 | “Green Light,” John Legend, Andre 3000 |
| Song 2: Climb Part 2 | “Holiday,” Green Day |
| Song 3: +15 RPM at Chorus | “Get Lucky,” Daft Punk, Pharrell Williams |
| Surprise Sprints! | “What’s Left of the Flag,” Flogging Molly |
| Song 1: Climb Part 1 | “Pot Of Gold,” The Game, Chris Brown |
| Song 2: Climb Part 2 | “Greenlight,” Pitbull, Flo Rida, LunchMoney Lewis |
| Song 3: +15 RPM at Chorus | “Lucky Strike,” Maroon 5 |
| Surprise Sprints! | “The State of Massachusetts,” Dropkick Murphys |
| Song 1: Climb Part 1 | “Green Light,” Lorde |
| Song 2: Climb Part 2 | “Gold Digger,” Kanye West, Jamie Foxx |
| Song 3: +15 RPM at Chorus | “Rainbow in the Dark,” Dio |
| Surprise Sprints! | “Screaming at the Wailing Wall,” Flogging Molly |
| Song 1: Climb Part 1 | “Treasure,” Bruno Mars |
| Song 2: Climb Part 2 | “You Got Lucky,” Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers |
| Song 3: +15 RPM at Chorus | “Two Tickets to Paradise,” Eddie Money |
| Cool Down | “St. Patrick’s Day,” John Mayer |
Click here for the Spotify playlist for this routine.
Other Potential St. Patrick’s Day Workout Songs That Didn’t Make The Cut…
- The Other Side, by Bruno Mars (feat. Cee Lo Green and B.o.B.) [Song 1]
- California (There is No End to Love), by U2 (they’re Irish! :)) [Song 2]
- Brown Eyed Girl, by Van Morrison (also Irish!) [Song 2]
- Lucky, by Jason Mraz (feat. Colbie Caillat) [Cool Down Pt. 1]
- Lucky, by Britney Spears [Cool Down Pt.2]
Hope you enjoy! If you’re looking for more cycling songs and playlists, check out the workout routines and playlists page.