Pumping Iron

What do "Head Like a Hole," "Mama Said Knock You Out," and "Fortunate Son" have in common? As far as we can tell, not a damn thing — other than getting your heart beating faster, your adrenaline pumping at dangerous levels, and your head focused on one task and one task only: getting that 52-inch chest before you die.

You've made it through the Basics, and you're still standing? Nice. But you're starting to tire, which is why we're digging deeper into our playlist, pulling out the heart-attack tempo of N.W.A.'s "100 Miles and Runnin'," the screaming pogo of House of Pain's "Jump Around," and the flat-out insanity of Disturbed's "Down With the Sickness."

Here's where you'll need our pumped-up playlist the most, 'cause if you don't knock out that last set, you'll hate yourself all day tomorrow. Allow Static-X's "Push It" to pump three final minutes of utter psychosis into your workout, and call in Sam Roberts ("Brother Down") and Alexisonfire ("Hey, It's Your Funeral Mama") to spot you.

Tuesday/Thursday Pilates class? Down the hall, first door on the right. Protein-powder-injected/84-vitamins-and-minerals-fortified Smoothie? Smoothie bar downstairs. This? This here's the weight room, where a delicious Berry Blast beverage has no place whatsoever. This? This here's the playlist devoted to the weight room, where nothing else exists in your world except squeezing out that one . . . last . . . rep. Think of Pumping Iron as your spotter — your buddy getting you over that psychological hump, helping you get HUGE.