The Set

Willpower is a bad mechanism. Music is a better one.

During COVID, Bilen Essayas walked down to her basement, put on KAYTRANADA's "You're the One," and started dancing. She kept at it almost every night for six months and lost more than 60 pounds. Years later she took the same idea outside. She hadn't run since elementary school, and less than nine months after her first run, she crossed the finish line of the Lisbon Marathon.

The Set explains why that worked and how to make it work for you. It draws on behavioral economics, sports science, and the way a DJ builds a night to turn every workout into a set: a warm-up that eases you in, a build that earns the peak, and a closer that brings you home.

Inside:

• Why willpower fails, and how saving your favorite music for workouts makes you want to show up
• How your body syncs to a beat, and how to match music to your stride
• Six sets: dance cardio, easy runs, intervals, long runs, recovery, and lifting
• Nine free Spotify playlists, one scan away
• How to find your own music, run your first race, and keep going when the plan breaks

It's for anyone who loves music and has quit gyms, apps, and plans before, and for runners who are bored of their playlists.

It's always been a dance.