Asafa powell

Thirty-five minutes! That's not the regular sub-10 times associated with Asafa Powell, but that's how long his new workout CD takes.

Entitled Asafa Powell: Train For Speed, the soon-to-be released CD, produced by Nike and VP Records, will enable listeners to be coached by Powell to lively reggae dancehall music.

The workout CD, which can also be used for jogging, features some of reggae's greatest artistes of the past and present, and has an exclusive track On The Go (Faster Than Bullet) by dancehall singjay Mavado, who is one of the sprinter's favourite artistes.

Powell's coach Bruce James told The Gleaner about how the CD came about.

"Asafa is one of Nike's top athletes and Nike wants to do whatever they can to promote him. Nike asked Asafa about what kind of music he enjoys listening to and which artistes. Asafa loves Jamaican music so Nike contacted VP Records to put together this package," said the president of the MVP track and field club.

Compilation of songs

According to James, the CD is a compilation of various songs that Powell likes, and music that the listener can work out to.

Powell, who left the island recently for Europe in preparation for the European leg of races which will be followed by the Bejing Olympics, has distinguished himself as one of the world's fastest humans, having held the world record in the 100 metres for three years, from 2005-2008. He currently holds the record for the most sub-10 times for one season.

On the CD, Asafa coaches runners through a training session with four high-speed intervals. According to a release on www.vprecords.com, the goal of the workout is to increase an athlete's endurance and speed, with musical motivation coming from the athlete's homeland.

Tracks

The tracks selected for Asafa Powell: Train for Speed explore a wide range of music that VP has to offer, mixing in classic dancehall cuts like Shaggy's early hit, Big Up, and pioneering tunes like Half Pint's Greetings, with other songs like Sean Paul's Deport Them, and Hyperventilating by up-and-coming Tami Chynn.

The release states, "Nike selected Mavado for the project based on Asafa Powell's respect for the emerging dancehall artiste's music. One of the hottest new voices to hit the international reggae scene, Mavado recorded On The Go (Faster Than Bullet) as a homage to the sprinter, as well as an inspirational anthem celebrating the island of Jamaica and its music."

In the release Mavado commented, "It's a great honour to be recognised as one of Jamaica's top entertainers and to be a part of this project with Nike. It's a responsibility I take very seriously. I wanted to put out a very positive message on the track as it would be representing not only myself, but Asafa Powell and Jamaica."

In the song, Mavado praises Asafa's 9.77 record singing, "We moving like the light ... Jamaica have the fastest man inna life/faster than car and bike ... Jamaicans faster than bullet/bet dem neva know Jamaicans coulda do it 9.77 seconds/before you know it di man over do it."

Source of inspiration

Olivier Chastan, vice-president of VP Records, said, "Mavado is one of the leading voices of the Jamaican youth. He is a source of inspiration to them by exemplifying that they, too, can achieve great things despite life's hardships. Music can help your dreams come true in the same way that sports can. This is the message that Mavado and Asafa carry to the world over on behalf of Jamaica and its people."

Asafa Powell: Train for Speed is available exclusively in the Nike Sport Music section of the iTunes Store.