29 Jul 2016
Different exercise categories require varied amounts of mental attention and/or arousal, but here’s a guide to songs that suit the most common forms.
The ideal gym playlist to start slow and get your neurons firing, with a beat that increasingly intensifies to help you rev up the pace.
Roar – Katy Perry
Talk Dirty – Jason Derulo featuring 2 Chainz
Skip To The Good Bit – Rizzle Kicks
Get Lucky – Daft Punk featuring Pharrel Williams
Move – Little Mix
Here you need rhythmic music that matches the intensity of your pace and helps buffer fatigue. Power tunes (whether it be a classic 80’s track or an endorphin-pumping contemporary mix) are perfect for the end of a spin class, during the final leg of a road race or as a finisher to a resistance workout.
Eye of the Tiger – Survivor
Another One Bites the Dust – Queen
Flawless (Remix) – Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj
Time of Our Lives – Pitbull and Ne-Yo
Break Free (Remix) – Michael Aasen and Ariana Grande
These activities are fast-paced and don’t require much movement proficiency or balance, so they need music that’s at a higher tempo, like Dubstep.
Goin’ in (Skrillex ‘Goin’ Hard’ Remix) – Birdy Nam Nam
Gold Dust (Skrillex Remix) – DJ Shadow
Katy on a Mission – Katy B
The Island – Pendulum
Midnight Run – Example
Power lifts can handle a higher arousal level with more intense beats, however you’ll need to experiment to final your own optimal arousal rate based on your training, skill level and personal psychology. Try songs by these artists.
Faith No More
Everclear
Nirvana
Nickelback
Stone Temple Pilots
Music is a powerful entity. Combined with exercise, it has the ability to increase focus, diminish fatigue and prolong endurance and readies the body for action by priming muscles, accelerating the heart rate and increasing physiological senses. Match exercise regimes with a heart-thumping gym playlist and you’ll be smashing those fitness goals in no time!
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