Best workout music: the top 100 songs to power your sweat session

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By Lucy Gornall 2020-10-05T06:00:54Z

Sometimes we all need a little boost when we exercise - and this is where the best workout music comes in.

What we listen to when we exercise can play a real part in helping us stay motivated, hit personal bests and generally just enjoy the workout. Plus, there’s actual proof that workout music can help.

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A recent study published in the journal Psychology of Sport & Exercise asked men and women to sprint for 20 seconds at maximum effort as well as cycle at a low intensity.

The group did this workout three times; once while listening to motivational music (aka more than 120 beats per minute), once while listening to a podcast, and once with no music or sound at all. You can probably guess the results!

The researchers found that when the group listened to the upbeat music, their heart rates and peak power output were both higher than when they listened to no sound or even a podcast.

How to choose the best workout music

So what does it take to make the list of best workout music? Hilary Rowland is co-founder of spin studio Boom Cycle. She explains that while taste in workout music is subjective, there are a few factors that come into play.

‘A good workout tune is a track that elicits emotion, stirs a new attitude or evokes energy. A good workout track can put you in a flow state. It can take you into a dream state or a totally new frame of mind, making you forget your limits. It can reset your attitude.’

She adds: ‘It’s important the music is loud so it can envelope the senses and generally it has a big beat. Ideally a good workout tune sticks in your mind and gives you that skip in your step and a burst of confidence well after your workout.’

If you’re a runner, you could match your stride rate with your music’s beats per minute (BPM). So if you were to run 130 steps per minute, you’d want to be listening to music that had a BPM of around 130, such as Pink’s Get The Party Started (a real pop classic).

If you don’t know the BPM of your music, it’s easy to find. Try songBPM.com, which has a huge collection of music and their BPM.You can even search on Youtube for BPM-appropriate songs such as this 130 BPM cardio dance workout session.

It's also worth looking for ready-made playlists - Spotify has a great running playlist, for example.

If you’re lacking in inspiration for your workout music, here’s our pick of the top 100 songs - split into our favourite musical genres - to keep your motivation pumping...