The 50 Best Workout Songs | Music & Exercise

Music is a powerful tool. A good beat can change everything! Music can express feelings and evoke emotions, inspire ideas, educate, and motivate actions.

According to an article, Music and Health: What Can Music Do For Your Mental Health?, in the Huffington Post, music therapist Jennifer Buchanan explains,

“Music quickly taps into our rewards centers in our brain,” says Buchanan. “What happens is for most    of us in seconds, we will release hormones into our system, like dopamine, which will help us feel good, oxytocin, which will help us trust people and serotonin, which can help us sleep. It all depends on the tune.”

So, if the right tune can release the right hormone response, then is it safe to assume that the right tune could promote better exercise performance? In 2010, the Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences at Liverpool’s John Moores University performed a study to answer that very question.

The study observed 12 healthy male students for 25 minutes, on three different occasions. They were asked to cycle at their own work-rate and given six popular music tracks, of different tempi, to listen to. At the end of each track, they recorded the distance covered, work done, heart rate, exertion, thermal comfort, and how much each young man like the music. From the study, they found that speeding up the music increased distance, power and heart rate; slowing the music caused a decrease. They observed that the individuals not only increased their work while performing to faster music, but chose to happily exert themselves more when they enjoyed the music.

With the right, motivational, pumped-up playlist you may just learn you love to work out! So, to help you workout harder, and enjoy it, we asked clients and friends to help us compile a TimeLess list of the 50 BEST Workout Songs. ENJOY!

1. Uptown Funk – Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars
2. Shut Up and Dance – Walk the Moon
3. I Can’t Stop – Flux Pavilion
4. We Will Rock You – Queen
5. The Way You Make Me Feel – Michael Jackson
6. Lucky Strike – Maroon5
7. Fancy – Iggy Azalea
8. Bet My Life – Imagine Dragons
9. Come get it Bae – Pharrell
10. Let it Rock – Kevin Rudolf
11. I Can Transform Ya – Chris Brown
12. Love Runs out – One Republic
13. Air Force Ones – Nelly
14. Black Dog – Led Zeppelin
15. I Lived – One Republic
16. Bleeding Out – Imagine Dragons
17. Style – Taylor Swift
18. Eye of the Tiger – Survivor
19. Hall of Fame – The Script
20. Something From Nothing – Foo Fighters
21. The New Workout Plan – Kanye West
22. Hero of the Day – Metallica
23. You Shook Me All Night Long – ACDC
24. Born Free – Kid Rock
25. Welcome to the Jungle – Guns & Roses
26. Jump – Van Halen
27. Bang Bang – Ariana Grande, Jessie J & Nikki Manage
28. Everything is Alright – Motion City Soundtrack
29. Surrender – Cheap Trick
30. Ain’t Too Proud – The Temptations
31. Mental Health – Zebrahead
32. 7/11 – Beyonce
33. Walk this Way – Aerosmith & Run DMC
34. Thrift Shop – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
35. Turn Down for What – DJ Snake & Lil Jon
36. Timber – Pitbull & Ke$ha
37. Donttrustme – 3OH!3
38. Right Round – Flo Rida
39. Party Rock Anthem – LMFAO
40. Livin’ on a Prayer – Bon Jovi
41. Stronger – Britney Spears
42. Harder Better Faster Stronger – Daft Punk / Kanye West
43. Dog Days are Over – Florence + the Machine
44. Smooth Criminal – Alien Ant Farm
45. The Fighter – Gym Class Heroes
46. Roar – Katy Perry
47. Since U Been Gone – Kelly Clarkson
48. Can’t Hold Us – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
49. Raise Your Glass – P!nk
50. I Want to Break Free – Queen

SOURCES:
MUSIC AND HEALTH: WHAT CAN MUSIC DO FOR YOUR MENTAL HEALTH? | THE HUFFINGTON POST CANADA | BY REBECCA ZAMON | 11/19/2012

RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR SPORT AND EXERCISE SCIENCES, LIVERPOOL JOHN MOORES UNIVERSITY, HENRY COTTON CAMPUS, LIVERPOOL, UK.