Staff Top 10
Top Ten Surprisingly Effective Exercise Songs

By: Ian Mathers
2006-06-02



Posted 06/02/2006 - 07:59:18 AM by Subwoofer:
 I don't know how useful it is to exercise to, but that Jacques Lu Cont re-mix is bloody good. If I am doing any exercise it's generally to the Jackson 5.
 
Posted 06/02/2006 - 09:08:47 AM by badhaircut:
 We used to have a family membership to a really nice gym. One day about 5 years ago I was there and in the middle of a bunch of reliable/familiar 80s pop/90s rock tunes, they played "Fools Gold." It was so cool.
 
Posted 06/02/2006 - 09:26:55 AM by samuelbloch:
 none of these picks are surprising-- they're all standard-issue pop songs with momentum obviously conducive to exercise-- you note this with "steady pulse," "steady tambourine hits," "steady chug," "massive drums and the pummeling guitar," "constant but slow beat," "propulsive," "crescendo," "furiously strummed," etc
 
Posted 06/02/2006 - 09:28:50 AM by samuelbloch:
 or: with most of your picks (sans those selected for lyrical context or your inexplicable idiosyncracies) you're just noting rhythmic hallmarks of dance songs
 
Posted 06/02/2006 - 10:13:33 AM by bassman08:
 Whenever I'm at my friend's house and we're watching MTV or VH1 or some shit and we see My Chemical Romance, she always has to point out the fact that My Chemical Romance is good workout music. I don't really know if this is really good workout music or if she just wants to hide the fact that she's a My Chemical Romance fan but can only feel justified by listening when when she has to, ie, when it will get her motivated. I seem to think it's the latter, but I don't know because I don't think that I'd ever listen to them even while exercising. However, I do know that the Talking Heads are really good to workout to, especially the first disc of "The Name of this Band..."
 
Posted 06/02/2006 - 10:21:31 AM by samuelbloch:
 that all said, the best workout songs are lindsay lohan's "first," dfa79's "blood on our hands," zz top's "gimme all your lovin," french house, the stefani remix, and anything else with insistent bass-snare 4/4
 
Posted 06/02/2006 - 10:50:24 AM by nyckat:
 great mix! it seems every month or so i get fed up with my workout mix...so thanks for the suggestions! in fact, "landed" used to be on a workout playlist of mine- it's a great song. however, it's not auto-biographical... "It's about a close friend of mine who's recovering from being under the influence of a crazy girlfriend," says Folds. "I had this mental image of him flying back to reality, landing at the airport and needing a ride back to the life he left behind."
 
Posted 06/02/2006 - 01:04:59 PM by hunky_dory:
 The Arcade Fire track that gets me going is Rebellion (Lies), and I agree about Talking Heads being great workout music, though for me it's Stop Making Sense (the re-release).
 
Posted 06/03/2006 - 05:03:09 PM by theresafield:
 LIGHTNING FUCKING BOLT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
 
Posted 06/03/2006 - 06:54:38 PM by samsamsam:
 way to go posting with a !!!!!!!!!!! so long that I now have to scroll sideways to read everyones posts. you bellend
 
Posted 06/05/2006 - 01:34:06 AM by HBurton:
 I got a real second wind the other day from the Magic Numbers' 'Forever Lost'. Probably not 'surprising', but damn effective. When they get to that part where they go the guitar faster than before (that's gooood description :-)), I was pedalling way faster than I should have been.