I love the topic for this week’s Friday Five post: fave songs to pump up a workout. Because honestly, who doesn’t love some good tunes to rock out to during a hard run or sweat session?
I used to only be able to run with music. My friend Julie never runs with music. I thought it was so absurd when I first found this out. I felt very attached to my tunes. But after a while of running with buddies and no music, and also becoming uber paranoid about not being able to hear my surroundings, I shut the music off. Now I rarely listen to music if I’m running solo. If I’m on the treadmill or in a race, that’s a completely different story. On the treadmill I blast my music as loud as I can. Because why the heck not? And on the race course, sometimes I just need to be pumped up — especially for the bigger races. I’ve mentioned it before — I’m not a big race kind of a girl. I like the small races where I can focus and just chillax.
I keep my playlist “fresh” — meaning I’ll update it if I hear an awesome song on the radio or if I have a big race coming up. Other than that, I recycle songs and put it on shuffle to keep my interest. I also utilize Pandora to switch things up.
So what are my current favorite songs that pump me up on a run? In no particular order, they are (and puh-lease… no judging!!):
Can’t Hold Us — Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Face to Face — Armin van Buuren, Martin Roth Remix
Radioactive — Imagine Dragons
Break Free — Ariana Grande*
Crazy — Seal
Generate — Eric Prydz
Save the World — Swedish House Mafia, Knife Party Remix
I realize I included more than five here. I got music happy and ended up listing 7. Think of those as bonus songs on a hidden track, mmmkay? And just because I love you guys so much, I included links to the songs so you could hear the awesomeness for yourselves. Just disregard some of the videos, because they kinda ruin the music sometimes. But trust me, when you’re in the throes of a marathon (heck, marathon training!), hearing “Crazy” is just about the best thing you can hear!
*Break Free is starred because it drives me batty that she tries to rhyme heart and am. It’s annoying as all get out but the song itself has a great beat, so I’ll let it slide. (But seriously, Ariana. Those two words don’t rhyme. Ever. Unless you’re really singing ‘arm,’ in which case it still doesn’t rhyme and now the lyrics make no sense…)
What’s on YOUR playlist? List two of your faves!! Do you follow a specific genre?
Have an awesome weekend!
xo
