In reality, I am the person you see at the gym with ratty old gym shorts and some baggy t-shirt that I've worn for years with some pair of gross sneakers and sweat, sweat, sweat. Every time I see one of those cute little actresses in their skimpy little athletic clothes on those television commercials, it takes everything in me not to cringe as I regret not going to the gym earlier in the day. The worst part is in not going is the guilt that you should go, and the worst part in going is, well... all of it.
When it comes to exercise, it takes a lot of motivation for me to push myself into getting a better, more intense workout. Let's face it, when your body starts to shake from planks or when you are running out of breath on the treadmill, the clock always seems to slow down like it's laughing in your face, reminding you that you shouldn't have touched that milkshake at the creamery the other day.
The absolute worst thing that could ever happen during a workout, though, is a commercial on the radio during the last couple of minutes of your workout. Those minutes suddenly become the most hated minutes of your life because while you are running on a treadmill or pumping iron or trying to hold a plank or convincing yourself to do some pushups, that stupid commercial about the double bacon cheeseburger with extra cheese on a nice, soft bun comes on, and that pushes you just over the edge.
The only way I can survive a workout is through music. Music is my motivation, and if you are a regular exercise goer, you've probably noticed that most gyms always have a radio handy and blasting nice and loud, or everyone else has their earbuds in tuning out the world to listen to their own music.
After researching some articles containing studies conducted in the field of music and exercise, the articles The Influence of Rhythm and Personality in the Endurance Response to Motivational Asynchronous Music and On the Role of Lyrics in the Music–Exercise Performance Relationship detail the conclusions of their research both being that high-tempoed music with lyrics tend to motivate people to workout longer or faster during an exercise while the same song without lyrics shows slightly less success in motivation and enhanced exercise, and no music shows having the least effect with motivation and pushing oneself during a workout.
With this idea in mind, high-tempoed music with motivational lyrics tend to be the best songs to encourage you to work harder, or faster, when you are exercising, providing you with a much more productive work out at the gym.
According to the 14 Motivational Workout Songs recommended by Pop Crush, one of the songs listed and that I recommend is "We Own It" by Wiz Khalif and 2Chainz. This song has inspiring lyrics that can push viewers and exercise enthusiasts to "own" their workout, motivating them to work harder along with a pretty catchy rhythm and generally quick pace. I highly recommend viewing most of the songs on the remainder of the Pop Crush list for a great workout playlist.
In addition to these popular hits, for those of you that really need a motivational boost, I recommend FLAME's song, "Start Over," featuring Christian rapper, NF. This quick song has a great bass in the background in addition to incredible words of inspiration to help make a bad day brighter.
And finally for all of you music lovers that need a rocking girl-power jam session, I personally encourage Elle King's song, "America's Sweetheart." This song has the ultimate tempo for a solid workout along with a strong-willed message of deviating from societal expectations to be who you really are.
So the next time you force yourself into the gym for a hard but healthy workout, make your exercise a little more bearable with a fast, motivational set of tunes. All you need are some killer beats and your running sneaks!
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