Part 1: Let’s get our cardio on.
It was 2023. I meant well – this year would be THE year I’d learn to love the gym. I was a semi-regular, but not enough for the front desk crew to know me on site. It was *almost* another year of starting strong early January and fading back to my regular habits – until I hit playlist gold.
Sometimes the right tool makes all the difference – amiright?!. I’ve shared this playlist with a dozen or so friends since curation and it’s gathered some hard core fans. I’m sharing it with you, too, because – if we’re not all in this together on not wasting that gym membership, then what are we even here for?
The rundown on this hype list, Part 1: Cardio (fair warning, this playlist trends more toward ‘E for Explicit’ than ‘E for Everyone,’ enjoy with that in mind) –
(1) ‘Do It To It’ (ACRAZE, feat. Cherish) – It may be a ‘Pavlov’s Dog’ type reaction at this point but I hear this banger and I’m ready to kick off a good cardio session. This song calls for ACTION (as the best dance/electronic does!). Let it hypnotize you straight into flow state.
(2) ‘On To The Next One’ (Jay-Z & Swizz Beatz) – “I got a million ways to get it – choose one.’ If this anthem to making it happen – whatever your ‘it’ is – doesn’t have you running through brick walls by the hook, nothing will. I have EMBARRASSED myself on the treadmill pumped up on this beat.
(3) Mumbai Power (Skrillex, feat. BEAM) – After the hard-hitting openers to get your brain in the right space, get ready for this quick, BPM-friendly dance track by Skrillex to shift your gears a notch higher without you noticing the sweat starting to form.
(4) ‘Me & You – Ultra DJ Mix’ (DJ Suraci & Spins – Spencer & Hill Remix) – Now that you’re up, stay up a bit longer and reach your (first? only? you decide) cardio peak – or relive your rave days, depending on the person listening!
(5) El Taxi (Pitbull, feat. Sensato & Osmani Garcia) – Slow your pace a bit and have some fun – I dare you not to roll your hips to this self-described ‘Reggaeton Cubaton’ party tune featuring the king of Latin party mixes sure to put a smile on your face, Pitbull. Bonus content – check out the vintage cars a’la Cubano heritage in this video.
(6) Born For Greatness (Papa Roach) – And right after feeling great riding ‘El Taxi,’ get ready to add a massive chip on your shoulder to get to that next cardio peak while reminding yourself that you are – indeed – born for greatness, if you choose (and you absolutely do).
(7) Toke (Chanel) – the ladies are taking back the playlist with this and it doesn’t matter your gym persona – I dare you to hear ‘out of control it’s an emergency, so drop it low and papi put it on me’ and not dance it out on that cardio machine. She’s ‘got so much flow that the copycats are cheap,’ and here she is willing to share to take your cardio session to that next level.
(8) MIC Drop (BTS feat. Desiigner, Steve Aoki mix) – A friend recommended this one to me and this collab between the globally famous South Korean boy band + BTS and American DJ / record producer extraordinaire Steve Aoki solidly rounds out this phase 1 cardio playlist with this fun track. No hate allowed, this track is a masterful pop tune.
(9) The End (Noax) – For my Trap / EDM fans (and everyone else) there is nothing that signals ‘you did good’ better than this bass-heavy cardio finisher as you’re cooling down.
Here’s the Spotify gym playlist in it’s entirety and I’ll cover the resistance training track list in ‘Part 2: lift heavy things and put them down again.’
I’m getting my 2024 gym playlist ready – let me know what tracks I should add from the last 18-24 months (or longer, if you’re really into it – who am I to judge?) and if it makes the gym playlist cut I’ll shout you out on next year’s share.
Jess
@ Work 