Research has shown that listening to music while you exercise improves performance. As for me, I didn’t need research, I know from firsthand experience. I don’t know what I’d do without music while on the treadmill.
Music acts as a motivator, but it also distracts you from negative thoughts associated with fatigue or any insecurities or inadequacies that may creep up into your mind.
While I can be motivated by nearly any tempo if the music is right, research shows that fast paced music, ideally music with a BPM (Beats Per Minute) of between 120 and 140, is ideal for a cardio workout.
That pace also just so happens to be about what the average person’s heart rate is during a normal workout.
While keeping a fast pace in your cardio workout is ideal with a certain range, you ultimately have to create a playlist that appeals to you. Here’s one I like that stays in the 120 to 140 BPM range.
120 to 140 BPM Workout Playlist
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1. Elvis Costello – Pump It Up (140 BPM)
2. Michael Jackson – Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough (119 BPM)
3. Young MC – Bust a Move (118 BPM)
4. Weezer – Buddy Holly (121 BPM)
5. Tears for Fears – Mad World (118 BPM)
6. Donna Summer – Bad Girls (120 BPM)
7. Midnight Oil – Blue Sky Mine (131 BPM)
8. Gary Numan – Cars (130 BPM)
9. Steve Miller Band – Fly Like An Eagle (132 BPM)