What Songs Get People Pumped Up?

Adrenaline rushes through the bodies of those who are working out, and with that adrenaline also comes the music that is blasting through their ears. 

Walking into the gym, most people are seen with headphones listening to music in order to stay active, but what exactly are they listening too?

The songs range in a wide array, spreading from smooth and fast rap, to classic rock songs, all the way down to the loud head banging that is hard rock music.

“Personally, Kanye West is the way to go when it comes to working out and listening to music,” sophomore Reilly Geistfield said. “He just has such a good rhythm to his beats and it makes me want to keep working out even when I’m tired.”

Geistfeld is one of many who prefer to listen to different Kanye West songs, such as “808” and “Heartbreakers” and use it as fuel when trying to reach new goals in the weight room. 

Other rap songs such as “Collard Greens” by Schoolboy Q, and “Swimming Pools” by Kendrick Lamar, are personal favorites of first-year student Dan Fredericks. 

“For me, rap music is the only way to go when working out,” Fredericks said.  “It really just makes you want to keep moving around and even vibe with the music, especially when we are running on the track.” 

However, not everyone prefers to listen to rap music when they are working out. Instead, some people like to listen to classic rock songs to stay motivated in the gym.

“You can’t go wrong with ‘The Eye of the Tiger’ when you’re in the gym,” sophomore Ryan Brauer said. “I just picture myself as the eye of the tiger itself and it makes me feel like I can do anything when I go into the weight room.”

For those like Brauer, listening to these types of songs allows for the imagination to run wild and picture themselves achieving great things throughout their workouts. 

“I am also a big fan of listening to ‘The Eye of the Tiger’ when working out,” sophomore Elise Oppegard said. “I feel like I can do anything when I’m blasting it through my headphones.”

On top of classic rock, people also tended to gravitate towards songs within the Heavy Metal or Heavy Rock music genre, particularly very fast-paced songs.

“I need to be able to simulate head-banging right before I go to lift any kind of weights,” junior Elijah Hansen said. “It makes me angry, but at the same time excited to get after the challenge of defeating new personal records, or even running long distances.”

Hansen, like others who like to listen to Heavy Metal, rely on the adrenaline rush from the music to get into the moment. A favorite song from this genre comes from the band Kiss, “‘Detroit City Rock’.”

“Don’t even get me started with ‘Detroit City Rock’,” first-year Ryan Conn said. “Whenever I listen to it I just want to start jumping all over the place, which makes me want to lift heavier and heavier.”

Overall, favorite song choices when working out comes from how people like to work out and what they want to accomplish. No matter what genre of music people prefer, everyone will work as hard as they can and the results they desire will follow.

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