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“If I Was a Spin Instructor:” 10 Songs on my Spin Playlist

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Mass Amherst chapter.

My friend Sam and I have been doing spin classes at the Rec Center consistently since school started and it has been one of the highlights of my school year so far. There is a spin class every weekday morning at 7 a.m. at the Rec Center, and if you haven’t gone, I highly recommend you try it. It is hard to get up and is a little brutal to exist before you start spinning, but once you get on the bike and the music starts, you won’t want to stop. It is a great way to start my day, and I always feel more energized and chipper after I spin.

Since Sam I and have been spinning, we think of every song in terms of whether it would be good to spin to, and we jokingly come up with choreography that would be good to do to the song in a spin class, even though both of us are average (if that) spinners who will never instruct a spin class. So, here are 10 songs I want to hear in a spin class in my lifetime.

“Power” by Kanye west

This song has an upbeat tempo that would be good for something in between a jog and a sprint. I think some cool choreography could be added in the form of drops or travel-backs. The song name “Power” also just makes sense for a spin class.

“TEMPO” BY LIZZO

This song makes everyone feel hyped when they listen to it — I can picture an isolation exercise in the main chorus, which although hurts, is worth it.

“Bad Girls” by M.I.A.

I have loved this song for years, and now that I’m doing spin consistently I think it would be good for a heavy jog/hill. It is such a catchy song with a good sound.

“Truffle butter” by Nicki minaj

This is a very fast song, but there is nothing like a little Nicki Minaj to get the energy up in a room. It is also longer, so it would make it seem like the class is going by faster.

“all of the lights” by kanye west

I am now realizing that I have a lot of very fast songs and a lot of Kanye songs, which isn’t ideal considering his problematic behavior lately. However, this is a classic that everyone knows, and would be excited to spin to.

“kanye” by the chainsmokers

This would be a good song to end the class with. It would be slow at some parts and then a hard sprint when there is a beat drop.

“Paper planes” by M.I.A.

Another M.I.A. song! I am definitely a big fan. Another classic, I think this would be a good arm song. It is not too fast but not too slow.

“E.T.” by Katy Perry Ft. Kanye West

This would be a very good hill song. It has a pretty slow beat and is still a fun song to gradually climb to.

“Whoppa” by Tinie Tempah

For a Spanish song, this is a very good song to spin to. I did a class to it a few years ago and the energy was so high in the room. It is once again close to a sprint, but it is a fun sprint.

“Good for you” by selena gomez

At the end of every spin class, the instructors add a song “for you” when you can reflect and do what you want on the bike, whether that be a jog, spring, isolation, or maybe even some choreography. They are usually a slower type of song, and I think this would sound good blasting on the rec center speakers.

Girl On Retro Bike
Breanna Coon / Her Campus

I love spin classes, and lucky for me a lot of my favorite instructors ask for song recommendations on their social media accounts before class, so I have already gotten to hear a few of these songs at classes already. So, I can’t say I’ll become a spin instructor anytime soon. I will just stick to recommendations.

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Carol DeRose

U Mass Amherst '25

Carol is a freshman, political science major who loves to read and ski in her free time.