Music Designed for Running

High-intensity, cadence-based music designed specifically for running.

Aggressive Workout Music: Top 5 Best Songs To Run To

in the category: Music

Five songs to help you blow off steam on your run, with BPM perfect for running.

Sometimes runs are magical, happy, Disney-esque things; faeries carry you on gossamer wings through fields of butterflies, while unicorns prance beside you beneath a glorious rainbow. Your shorts don't ride up. Your boss doesn't suck. The world is a loving, sunshiny place.

Other times, runs serve as a healthy way to blow off pent-up aggression. Work sucks. You're pissed off. And you know the best way to alleviate steam and get some happy endorphins flowing is a good, aggressive run.

You need an exercise exorcism.

We propose the following top 5 aggressive songs for your running playlist (plus a bonus track!):

1. 

   P.O.D. "Alive" [162 BPM]
   This song is a gem. It's both face-punching and uplifting at the same time. The loose, thudding kick drum and sneaky sub-lows the producer added drive this visceral groove even further into your gut, compounding the overall feeling of the song. Definitely a must-have for any aggro running playlist.

   
2. 

   Deftones "Back To School (Mini Maggit)" [176 BPM]
   The Deftones can create a cocky strut song with the best of them. Not really rapping, Chino (the singer) delivers attitude that can be interpreted in many different ways, with the unifying theme: badass.

   
3. 

   Tool "Hooker with a Penis" [181 BPM]
   Don't be put off by the shock of the title; this is actually a really smart song about consumer culture. No, seriously. The guys from Tool are thinkers, to be certain, and Maynard James Keenan is as insightful as they come. Can you really talk smack about someone selling out when you're sipping a Coke, wearing Levi's? Dig the triplet feel of the rhythm when you run, and go for it.

   
4. 

   AC/DC "Let There Be Rock" [182 BPM]
   Old school drivin' rock. There's no need to say much more than that. Other than note how cool Bon Scott, the original AC/DC singer, was. The ultimate frontman. Super simple to keep rhythm with this one for your running cadence.

   
5. 

   Mastodon "Blood and Thunder" [182 BPM]
   If you haven't read Herman Melville's classic Moby Dick, the guys in Mastodon save you some time with this epic song, which revolves around going far beyond your limits to capture the elusive goal (familiar theme, no?). "Split your lungs with blood and thunder when you see the white whale!!!" If AC/DC is musical coffee, and Metallica is espresso, this is pure audio rocket fuel.

   

BONUS TRACK!!!

We'd be remiss if we didn't add our own What Are You Made Of?!? [mutiple BPM], which (unlike the above) was specifically designed for running. Driving tempo and heavy-as-hell guitars, plus a section of Marine-style call-and-response drill sergeant vocals. Beat that!

Related Articles

• Songs for Running: Do’s and OMG Don’ts
• The Down-Low with J-Money
• Running Music BPM: An Open Letter to Runner’s World

Leave a Comment

Let's keep it polite and on topic.