You can talk all you want about the lead singer bellowing or the lead guitar wailing, but rock and roll wouldn’t be what it is without the rhythmic pulse and the backbeat. That thrust is what makes it the genre of choice for many people who are working out and looking for a little musical accompaniment. Not that every rock song works in this respect. Some are slow and sludgy, while others rush along at such a frenzied pace that you might end up stumbling on the treadmill just trying to stay with them. Therefore, let us do a public service to all you workout warriors out there by recommending these seven songs for the next time you need to pump up the volume while you’re pumping up your muscles.
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1. “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” by The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones lost their way a bit in the mid-‘60s as they tried to follow The Beatles’ orchestral pop example. Their 1967 album, Their Satanic Majesties Request, while intriguing, sounded like an identity crisis on record. For their next single, the band refocused with a song whose title was inspired by Keith Richards’ bounding gardener. “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” reestablished the Stones as a blues rock force thanks to a guitar riff that kept on giving and a propulsive Charlie Watts beat. Cue this track up, and you might find yourself jumping right along to one of the Stones’ greatest classics.
2. “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC
Going back to when the late Bon Scott was their lead singer, AC/DC has always shown a propensity for hard rock music that never skimps on the elements that make your body move, even as your head bangs. They continued that trend when Brian Johnson took over on the mic.
[RELATED: Bon Scott Was a Longtime Fan of AC/DC Replacement Brian Johnson]
There are reasons “Thunderstruck” has been used again and again in commercials and television bumpers leading into big games. Angus Young’s sizzling lead guitar figure introduces the song with flair, eventually giving way into a walloping beat by drummer Chris Slade. This 1990 song helped to get the legendary Aussie band back over the hump after a commercial drought in the late ‘80s. And it will also help you hit new heights when it comes to your daily exercise routine.
3. “Jailbreak” by Thin Lizzy
To work out to this song, it helps to put yourself in the shoes of the protagonist, who’s feeling both the pressure of the pursuit and the pleasure that goes along with his freedom. It also helps to focus on the crunching guitar work of Thin Lizzy, who could bring a coordinated ruckus like few other bands of the era.
They also had a charismatic frontman in Phil Lynott, who could deliver anthems like this—part purposefully over-the-top and part tongue-in-cheek—with absolute conviction. The part of the song where you’re likely to kick into an extra gear: the instrumental break, when those guitars go into synchronized overdrive and the sirens start blaring.
4. “Run Like Hell” by Pink Floyd
When you think of Pink Floyd’s music, words like “ambient” and “atmospheric” tend to spring to mind. “Energetic” might not be one of those words, at least not right off the bat. But this track from The Wall certainly brings the pep, in part because Roger Waters is encouraging the story’s protagonist, Pink, along with everyone else listening, to give it some hustle to escape life’s inevitable pressures and travails. It’s a fantastic group performance, what with David Gilmour’s stinging lead guitar, Waters’ flickering bass, Richard Wright’s insinuating keyboards, and Nick Mason’s stomping drums. You better run, indeed, and you probably will whenever that triumphant main guitar riff emerges from the chaos.
5. “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen
All Bruce Springsteen was trying to do with “Born to Run” was to write and record the greatest rock and roll song ever. No pressure. To do that, Springsteen battered away at the track for endless hours trying to capture just the right hints of grandeur and catharsis in the music, all the while rewriting the lyrics until there wasn’t a word that felt out of place.
You can debate about how close he got to his goal, but there can be no doubt this song delivers a prime jolt of adrenaline. Case in point: the moment when the crescendo builds and builds before erupting into the final verse, as Bruce belts out the immortal line, The highway’s jammed with broken heroes on a last-chance power drive. It’s breathtaking, so make sure you save your oxygen for this moment when you’re running along like one of the tramps in the song.
6. “You’re All I’ve Got Tonight” by The Cars
Few bands could deliver a rush like The Cars. Ric Ocasek’s compositions didn’t force the issue, instead trusting that the way all the instruments locked into perfect place, while the rhythms churned away underneath them, would propel those songs forward in thrilling fashion.
“You’re All I’ve Got Tonight” wasn’t one of the big singles from the band’s self-titled debut album, but it achieved evergreen FM radio status anyway. Right from the start it hooks you, as David Robinson’s pitch-altered drums pound with abandon and precision all at once before the chunky guitar hook finds its spot in between. Later in the song, Elliot Easton delivers one of his note-perfect guitar solos to seal the deal on an absolute barnburner of a track.
7. “Too Much Time on My Hands” by Styx
The contrast between the musical interests of Dennis DeYoung and Tommy Shaw eventually led to a schism within Styx. But when that duo struck the right balance, they were an arena-rocking force. Take, for example, their 1981 album, Paradise Theatre. DeYoung struck first with the exquisite ballad “The Best of Times,” and then Shaw followed it up with the breathless “Too Much Time on My Hands.” For a song that’s ostensibly about boredom, there’s not a dull moment on it, from that irresistible synth hook to Shaw’s fiery guitar solo and twitchy intensity on lead vocals. Turn it on and watch your workout hit another level.
Photo by Rick Diamond
