My Top 10 Best Workout Songs

In an ideal world I would have a number of excuses to account for my recent absence from this blog: "my computer died on me," (perhaps the most unconvincing of the lot) "preparing for exams meant I had no time for anything else" or even "I was going through a period of emotional crises."

Photo courtesy of techlicious.com

But let's face reality (because at the end of the day you can't escape the truth) - if there is any reason, it is that my brain was having a weird kind of time-out from everything. A sort of "stressy period" (and we've all experienced those before...) So eventually I had to sit myself down and sort it out.

However, it is not just in life we need a bit of motivation; when it comes to doing exercise we all require a kick in the butt. The way I see it is that with a good beat in the ears, you can achieve anything.

So, after extensive research, I have put together this playlist for you:

1. I usually like to base my main exercise around running. It is the perfect way to get fresh air, enjoy the outdoors and get fit at the same time. The first thing I do is start with a 5 minute warm-up: in my experience, dynamic warm-ups are the most effective, which is why I keep static warm-ups to a minimum (but hey - I'm no expert!).
Recently, I have really started to enjoy listening to Touch by Shift K3Y for my warm-up.

2. No matter how much you might enjoy exercise, starting the workout is the hardest part. Therefore, DJ Khaled's All I Do Is Win is the perfect song to get in the mood.

3. For a warm-up I personally think that a strong beat is perfect, but when I start to actually run I always find that a smooth, calm rhythm is more important, particularly as it helps to regulate my breathing and pace. One of the best songs for this (by far) is Deepest Blue by Deepest Blue...

4. Similar to Deepest Blue is the new #1 by Mr. Probz called Waves, which I have become absolutely obsessed with.

5. When you get to that stage in your workout where your legs seem to turn to steel-rods and you feel like you can't take another step, then Turn Me On by Kevin Lyttle is absolutely perfect.

6. Every time that Christina Aguilera blares Candyman in my ear, my pace quickens and I do a little victory dance in my head. I don't know what it is about this song, but it just seems to relieve every tension in my body - maybe it's the addictive beat or the fact that I can't help thinking about the fun and flirty 40s-inspired music video...

7. Another old-time favourite of mine (although I really only started to love and listen to this song after hearing it in the Coco Chanel Mademoiselle advert with Keira Knightley), is It's a Man's Man's World by Joss Stone. The mellow rhythm of this song always helps when my breathing starts to let me down.

8. In the last few minutes of my run, I like to really push myself as I always find that I feel so much better about myself afterwards if I do. Braveheart by Neon Jungle is the ideal song to motivate me to push on.

9. Similarly, Blu Cantrell's song Breathe is great to listen to when you're getting a little bit tired and fed up...

10. FINALLY, what better song to finish your run on than Maniac by Michael Sembello from the amazing film 'Flashdance'?

Now get out there and do it like a maniac!

S.