Training Songs
If you’ve read this blog long enough you may know by now that, next to training, music is my biggest obsession in life. I go to dozens of concerts and live performances per year and could single handedly keep iTunes in business. Here’s a list of some of the newer stuff we’ve been rocking in the gym over the last few months. Some of it is recent and some of it is just stuff that I have recently gotten into or have had renewed love affair with as of late. I’ll try not to repeat any recommendations I have made in the past.
Pearl Jam- There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t listen to some Pearl Jam. They are my all time favorite band by a mile (Public Enemy is second, for those keeping score). I’ve seen them over 50 times live and will see them at least another 50-100 more times. The two best training tracks off the new record are Got Some and Gonna See My Friend.
La Coka Nostra- This is the original three members of House of Pain along with a couple other lesser known friends of theirs. As far as hip hop training music goes, this is the best thing out there right now. I believe it’s also the best thing Everlast has ever done in his entire career, and I have followed him since his time in Ice T’s Rhyme Syndicate. There hasn’t been anything in hip hop close to this in the last five years. Almost every song on A Brand You Can Trust is gym worthy.
La Coka Nostra member Ill Bill has a few tracks featuring the rest of the crew that are worth getting as well: This is War, War is My Destiny, Pain Gang, It’s a Beautiful Thing.
Also check out Problemz and Get Outta My Way by Slaine. Both tracks also feature other members of the crew and are great for the gym.
Viking Skull- Hard rock/metal without being silly hardcore and unbearable for most human ears. There are a few good songs but my favorite is Start A War.
Obie Trice- I’ve been a big fan of Obie for years now. Recently I downloaded Welcome, Got Hungry, On & On, I Am. All good stuff.
50 Cent- Death to My Enemies, Crime Wave, I Get Money, I’ll Whip Ya Head Boy (featuring M.O.P. & Young Buck)
Eminem- I love Em as much as anyone but I truly feel that he wastes his talent on silly subject matter a lot of the time. He’s at his best when he’s angry and rapping with purpose. Having said that Elevators is a decent warm up track. I’m hoping for big things on his next record.
EPMD- Pioneers of old school hip hop and one my top five all time favorites. They recently came out with some new stuff which is gym worthy. Putten Work In (featuring Raekwon), Actin Up, What You Talkin (featuring Mobb Deep)
Rakim- Another leader of the old school. How to Emcee is a good warm up or cool down song.
KRS ONE & Buckshot- Yet another old school legend returns. Some of the best tracks are Survival Skills, Robot
The Black Keys- They recently did a hip hop album which is pretty damn good. They play, other guys rap. Dollaz & Sense featuring Pharaoh Monch & RZA is the best track to train to.
Rass Kass- Burn This Bitch Down
The Roots- Here I Come, Get Busy (featuring Dice Raw & Peedi Peedi)
Young Buck- Do It Myself
Royce da 5’9”- Royce is an underrated but incredibly talented MC who knows how to make some good training music. I recommend Gun Harmonizing, Dinner Time (featuring Bust Rhymes), Duck Down, Death Day, No Way to Stop Me, Count For Nothing, Scary Movies (featuring Eminem), Nuttin to Do (featuring Eminem)
Slaughterhouse- Fight Klub, Onslaught 2, Yeah
Wu-Tang Clan- Kill Too Hard
Raekwon- House of Flying Daggers
Dropkick Murphys- Loyal to No One, The Warriors Code, Shipping Up To Boston, The State of Massachusetts, Flannigans Ball
Beastie Boys (featuring Nas)- Too May Rappers
Jedi Mind Tricks- Animal Rap, Tibetan Black Magicians, Heavy Metal Kings, Butcher Knife Bloodbath
Army of the Pharaohs- Battle Cry, Feast of the Wolves
2Pac- Hit ‘Em Up, The Realist Killaz (featuring 50 Cent), Troublesome ’96, Ghost, Against All Odds, Untouchable
DMX- I wasn’t a huge fan back in the day but over the last year I have come to embrace DMX in the gym. Outside of the gym I would find most of this to be intolerable. For training I like: Don’t You Ever, Fuckin with D, Comin For Ya, Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood, Intro, Stop Being Greedy, One More Road to Cross, Get it on the Floor, X Gon Give it to Ya, We Go Hard (featuring Cam’ron)
Marilyn Manson- Definitely one of my favorites in the gym. My latest download of his is Arma-Goddamn-Motherfuckin-Geddon. Not as good as classics like The Fight Song, Better of Two Evils, Mob Scene or Little Horn, but not bad.
Static X- Another long time gym favorite. Besides the old classics we have recently been rocking Terra Fied, I’m The One, Z28, Hypure, Lunatic, The Only
Rollins Band- Nothing new here, but I have grown a bit tired of screaming satanic death metal lately (must be that “getting older” thing). I still like it but just can’t take as much of it as I used to. As a result I have found a renewed passion for stuff like the Rollins Band. Some of my favorite cuts are: What’s the Matter Man, Tearing, I See Through, Gone Inside The Zero, On My Way to The Cage, Low Self Opinion, Are You Ready, Do It, You Didn’t Need,
Black Flag (see above)- Six Pack, Life of Pain, Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie, My War,
Orange 9M- When You Lie
For heavy squat or deadlift days I still like to crank up some of the following stuff for 20-30 minutes. After that I need to take it down a notch as my eardrums can’t tolerate more than a half hour of it…
Slayer
Killswitch Engage
Chimaira
Underoath
Five Finger Death Punch
Slipknot
In Flames
Deftones
Superjoint Ritual
If anyone’s interested I’ll list all the stuff I listen to outside of the gym sometime later this week, as it’s nearly 180 degrees opposite of this stuff.
Please leave your comments below and add your recent favorite training music.
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Comments on Training Songs
I’m with you on a lot what you listed although I don’t care for Pearl Jam. I love the heavy shit! House of Pain was awesome, especially “Same as it ever was” so I’m definitely checking out La Coka Nostra. Was do you think of hardcore like Agnostic Front, Terror, Madball and Sick of it All? That’s my favorite shit and awesome training music!
Mudvayne? Come on Jay I though Mudvayne would be on this list. Dig great training song.
Couldn’t agree more with La Coka Nostra and Army of the Pharaohs. Loving Apathy’s new album. Celph Titled’s The Gatalog is great too.
I too was shocked and dismayed that Mudvayne wasn’t on the list. We do listen to them though.
Mobb Deep – Shook Ones Pt. II
Mobb Deep – Quiet Storm
Dramarama – Anything, Anything
Pitbull – Triumph
Korn – Freak on a Leash
Bloods And Crips – Steady Dippin
Easy E – Real Muthafuckin Gs
Fat Joe- Find Out (feat. Armageddon)
Fat Joe – Misery Needs Company (feat. Noreaga)
Fat Joe – My World (feat. Big Pun)
Wu Tang Clan – C.R.E.A.M.
Wu Tang Clan – Protect ya neck
Method Man – Bring the Pain
Method Man – Release yo Delf
Method Man – All I Need
Terror Squad – In for life
Terror Squad – Whatcha gon do
Tony Touch mixtape 53
Gang Starr – Above the_Clouds (Feat. Inspectah Deck)
Jeru the Damaja – Ya Playin’ Yaself
Notorious BIG – Things DOne Changed
Notorious BIG – Gimmie the Loot
Notorious BIG – Warning
The Roots – Respond_React
what about “supersonc” off of the new pearl jam album?? pearl jam is my favorite band also…”last exit,” “blood,” and “whipping” are also some good gym songs…after that its all metal for the gym…some good recommendations…
all that remains – “two weeks, ” “not alone,” “this calling”
it dies today – “a threnody for the modern romance”
haste the day
36 crazyfists – “the heart and the shape” “ill go until my heart stops”
legion of doom – “lolitas medicine”
bullet for my valentine – “no control” “hand of blood”
boy hits car – “the rebirth”
as i lay dying
…just to name a few
Check out the Soul Assassins’ album Intermission. Has a mad La Coka Nostra track as well tracks with dudes from Army of the Pharaohs , RZA, B-Real etc. Think it’ll be right up you alley. Definitely feelin your list
Here’s a few more. This is old stuff, but I love it:
Limp Bizkit – Break Stuff
Metallica – 2×4
System of a Down – BYOB
The Crystal Method – Name of the Game
Eminem and Nate Dogg – Till I Collapse
Korn – Falling Away From Me
Chevelle – Vitamin R
Sevendust – Enemy
Rage Agains the Machine – Killing in the Name
If you haven’t heard Hot Water Music, check them out. My favorite band by a mile. I have a ton of their songs playing on my iPod when I train.
Tupac- Ambitionz Az A Ridah
Trick Daddy ft Lil Jon & Twista- Let’s go
Lately there is only heavy stuff rotating on my iPod. For weight-training days I can be found listening to:
Metal:
Arsis, Unearth, Darkest Hour, Aborted, Behemoth, Burnt By the Sun, Coldworker, High on Fire, Morbid Angel, Napalm Death
Hardcore:
Dead Swans, Converge, Coalesce, The Carrier, Cruel Hand, Have Heart, Kowloon Walled City, Lewd Acts, Oroku, Reign Supreme, Rise and Fall, Death Before Dishonor
-Jay
UFC Theme Song
Happy-Mudvayne
Never Enough-Five Finger Death Punch
Canto 34-Five FInger Death Punch
The Art of Balance-Shadows Fall
Of Wolf and Man-Metallica
Fight Fire With Fire-Metallica
Harvester of Sorrow-Metallica
The Frayed Ends of Sanity-Metallica
The Ectasy of Gold-San Fransisco Symphony
Out of Exile-Audioslave
Revelations-Audioslave
Better Version-Shinedown
Becoming The Bull-Atreyu
Lose It-Atreyu
Know Your Enemy-Rage Against the Machine
Guerrilla Radio-Rage Against the Machine
Testify-Rage Against the Machine
The Ghost of Tom Joad-Rage Against the Machine
Live for Today-3 Doors Down
Bullet With a Name On It-Nonpoint
Bad Company-Bad Company
Of commercial new rock music ..you forgot the big daddy : ‘Disturbed ‘ (any song)
But If you want to hear some real bands ,here are some:
*Dragonforce -trough the fire and flames
*Judas Priest-hard as iron
*Amon amarth-guardians of asgard
*Iron maiden-aces high
*Megadeth-Symphony of destruction
And last but not least:
*AC/DC
*Guns N Roses
*Linkin Park
Etc..
This is funny. Pearl Jam was the only group i recognized of the entire list and I don’t listen to them either,
I guess I am just a product of living in Texas. Brooks and Dunn, Grarth Brooks, Keith Black, Toby Keith these are the greats for listening to when working out. If I am doing something intense or fast paced I love good soul music with the pipes and great voices from Ireland.
Im with you on that STATIC X is one OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITES FAvorite song : DESTROY ALL and I AM
Dear Jay,
Judging by what u told us about ur style I think u’d like some of these :
As I Lay Dying
Avanged Sevenfold
Element Eighty
Sepultura
Disturbed
Mastodon
Manowar
Motörhead
Give ‘em a try if u like
good training,
PoD
Dear Jay,
Judging by what u told us about ur style I think u’d like some of these :
As I Lay Dying
Avenged Sevenfold
Element Eighty
Sepultura
Disturbed
Mastodon
Manowar
Motörhead
Give ‘em a try if u like
good training,
PoD
combativo – A.N.I.M.A.L
slaves to metal – Accept
big gun – AC/DC
walk this way – Aerosmith
man in the box – Alice in chains
bring the noise – Anthrax & public enemy
fight for yuor right – Beastie boys
sabotage – Beastie boys
zeros & heroes – Clawfinger
butterfly – Crazy town
superstar – Cipress hill
my own summer – Deftones
faith no more – Epic
follow me – Gamma ray
d.low – I.R.A.T.E.
fallen angel – Iron maiden
breaking the law – Judas priest
detroit rock city – Kiss
kashmir – Led zepellin
one step closer – linkin park
looks that kill – Mötley crüe
rock is dead – Marilyn manson
kill the king – Megadeth
seek and destroy – Metallica
we are the road crew – Motorhead
walk – pantera
last resort – Papa roach
bulls on parade – Rage against the machine
du hast – Rammstein
red hot chili peppers – red hot chili peppers
dragula – Rob zombie
black out – Scorpions
psychosocial – Slipknot
Best songs I highly recommend to train to, you’ll be very surprised by a couple of artists, but give it a go before knocking them:
Nelly: heart of a champion
Eminem: Till I collapse, rabbit run
Nickleback: Burn it to the ground
Roy Jones Jr. : Can’t be touched
Disturbed: Down with the sickness ( great for inner city driving too)
Kid Rock: Bwatidaba
Lil Wayne Ft. Eminem: Drop the world (huge favorite right now, Em’s verse is sick)
Pitbull Ft. Akon: Shut it down
Tell me what you guys think of that list
Jason , if you like Pearl Jam( my second favorite band), get some of The Who, which is the band PJ sound most like. Stick on Quadrophenia (The Real Me,Dr Jimmy,515) Who’s Next (Baba Oreilly, Won’t get fooled again) or many other Who tunes. Queen 1 and Queen 2 are a couple of the hardest badass cds ever. Completly out rock anything else by Queen. I Want it All by Queen is a great Squat song. Thousand Foot Krutch does it for me too. I couls go on forever,these are just some of my faves!
I guess I’m too old. I didn’t recognize many of those.
My workout faves are by the following:
Zeppelin
The Who
Steve Miller
Blue Oyster Cult
Van Halen
Rob Zombie
Nugent
Metallica
Saliva
Seether
Drop Kick Murphys
Flogging Molly
The Warrior Song
The Unit theme song
Military cadences
Bagpipes
Some favorites as of late:
Gojira – Toxic Garbage Island
Pantera – Fucking Hostile
Volbeat – Hallelujah Goat
Bullet For My Valentine – 4 Words to Choke Upon
High On Fire – Snakes for the Divine
In Flames – Take This Life
Trivium – Down From the Sky
Killswitch Engage – Fixation On the Darkness
As I Lay Dying – Wrath Upon Ourselves
Mastodon – March of the Fire Ants
Lamb of God – 11th Hour, Blood of the Scribe, The Faded Line, Laid to Rest
Children of Bodom – Everytime I Die, Blooddrunk
Devil Driver – Just Run
Atreyu – Become the Bull
Dimmu Borgir – Puritania, Burn in Hell
Rammstein – Tier
Korn – Coming Undone, Getting Off
Papa Roach – Dead Cell
Godsmack – Sick of Life, Greed
Rob Zombie – Super Beast, Scum of the Earth
Rev Theory – Hell Yeah
Three Days Grace – Animal I’ve Become, Break
Hollywood Undead – Undead, No. 5
Man, you can’t get a good training without listening to the kings of metal, MANOWAR.
Oh hurray! Thanks Jay!
I was just looking for a new list of songs. MWAHH!
ooh and I’d love to know what you listen to outside the gym
AND, why no Breaking Benjamin!?!? :”(
I Love Blasting Static X’s ‘Love Dump’ for High Rep Squatting, I Used To Always Start My Workouts With ‘Control It’ Just To Remind My Brain I’m About To Kick The Crap Outta Myself. Anything On The Crystal Method’s Tweekend Album Especially ‘The Winner’ Works Wonders. My Other Favorite Tunes Are -
- ‘Vermillion’ By Slipknot
- ‘Giving In’ By Adema
- ‘Just Like You Imagined’ By NIN
- ‘Inner Logic’ By Bad Religion
- ‘Forest’ By System Of A Down
-’Fight’ By Unwritten Law
-’F*ckin’ In The Bushes’ By Oasis &
-’More Human Than Human’ By White Zombie
YMCA village people,smalltown boy ,bronski beat,tainted love soft cell,relax,frankie goes to hollywood,englishman in new york, sting,respect erasure;, i am what i am,donna summer, so macho, sinnita,
Great list brother! My favorite bands are Black Label Society and Pantera…they are always in my workout playlist.
I am mostly a metal head but I do like Cypress Hill and House of Pain. Thanks for turning me on to La Coka Nostra, good shit!
Heavy music for the heavy days:
Amon Amarth – Death In Fire, Victorious March
Six Feet Under – Bringer Of Blood
In Flames – Upon An Oaken Throne, Colony
Nile – Black Seeds Of Vengeance, Lashed To The Slave Stick
Carcass – This Mortal Coil, Burnt To A Crisp
Kalmah – Heroes To Us, To The Gallows
Kataklysm – Serenity In Fire, In Shadows And Dust
Naglfar – Harvest, Sunless Dawn
Superjoint Ritual – Fuck Your Enemy, 4 Songs
Nightrage – The Tremor
Dark Tranquillity – Damage Done, The Dividing Line
Reggae on off days just to try to break even.
Y’all need to check out Barkmarket – L Ron. Old now, but timeless. Great training music.
It’s all about the classic thrash albums for me when I get one-on-one with the steel.
Master of Puppets. Peace Sells, but Who’s Buying? Sound of White Noise. Seasons in the Abyss. Cowboys from Hell.
Old Ozzy, pre-Osbournes Ozzy works really well too; far better than Black Sabbath in my experience. I happen to prefer live Pearl Jam to any of their studio stuff when I’m training, and the beauty of the band is that they sell almost every show they play at their website. Their version of Baba O’ Riley really does The Who proud.
And there’s nothing like the holy trinity of British metal – Maiden, Priest, Motorhead – to get the bar off the rack.
Think I need to load some classic gangsta onto my mp3 player for Thursday…
Post-workout stretch, I like to keep it somewhat hard-hitting, but not completely ear-shattering. I find Gaslight Anthem works remarkably well for this.
Like you, Jay, I’m a die-hard Bruce fan (at least you gave that impression in a couple of posts). But outside of a few of his really intense guitar-driven tunes (Adam Raised a Cain, No Surrender, Radio Nowhere), The Boss doesn’t create the necessary atmosphere for maximal output training.
I’m seeing the great Lou Christie live tonight. Hahha, I doubt many here would know who he is. The guy is awesome at 67 yrs. young now!
Rap, ummm, some.
I like top 40, some rap, 60′s, 70′s, 80′s, 90′s. Metal, some hard metal, rock, country-rock…no twangy . I like coutry-rock from the late 60′s, early 70′s. Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band. The Eagles. Led Zeppelin, U2, Chili Peppers. Hahaha, Buddy Holly, Beatles, Rick(y) Nelson.
I’ve yet to get into the ipod, have an Apple shuffel, but haven’t even messed with it yet. Too scared of losing my hearing. Hahha, it’s scary how many kids & plp my age, early 30′s, that I see playing such loud music. You can actually hear the instruments better if you not play it so loud, you gotta make your ears work to listen. Not the other way around.
No shit, I’m investing in hearing aids, cause in the very near future it’s going to be a BOOMING biz! Thank you everyone for your stupidity.
Music is a must when i go to the gym. You and i actually have a couple of the same songs on our list like: I’ll Whip Ya Head Boy by 50, Hit ‘Em Up and Untouchable by 2pac. After looking at your list i think im gonna take some of your songs and put them on my ipod
just a few suggestions u might like:
DMX – Hard White, and Whats My Name
Jay Z – U Dont Know (remix with M.O.P. or original)
Notorious B.I.G. – Victory, and Dead Wrong
2Pac – Made Ni**az
The Game – Put You On The Game
Nas – Made You Look Remix (with Jadakiss, and Ludacris)
M.O.P. – Big Boy Game with 50 cent (the name says it all)
Jadakiss ft. Lil Wayne – Death Wish
and by the way, all your training advice is on point and real. keep up the good work!
Australian band called “Deez Nuts”
great training music.
My favourites include Machine Head, “The Blood, The Sweat ,The Tears”
and
American Head Charge “Violent Reaction”. Theres a youtube video floating around forViolent Reaction which has clip from 300 which is always a good pump up before you get going.
Moving away from the heavy metal Lux Aterena.
La Coka & Jedi Mind Tricks are so ill! Throw on “i against i” any day you need to get in the zone, or even try some Mos Def/Blackstar or J Dilla!
I cant believe you dont have “uncommon valor” if you like Jedi Mind Tricks.
Since you seem to be down with some underground hip hop, check out Immortal Technique.
I must be one of the few that doesn’t enjoy music when I train. I like to focus on what I am doing, and a quiet gym/run/whatever allows me to do that better than music.
A few quick ones I haven’t seen here:
Nine Inch Nails – alot of brooding industrial (but melodic) metal from a classic group with several more upbeat/tempo tracks included. Anything on Pretty Hate Machine, Downward Spiral or The Fragile will get you ready to tear somebody’s arms off.
Primer 55 – a lesser known metal group from back in the day that I often put in the same playlist as Distrubed. Somewhat more spoken/hip-hop influenced lyrics over an intense metal track. Two stand-outs – “Loose” and “Set it Off”
Stemm – “Face The Pain” – this is recognizable to some as one of the UFC themes. The artists actually have an MMA background.
Great to see viking skull on your list. The guitarist used to be my guitar teacher!
Pantera-Walk
Pantera-This Love
Killswitch Engage-My last Serenade
Wu Tang Clan-Bring Da Ruckus
Wu Tang Clan-Reunited
Hatebreed- Now is the time (very badass)
Notorious BIG- Victory
Slipknot-Psychosoical
Slipknot-Wait and Bleed
Mushroomhead-Bwomp
Lamb of god-walk with me in hell
pantera-I’m broken
hatebreed-another day, another vendetta
the sword-fire lances of the ancient hyperzephyrians
tu-pac still ballin
No songs in particular,but I usually listen to Five Finger Death Punch,
Machine Head, Lamb of God, Soulfly, Pantera, Killswitch, Static-X , Slipknot, Mudvayne, Godsmack and Hellyeah. I’m a fifty year old headbanger and I love it!!
Nice list! I have a hard rock CD I use for my bootcampers and they like it. Guns N roses, Def Leppard, Motley Crue, etc.
I try to have a theme with my music and workout days.
Thanks for sharing,
Jill
Great list bro! Might have to add some of these to the ipod. What about some good ole Ice Cube Natural Born Killaz tho!
Jason,
I think you’d probably like “Denial of Life” by Cataract, and probably anything else they have. I see that you’re a Pantera fan, You’d like Throwdown, check out their song “Burn”. Late!
hhaha
quarashi-stick ‘em up
The unseen – Punks attack NUMBER 1 song
Classified – 5th element….all of his
Clubbed 2 Death
Gold – antoine clamaran
sham 69 – if the kids Were united
ANIMAL-MUDMEN
the distillers- any songf by them, but Hall Of Mirrors is a guder
man too many YEEE
Check out: The Veer Union – seasons, youth of yesterday, the darker side of me….pretty much anything off their album “Against the grain”. Great young band out of Vancouver, Canada.
no wagner?
Chimaira my all time fave. I love 5FDP too. As I Lay Dying could be on the list also. Jay is the man!