26 Rock Songs to Get You Pumped During Your Next Workout

Most mornings when I hit the gym, I end up putting on an eclectic mix of pop, dance, and high-energy remixes. It’s kind of funny, because in my day to day life, I’m mostly listening to something completely different: rock music. From a young age I was raised on a steady diet of classic rock. (Much to my mother’s chagrin, my dad snuck the contraband audio into my life while driving me to ballet class. If we timed it right, we could listen to “Get the Led Out” on the radio—a full 30 minutes devoted solely to Led Zeppelin’s greatest hits.) And eventually I graduated to grunge, punk, indie rock, and beyond. 

So if you, like me, often find yourself immersed in a sea of synth and heavy bass while you work out, this week I invite you to get back to the basics—because there’s nothing quite like the powerful vocals and screaming guitar solos of a rock song to get you psyched and energized for the day ahead. That’s the idea behind this week’s playlist, which highlights a smattering of rock favorites. As a serious rock fan, I could have easily made this playlist three times as long (and I can almost hear you now: “Why’d you leave off [fill in amazing rock songs here]???”), but I tried to include a solid mix of classic, indie, grunge, and garage tunes. My hope is that you’ll know plenty of these songs—even if you haven’t heard them in a while—and that there are still some tracks that will be brand new.

That means you’ll find the era-defining “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana on this list, alongside classics like “Baba O’Riley” by the Who and “Immigrant Song” by Led Zeppelin. There’s a little punk on this list—”I Fought the Law” by the Clash and “Do You Wanna Dance?” by Ramones—plus new songs from Wet Leg, All Time Low, and Phoenix.

So turn up the volume, pull on a ripped T-shirt if you’ve got it, and get ready to rock out.