The Best Spotify Workout Playlists

From 'Beast Mode' to 'Basketball Warm-Ups,' these are 17 playlists on Spotify that will get you through your next workout.

Best Spotify Workout Playlists
Image via Getty/Mahmut Serdar Alakus
Best Spotify Workout Playlists

Having the right kind of music in your ears in the gym is an important thing to consider when going for the glory of the fifth set. If you’re doing it right, the fourth set of any exercise will take you out. Finishing that up and then doing another entire set on a destroyed body area is largely dependent on what’s massaging your ear drums. That’s where Spotify playlists come in. These curated lists extract the adrenaline from your blood with electrifying tunes that power the senses into the next set—but only if you find the right ones.

That’s where we come in. After hours of research and gym workouts (not solely for this story in particular, summer is around the corner), we’ve put together a list of 17 Spotify playlists that are perfect for gym use. Combine these with access to both Gatorade and a water fountain, and you might become the yelling, weight-dropping gym rat that always existed within, but has never surfaced. You can thank finally having the right music for this new discovery about yourself.

Get Turnt

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This one’s pretty self-explanatory. Turning up isn’t just reserved for a concert or the club you’re planning on hitting up after your workout. You can start the process right in the gym. From Drake to Meek Mill to Migos, Get Turnt will have your whole workout going apeshit. Just make sure you get some actual weight lifting in in-between doing The Backpack and the shoot dance, alright?

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Cali Fire

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It’s no secret that the California sound, with its furious bounce and spilling energy, is in right now. It started long before Blueface’s “Thotiana” became a remix machine for “iana” original words, but the world has become obsessed with it, and songs that sound like it. Cali Fire is a playlist that captures the essence of this energetic sound and its share of electric content makes it a standard for gym time consumption. “Bleed It” by Blueface and “Pure Water” by Migos (produced by DJ Mustard) are but two of the similarly magnetic anthems included on this playlist. Elsewhere, you’ll find music from SOBxRBE, Tyra, Vince Staples, and more. These records continuously spill energy, and you can hear it in the frantic nature of the artists' deliveries. If these don’t get the blood going, the problem may not be in the music.


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Marshawn Lynch’s Beast Mode

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Marshawn Lynch’s Beast Mode playlist is the best soundtrack for your pre-game warm-up. The playlist is packed with tracks that are bound to get your mind in the zone and body feeling loose. Despite the title, this playlist isn’t exactly jam-packed with high-intensity tracks, though, and instead oozes west coast influences with artists like Snoop Dogg, E-40, Luniz, and Mac Dre. There are a handful of smooth and mellow songs that help establish a steady workout routine. Set the tone with Snoop Dogg’s “Wrong Idea,” practice your footwork to The Jacka’s “Bay Area Championship” or cool down to Amerie’s “Nothing Like Loving You.”


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Gymshark | David Laid

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David Laid is a 21-year-old bodybuilder. His playlist for Gymshark, a fitness apparel and lifestyle company based in the United Kingdom, reflects both his youth and seriousness in the fitness profession with the kind of hand-picked tunes that make you clench your jawline and biceps while listening. If this is truly what he listens to in the gym, I can definitely see why. Laid's playlist features some of your more typical energy-inducing tunes like Skrillex’s remix to Kendrick Lamar’s “HUMBLE.” But there are also some stranger choices like “This Time” by Kayzo and “Smoke Bomb” by Datsik and Snoop Dogg. A common theme throughout all of these choices is rage; you’ll want to throw down the weights you'rw using after every set because of the furious techno screams wailing in your ears. You’ll want to mimic the drums in the air and you’ll probably shake your head side to side while your mouth is shriveled up. It’s some hard stuff and we best recommend listening to this while you’re in an empty gym. But it’s kickass enough to power you through the last leg of that workout, so there should definitely be some use for it. Just don’t embarrass yourself.

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Stepping Out

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Out of Spotify’s curated gym playlists, Stepping Out does the best to get the blood flowing with its myriad of bass drums and ride cymbals. “Dawnbreaker” by Metrik is soft and inviting, while “Anarchy” is harsh and vicious—grating even. These opposites exist in a larger spectrum across all genres, where almost anything is possible once you press shuffle. Sometimes it feels like a science fiction soundtrack, other times it sounds like the chase music that comes on while escaping the cops on a Need for Speed video game. My personal favorite gym tune here is “Masochist - Original Mix” by Pendulum because it feels elastic with its sharp noises and excited percussive boards. It encapsulates the sound of the playlist and what it can be in its entirety—a funky, kick-ass collection of angry tunes for angry sets.


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New Wave Rap

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I must confess: I find SoundCloud rap, mostly from 2016 to late 2017, to be some of the most engrossing music in recent history. There’s true creativity and grit in its rawness that makes it very appealing—especially for workouts. New Wave Rap is a playlist that captures this sound and aesthetic, in a collection of over one hundred songs. It’s lengthy, but once it’s consumed, you’ll see why. This energetic mix of Famous Dex, Yung Bans, Marcy Mane, Playboi Cardi, LUCKI, and others may not be strictly made with the gym in mind, but its stylish artists and dominating bass make it perfect for immersing oneself in while between sets. I’ve been following it for a year now and it continues to grow and incorporate new identities. In the gym, it can be the difference between stopping on the treadmill after 15 minutes or after an hour.

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Clout Culture

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The name is as corny as can be, but Clout Culture (I typed that twice and I feel like I need to wash my hands) is all about the youth and the energy that young music brings. It features the next generation of rap stars like Comethazine and Lil Mosey, who bring their most heart-pumping hits to the forefront. Since these artists are from a new era where attention is currency, the music reflects that. Cadences are unique and energy is never shared This playlist is about carving ones niche instead of fitting into one. It does wonders for creating energy by exposing you to different kinds of music that elicit new emotions with each song change.

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Cardio

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Don’t let the title of this playlist steer you away. While Spotify’s Cardio playlist is certainly a fine option for when you want to get in a quick three miles, the tracks within are equally as satisfying for a 45-minute pump session. From frenzied remixes of current hits, like the Hazers’ remix of Dua Lupa’s “IDGAF,” to the endlessly replayable “Jackie Chan” from Tiesto and Post Malone, Cardio gets your heart pumping.

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Gold School

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There are certain hip-hop tracks that force you to bob your head up and down the minute you hear them. The beat drop on Eminem’s “The Way I Am.” The iconic first note on DMX’s “Ruff Ryder’s Anthem.” The Neptunes’ signature sound on Ludacris’ “Southern Hospitality.” Someone put all of these bad boys in one place for you to head nod to while you get a workout in. Bless their soul.

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Power Hour

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The ferocity of the beats per minute contained inside the Power Hour playlist will make pausing your workout feel like you’re committing a crime. A non-stop wave of uptempto drops from artists like Tiesto, LOOPERS, and Maddix will push you to your weight-lifting limits, especially when you need that extra burst of energy to finish a final rep.

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Best New Music

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Every Friday here at Complex, we update our Best New Music playlist on Spotify to include the latest songs from our favorite artists. While not explicitly created with workouts in mind, this playlist leans towards high-energy rap songs, so you can confidently press play at the beginning of a workout and not worry about skipping many songs. By the end of the workout, you'll be caught up on everything worth catching up on in the music world. Thank us later.


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Hip-Hop Yoga

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If you’re dreading having to come home from work and engage in the half-hour death march that is most HIIT workouts, Spotify is here to help with HIIT-Hop. By the time you hear the screeching guitar notes that open Kendrick Lamar’s “Humble,” your adrenaline will be through the roof. Future’s “Draco” is here to get you through that final circuit (or if you just feel like dancing in between sets), and there’s plenty of bangers from artists like The Weeknd, Rae Sremmurd, and Nicki Minaj to make burning a cool 450 calories feel like something other than pain.

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Hype

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If being at a hip-hop tinged rave is how you like to curate the soundtrack to your workouts, then go ahead hit play on Hype. With multiple remixes from DJs like Skrillex and Flosstradamus, (including the former’s take on Kendrick Lamar’s “Humble,” which will make you want to run through a wall), as well as a couple classics like “Clique” from GOOD Music, your heart rate will have no issues getting into that peak zone.

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Endorphin Rush

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Any playlist featuring the Black Keys and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs is a good move, but doubly so when you’re at the gym. From the former’s “Howlin’ For You” to the latter’s “Heads Will Roll,” Endorphin Rush pairs those jams with mainstays like the White Stripes “Seven Nation Army” and Tame Impala’s “Elephant” to provide your workout will all the rock and roll influenced energy it needs.

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Epic Workout

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Epic Workout is one of those playlists that, when combined with the adrenaline already pumping through your body, will have you daydreaming of doing something epic with St. Lucia’s “Dancing on Glass” or Gentlemen Hall’s “Sail Into the Sun” blasting in the background. It’s like a runners high, except the feeling is coming from big, grandiose beats and synthesized harmonies. We promise you’ll be feeling yourself as you get after it to this playlist.

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Throwback Workout

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Turns out you don’t have to reserve working out to this playlist for Thursdays; you can get it in to “Whatever You Like” from T.I. or “Yeah!” from Usher and Lil’ Jon whenever you damn please. Bring it all the way back to the days of trying to lift entirely too much weight to impress your bros in the makeshift weight room in the basement of your high school with this one, featuring some classic 50 Cent, Missy Elliott, Kanye West, and more. Ah, memories.

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Cool Down

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Workouts can suck. They’re draining, both mentally and physically. But there’s a certain feeling that lingers when you’ve finished, one of accomplishment and strength, that gets amplified during the cool down, an essential finish to any workout session. Spotify’s playlist of the same name lets you bring your heart rate down to some incredibly soothing tones from artists like Chris Call and Martin Fox that would feel just as appropriate at a spa. The cool down: the most glorious part of a workout.

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