I have been rolling with this blog for a couple of months by now, and I just realized that I haven’t discussed one of the most important aspect of training yet: MUSIC!  Seriously, could you even imagine lifting heavy weights or doing an intense conditioning session without any music on?  It would suck!  If you train in a commercial gym and you don’t have an ipod, I don’t get it.  Even if I was 65 years old, had really bad arthritis, could barely walk 2.5 MPH on a treadmill or lift nothing heavier than 15 pounds, I would still shoot myself if I had to listen to the radio in a commercial gym.

That being said, we ALL need some kind of motivating music that will give us that extra kick in the butt to go heavier on our next set of deadlift or to go faster on our next shuttle run interval and make sure we don’t quit before that 30 seconds ends. 

We all have different musical preferences, and we all have different background (I used to play the guitar and have a rock/metal background), but I feel like if your music doesn’t want to make you smash babies on the wall when you’re lifting, you might need something angrier to help you get stronger and bring your conditioning to a whole new level!

Here is my top 10 songs to lift to(don’t worry, if you’re not a fan of rock or metal, there will still be something for you on the list!)

- Bleed it Out – Linkin Park. Probably one of the best song to get you started when you don’t “feel it”.

- Psychosocial – Slipknot. If you like loud and angry music like I do, you gotta have this one on your playlist.

- Give it All – Rise Against. This is Endeavor’s official band as Rise is blaring through the stereo at least 70% of the time.

- Red Flag – Billy Talent. Just a great song from a Canadian band that totally kicks ass.

- Before I Forget – Slipknot. Another great song from one of the best band EVER! If that doesn’t get you started…

- Savior – Rise Against. Combine this song and 16 ounces of energy drink and you have an explosive combination to get the best lift of your life.

Here is a couple for the rap/hip hop fans in the crowd:

- Rabbit Run – Eminem. Angry beat + angry lyrics + angry Eminem = PR on the deadlift.

- Rock Superstar – Cypress Hill. This is a must on any hip hop playlist!

I am far from a techno fan, but here’s 2 tunes that totally kick ass if your into that stuff…

- The Funeral (I have no clue who the original artist is). If there’s one techno song that get met started it’s this one:

- Bring the Noise – Benny Benassi. This one might makes you want to fist pump in a club more than lift heavy stuff, but it’s definitely a great one for conditioning.

There it is, you have my top 10! But any top 10 of training tunes would not be complete without THE most requested artist during conditioning sessions at Endeavor: none other than Phil Collins! You think I’m kidding? Just ask any Endeavor athlete what they want to listen to when conditioning (including Matt one of our coaches who was definitely meant to live in the 80s, but that’s a whole other story). So here is a special mention to my man Phil.

What are your favorite tunes to lift to? Let me know in the comment section below!

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