Sometimes, the problem with the treadmill isn’t the lack of fresh air—it’s the lack of a DJ who gets you. So we made the soundtrack you’ve been looking for.
- Indoor training isn’t boring by nature—it gets boring when you don’t have the right soundtrack to keep you moving.
- Music isn’t just background noise—it’s a practical tool to pace your treadmill strides or your HIIT work intervals.
- Here are 3 playlists (well, more like examples) built for the three key moments of indoor training: steady running, intense workouts, and cooldowns.
- For the treadmill, you want a steady BPM (around 150–160) that helps you stop thinking about speed and just focus on the step.
- For HIIT, you need explosive peaks and rhythm changes to push adrenaline through those 45-second work blocks.
- For stretching and cooling down, go with ambient music that keeps you grounded without putting you to sleep.
Is Indoor Training Boring? Change the Music
Indoor workouts, at some point, hit you with the truth. No changing scenery, no wind in your face, no surprise red lights. It’s just you, your effort, and—if you’re lucky—the hazy reflection of yourself in the gym mirror.
When winter rolls in or the weather gets so bad that even cats refuse to go out, the treadmill or your home gym mat become the only options. That’s when the boredom creeps in. It’s a sensory void that neither the treadmill display nor your timer can fill. What if the real issue is that you’re using the wrong playlist?
In this setting, music isn’t just background. It’s your co-pilot, your metronome, your personal DJ who decides whether your session turns into a monotonous grind or a perfectly orchestrated adrenaline rush. If you’re bored, blame the soundtrack—not the machine.
The Right Playlist Doesn’t Distract You—It Sets the Pace
Personally, I don’t use music to distract me. I don’t need it to. If my body’s suffering, my brain is already dealing with that just fine. Music serves a much more functional, mechanical purpose: it sets the rhythm. Whether you’re running, jumping, or hammering out 40 seconds of burpees, you need a steady beat or a buildup that tells you—without looking at the clock—whether you’re pushing hard enough or need to go harder.
A solid playlist isn’t just a bunch of radio hits thrown together. It’s an emotional and rhythmic structure that guides you, knowing exactly when to boost you and when to slow you down. That’s why we’ve put together three musical “recipes” designed for the three most common indoor training situations.
Playlist #1: Rhythm Machine (For Treadmill and Steady Runs)
If you’re going for a Tempo run or just trying to hold a steady pace for 45 minutes without your brain asking “How much longer?”, you need one thing: consistency.
It’s all about the BPM—that is, the beats per minute. For a steady run, your sweet spot usually sits between 150 and 160 BPM. Your music should sound like a pleasant jackhammer, helping you put one foot in front of the other without thinking too hard. No sudden guitar solos, no slow intros that explode into chaos. Just a steady stream of energy.
Three Songs That Nail the Vibe:
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- Taylor Swift – Shake It Off: Love it or hate it, but at 160 BPM it’s scientifically perfect to keep you from slowing down and staying on pace.
- The Killers – Mr. Brightside: A classic that starts fast and stays fast (around 148 BPM), makes you want to scream—even if you’re on the treadmill.
- Florence + The Machine – Dog Days Are Over: Starts slow, but once the beat drops (around 150 BPM), it pulls you in and holds you there till the end.
Playlist #2: Pure Explosion (For HIIT, AMRAP, and Intense Workouts)
This is a whole different beast. If you’re doing High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), an AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible), or any kind of functional workout, forget consistency. You want controlled chaos.
You’ve got 45 seconds to give it all you’ve got, and 15 to breathe (or curse whoever invented the workout). Your music needs to follow suit. You need adrenaline spikes, guitars crashing in, beats that hit like grenades. It should scream with you, give you the jolt you need to push through that last burpee.
Three Tracks for the Apocalypse:
- Beastie Boys – Sabotage: It’s chaos. It’s urgent. It’s dirty. It’s pure adrenaline. If you’re swinging a kettlebell till you see stars, this is your soundtrack.
- Outkast – B.O.B. (Bombs Over Baghdad): Insanely fast (over 150 BPM but feels like double that), totally wild. If you survive this song, your AMRAP’s done.
- The Prodigy – Firestarter: No explanation needed. It’s the sound of the explosion. It gets you ready for battle with the timer.
Playlist #3: The Perfect Cooldown (For Stretching and Recovery)
You’re done. You’re sweaty, probably exhausted, but alive. Cooling down is an art—and music plays a big part. You don’t want to fall asleep (so skip the spa-style new age tracks), but you do need to land.
The goal is to bring your heart rate down to a civilized frequency and give your muscles space to stretch. The music should “open up,” be ambient, but still have enough structure to keep you present and focused on your breathing.
Three Tracks to Bring You Back to Earth:
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- Moby – Porcelain: A classic. Melancholic in just the right way, slow but steady rhythm. It’s the sound of “I made it.”
- Sigur Rós – Hoppípolla: You won’t understand a word—and that’s perfect. Ethereal music for letting go of the effort.
- Bon Iver – Re: Stacks: Acoustic, calm, but with a pulsing soul. Perfect when you’re on the mat, trying to reconnect with the floor.
How to Build Your Own Playlists (And the BPM Trick)
The real secret—which isn’t even that secret—is understanding how BPM works. You don’t have to be a sound engineer. Most streaming apps (like Spotify) let you search for playlists by BPM range or even show you the BPM of each song.
For runs, line up tracks that fall between 150 and 160 BPM. For HIIT, ignore BPM—look for energy: mix explosive songs with ones that build tension. For stretching, search for “ambient,” “chill,” or “downtempo”—and make sure there’s no pounding beat messing with your breathing.
What matters is that the music supports your effort—not the other way around.