The ultimate walking playlist

Any gym rat could tell you that high-decibel techno keeps us going in step aerobics. Now, there’s science to back that up. Not only does music pump us up, recent studies show it can improve our workout speed (read: quicker calorie burn). That’s because we synch our stride with the tune’s tempo or BPM (that’s beats per minute in DJ lingo). The faster the BPM, the quicker you’ll go.

Here’s a guide to music by BPM that’ll fit any walking pace:

Warming-up: 90 BPM
50 Cent “In Da Club”
Nelly Furtado “I’m Like a Bird”
Kelly Clarkson “Miss Independent”

Going for a stroll: 115 BPM
Celine Dion “I’m Alive”
No Doubt “Hella Good”
Justin Timberlake “Like I Love You”

Brisk speed: 130 BPM
Daniel Bedingfield “Gotta Get Thru This”
AC/DC “Shook Me All Night”
Sheryl Crow “Soak Up the Sun”

Full-on power walk: 145 BPM
Britney Spears “Toxic”
Elvis “Viva Las Vegas”
Beatles “Love me do”

From speed-walk to sprint: 155 BPM
Blondie “One Way or Another”
Lynyrd Skynyrd “Born to Run”
OutKast “B.O.B”

Playlists four ways: Tailor your speed

1. Be your own DJ by downloading MixMeister BPM Analyzer (free) which sorts your existing song list by BPM.
2. Create your own: Look up songs by beats per minute at DJ BPM Studio.
3. Download free hour-long BPM walking playlists here.
4. Click here to search for jogging tunes.