A Workout Playlist: 125 BPM

Chris Lawhorn, the resident DJ at Marie Claire and Real Age, reviews 300-400 singles every month, trying to find the best new music for a workout. Every week, he’ll be posting an indie-centric playlist for MAGNET readers. To vote on upcoming tracks, hear this month’s contenders and find more resources for matching songs to the pace of your exercise routine, you can visit his workout music site.

I was monkeying around in my DJ notes, trying to put together a workout playlist that focuses on songs from a single tempo. 125 BPM is an interesting one, as it’s a bit faster than you likely walk, but not fast enough for a run. Accordingly, it tends to match your workout best if you’re one some sort of machine: an elliptical, a StairMaster, etc.

Anyway, I yanked a handful of tracks that both clock in at 125 and cover a decent amount of terrain. Serge Gainsbourg holds things down in the “unlikely, but fun workout music” department. Hard-Fi’s “Hard To Beat” lives up to its name, laying down the groove from which Axwell extracted a U.K. club hit a few years back. And Dev picks up where Chelley’s “Took The Night” and Fannypack’s “Cameltoe” left off.

Will you love any of these? I have no idea. But, if you’re looking for something to keep you on pace for the course of a workout, you could do worse.

1. Chromeo “Bonafied Lovin”