Country Workout Playlist: High-Energy Tracks for the Gym

Think country music’s all slow ballads and heartbreak anthems? Think again. Sure, not every country tune seemed to make you want to run on a treadmill, but when you find the right ones, the high-energy, boot-stompin', adrenaline-pumpin' kind, you’ll be surprised how quickly your workout can be one of the most intense exercise sessions you've experienced.

A solid country workout playlist can fire you up just as much as any rock or pop jam. Throw on some Carrie Underwood sass or Luke Bryan’s party anthems, and suddenly that last set of burpees doesn’t seem so impossible.  

If you’re preparing a playlist for high-intensity workouts, you need to include music with 140-180 BPM. These songs are effective for intense exercise sessions because of the tempo, energy, and motivational lyrics that can push you.

Co-written and recorded by Miranda Lambert, “Fastest Girl in Town” was released in 2012 as the third single from Lambert’s fourth album, Four the Record. The moderate up-tempo song talks about the singer’s relationship with someone who is edgy and dangerous. The chorus will also encourage you to run fast: “Ain't no use in tryin' to slow me down / 'Cause you're runnin' with the fastest girl in town / Ain't ya, baby? / I like 'em crazy.”

If you want to feel motivated to look good in your next vacation pics, include “Vacation” by Thomas Rhett on your workout playlist. Released as the second single from his fourth album, Tangled Up, the track is clearly a summer anthem. It might sound different from Rhett’s usual lovesick ballads, but it’s definitely an underrated gem that deserves a spot on your gym playlist. Although fair warning, if you’re working out during the winter, it might make you miss summer.

An oldie but a goodie, “Mountain Music” by Alabama is for those country music fans who also love Southern rock and bluegrass. Released in January 1982 as the lead single for the band’s album of the same name, the track is still one of the band’s most popular songs.

If you don’t want to get bored with your repetitive workouts or you dread leg day and want something to motivate you, familiar, catchy songs can boost motivation and make workouts more enjoyable. Just keep your voice level to a minimum so as not to disturb others who might prefer to work out in silence.

Gentlemen, there’s nothing wrong with adding this song to your playlist and belting it out while you’re pressing a 200. No one will blame you since from the first verse, “I'm goin' out tonight, I'm feelin' alright / Gonna let it all hang out / Wanna make some noise, really raise my voice / Yeah, I wanna scream and shout, uh” to the third verse, “The girls need a break / Tonight, we're gonna take / The chance to get out on the town / We don't need romance / We only wanna dance / We're gonna let our hair hang down,” the song is so catchy you might want to just stop with your routine and just dance the calories away.  

Rascal Flatts’ cover of Tom Cochrane’s classic is another must-have for your workout playlist, because nothing says “I’m unstoppable” like belting out "Life is a Highway" mid-cardio. If the chorus, “Life is a highway / I wanna ride it all night long / If you're goin' my way / Well, I wanna drive it all night long,” doesn’t make you pick up the pace on that treadmill, we honestly don’t know what will.

Aside from upbeat tempo, country songs with motivational messages can also inspire you to continue with your workout and achieve a healthier body. Some country songs can help you overcome your mental barriers just in their lyrics.  

If you’re training for a marathon or any sporting event, listen to Carrie Underwood and Ludacris’s “The Champion.” The lyrics say it all: “I am invincible, unbreakable / Unstoppable, unshakable / They knock me down, I get up again / I am the champion, you're gon' know my name / You can't hurt me now, I can't feel the pain / I was made for this, yeah, I was born to win / I am the champion.”

If you’re a country girl through and through, Luke Bryan’s song about “a country girl getting up there, getting a little wild” deserves a spot on every one of your playlists. This banger never fails to put you in a good mood, which, let’s be honest, is exactly what you need when you’re already sweating like a pig, panting like a dog, and still not even halfway through your workout.  

Gretchen Wilson’s “Work Hard, Play Harder” might be the official soundtrack for those people practicing delayed gratification, but hey, if it works. With the chorus, “I party down to my last dollar / I work hard, I work hard, I work hard / I play harder,” you can listen to this song and imagine eating a cheeseburger with a milkshake after working out hard. You deserve it.

Building a country workout playlist is easy. Start by choosing songs with tempos that match the intensity of your workout. Mix high-energy bangers with motivational tracks and include songs that you have memorized the lyrics to. That way, when you’re feeling demotivated, you can sing along and enjoy the rest of your gym sesh.

Also, consider the flow and transitions between songs. Make sure that you group them based on the tempo. You don’t want to be in the middle of a workout and a slightly slower song kicks in and ruins the mood. You can even organize your playlist by decades, artists, genres, or “vibes.” And don’t forget to update your list regularly, new country hits are dropping all the time.