13 Thrilling Songs to Get Your Gym 🏋️ 💪 On… or Not

Reading Time: 15 min read

13 Thrilling Songs to Get Your Gym 🏋️ 💪 On… or Not features music courtesy of Angie Stone, Ciara, MGMT, Olivia Newton-John, Troye Sivan, and Years & Years.

“Iwas working the weight like I came out the gym / I never did train,” 🎙 Future raps in the first verse of 🎵 “Thought It Was a Drought” from one of his best albums, 💿 DS2 (2015). Now that is a workout… SAID NO ONE EVER. I mean, Future admits, I never did train 😂. While the gym is associated with fitness, not every song that references the gym or working out concerns itself with getting ripped. This playlist, 🎧 13 Thrilling Songs to Get Your Gym 🏋️ 💪 On… or Not, is a mix of everything. Some songs are great motivation for going to the gym, while others mention the gym, but don’t embrace it as a place of exercise 😏. Regardless, this is a fun list, featuring music courtesy of 🎙 Angie Stone, 🎙 Ciara, 🎙 MGMT, 🎙 Olivia Newton-John, 🎙 Troye Sivan, and 🎙 Years & Years among others. Don’t depend on 🎧 13 Thrilling Songs to Get Your Gym 🏋️ 💪 On… or Not as your source of a work out though… “You want a hot body? / … You better work bitch”!

1. Troye Sivan, “Rush” 

💿 Something To Give Each Other • 🏷 EMI Recorded Music Australia Production • 🗓 2023   

“I feel the rush / Addicted to your touch / Oh, I feel the rush / It’s so good, it’s so good.” 🎙 Troye Sivan embraces and double down on his sexuality on the club-infused, 🏆 Grammy-nominated bop, 🎵 “Rush”.  “Rush” serves as the opener and lead single of his third studio album, 💿 Something To Give Each Other.  It’s fabulous and gay AF. The music video seals the gay deal of “Rush”.  Still, even if Sivan had denied us a visual of appetizing fit, shirtless men and sexual liberation, the sound of the record is giving gay gym / gay club.  This slick joint was produced by 🎛 Styalz Fuego, NOVODOR, and Zhone.  To some extent, this sound is a change of pace for Sivan. Lyrically and thematically, sex is written all over this record.  Sure, there’s dancing, but it’s dirty dancing 😈 🕺 🪩! “Trust the stimulation, don’t you let it break / Every stimulation, promise I can take,” Sivan sings in the first verse adding, “What you wanna give? Boy, you better show me what / You’ve been schemin’ up.” WOO 🥵 🥵 🥵! The heat continues in the second verse, where Troye asserts, “Pass your boy the heatwave,” adding, “Kiss it when you’re done, man, this shit is so much fun / Pocket rocket gun.” Clearly, while listening to the heat and surefire bop that is 🎵 “Rush”, you should be some place where it’s okay if you get a little, um, turned on!  Is the gym that place? Perhaps!  

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2. C+C Music Factory, “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)” 

💿 Gonna Make You Sweat • 🏷 Sony BMG Music Entertainment • 🗓 1990

Three words: “EVERYBODY DANCE NOW!” WOO! That is all you need to know!  Even three decades after 🎵 “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)” arrived, those repeated lyrics remain iconic – instantly recognizable. 🎙 C+C Music Factory had a gargantuan dance smash on their hands with this groovy AF, no. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. Besides the multiplatinum single, the 1990 album, 💿 Gonna Make You Sweat, was also certified multiplatinum. Picture it: You’re pumping iron 🏋️, getting buff 💪, perspiring something fierce 😓 💦, and jamming out to a classic 🎶. RAD 🤘!

Rapper 🎙 Freedom Williams is credited as a featured guest on “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now).”  He should be, as his two verses are an integral part of the record beyond the memorable, titular lyrics (“And I’m here to combine / Beats and lyrics to make you shake your pants”). Perhaps more memorable from Freedom: “It’s your world and I’m just a squirrel / Tryin’ to get a nut to move your butt.” Gah-day-ummm – a nut 🥜, huh 😈? However, one of the biggest stories with the record is the robust sung vocals which went uncredited – an absolute travesty. “Come on let’s sweat, baby,” 🎙 Martha Wash (NOT 🎙 Zelma Davis) sings in the chorus, continuing, “Let the music take control / Let the rhythm move you / Sweat, sweat.” Yes ma’am! Wash is responsible for the best parts of the song yet didn’t receive her just due.  Why? She didn’t look the part, basically. Ain’t that some 💩? Regardless, 🎵 “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)”, one of the best and biggest club-, dance-, and gay 🏳️‍🌈 anthems wouldn’t be anything without Wash’s epic pipes fueling the fire.  More could be said, but this dance joint speaks for itself.  It’s been kicking a$$ and taking names since 1990 – NO 🚫 CAP🧢!   

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3. Angie Stone, “The Gym” (Ft. Musiq Soulchild)

💿 Love Language • 🏷 Conjunction Entertainment / SoNo Recording Group • 🗓 2023

“Take it easy, I’m out of shape.” Understood, 🎙 Angie Stone – the struggle is real 🏋️‍♀️! Even though “the weight is starting to wear” on the 🏆 Grammy-nominated neo-soulstress down, she’s not really talking about 🏋️ Planet Fitness or comparable gyms – she’s talking about love! What is clever about 🎵 “The Gym”, the promo single and highlight from 💿 Love Language, featuring fellow neo-soul standout, 🎙 Musiq Soulchild, is how she maintains the gym concept.  Ms. Stone works out consistent from start to finish 🏋️‍♀️! Despite putting in work at the gym, “Addin’ pound after pound, I was in love with him,” she comes to realization “This ain’t workin’ out, it’s nothing like the gym.” The chorus marks one of the best moments, summarizing the sus nature of the relationship.  Later her bridge is sweet too, yielding the genius lyric, “Then when it’s time to spot me, you run away.” Woo! Musiq enters the mix in the second verse, sharing his side of things. Similarly, he’s exhausted by Angie’s accusations.  The vocal chemistry is tremendous, as one would expect from these fabulous musicians.  Furthermore, the production (🎛 Walter Millsap III, Teak Underdue, Balewa Muhammad, and Candice Nelson) provides a lift 🏋️‍♀️ – oh, to return to the days where neo-soul was king.

4. MGMT, “She Works Out Too Much”

💿 Little Dark Age • 🏷 Columbia • 📅 2018

“But I’m constantly swiping and tapping / It’s never relaxing, I need a new routine.” Intriguing. Please, tell us more. “Welcome to the shitshow / Grab a comfortable seat / Find me in the front row / Facing the music, anyone can see.” Oh, snap 🫰! Trippy alternative collective 🎙 MGMT returned in 2018 after nearly a five-year hiatus.  That’s right, 🎙 Andrew VanWyngarden and 🎙 Ben Goldwasser dropped their fourth studio album, 💿 Little Dark Age. Little Dark Age deserved a 🏆 Grammy nomination – it was among the best alternative music projects of 2018.  No need to “cry over spilled milk,” let’s focus on hitting up the gym 🏋️, or perhaps, cutting back from the gym 🏋️ on 🎵 “She Works Out Too Much.”

“Don’t take it the wrong way 

I can never keep up 

Sick of liking your selfies 

Should’ve gone with my gut.”   

On “She Works Out Too Much,” MGMT speaks on the fakeness, shallowness, and superficiality of some modern relationships.  Musically, this record sounds like a mix of 80s exercise music, psychedelia, and synth-pop.  “(He’s trying) / (She works out too much) / The only reason we never worked out was / He didn’t work out,” VanWyngarden sings in the chorus, repeatedly. WORD. Of the ‘Tinder’ song, VanWyngarden tells Uproxx, “I think we’re joking at ourselves for being a little out of touch… We’re in our mid-30s and we collect records and we’re pretty out of touch with what’s popular.”

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5. Olivia Newton-John, “Physical”

💿 Physical • 🏷 Primary Wave Music • 🗓 1981

“There’s nothin’ left to talk about / Unless it’s horizontally.” OMG 😈!!! On August 8, 2022, the world lost a beloved actress and singer in 🎙 Olivia Newton-John.  Newton-John is best known, as far as acting, for her role in 🎦 Grease. When it comes to singing, among her most easily recognizable hits is 🎵 “Physical”.  “Physical” is NOT an innocent bop from the Newton-John – it’s more risqué and S-E-X-U-A-L. Besides the horizontal lyric that earned some bans for Newton-John’s ace in the hole, the irresistibly naughty chorus lays out the sexual intentions: 

“Let’s get physical, physical 

I wanna get physical 

Let’s get into physical, 

Let me hear your body talk, your body talk.” 

The body talking is self-explanatory, right? Sure, the music video 🎶📼 seeks to intentionally mask the sexual nature of the song, with its fitness vibes, but we all know “Physical” is a sex song, period.  In the second verse, Olivia sings, “I’m sure you’ll understand my point of view / We know each other mentally,” continuing, “You gotta know that you’re bringin’ out / The animal in me.” 🦁 RAWRRR! Despite pushing the envelope, “Physical” spent 10 weeks at no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving it one of the longer reigns of all-time.  Songs have reigned the Billboard Hot 100 longer, but it’s rare to top the charts for 10 consecutive weeks.  Besides the ripe innuendo, credit 🎵 “Physical” for the chill, sweet, playful vocals by Newton-John, as well as its tuneful melody.

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Olivia Newton-John, Physical: Midnight Heat 🕛 🔥 No. 51 (2023)

6. Years & Years, “Muscle” 

💿 Night Call • 🏷  Polydor • 🗓 2022

“All the lights are focused on you / I can hear applause as your body talks.” Ooh-la-la! Please continue, 🎙 Years & Years aka 🎙 Olly Alexander! “Rumor has it you’re on the loose / What do you adore? / Shall we both explore this fantasy?” On 🎵 “Muscle”, sex is clearly on Alexander’s mind: “Don’t leave me now, stay at the party / I don’t wanna leave without your body.” “Muscle” appears on the deluxe editions of  💿 Night Call, the third studio album by the British synthpop act. Notably, Alexander wrote “Muscle” with  🎼 ✍ Stephen Wrabel  (aka Wrabel) and  Joel Little (Little produces as well).   

In the chorus, Alexander plays around with the notion of muscles.  Obviously, there’s a male objectification piece, in addition to strength, and perhaps, a different muscle.

“Say you’re gonna pick me up  

Never gonna put me down  

Are you getting me into trouble?  

Look at all that, that muscle  

Oh, I wanna take a bite  

And I wanna take it now  

‘Cause I wanna get into trouble  

Look at all that, that, all that muscle.”      

Clearly, Olly is enticed by this muscled-up hunk – who wouldn’t be? When providing commentary about the song, Alexander notes gay 🌈 gym culture and 🎙️ George Michael’s expression of sexual desire as inspiration.  He also mentions wanting “to reference house music but have my fun gay spin on it.” Y&Y successfully achieves the intended effect. As always, Alexander sings superbly and gets a big-time lift from the sleek production work of Little.  The only thing that would make “Muscle” better would be a killer music video, filled with buff, muscled dudes, of course 💪 🏋 🌈! 

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7. Ciara, “Level Up”

💿 Beauty Marks • 🏷 Beauty Marks Entertainment • 📅 2019

“I’m chilling, I’m winning, like on another level.” If you want to become more fit, then you have to put in the work – you must level up ⬆️. Of course, if you want to win a game – and I’m talking a video game 🎮 – you must level up ⬆️ too. But this is semi about the gym, so, what better motivation to get your gym on than 🎵 “Level Up”. “Level Up” marked one of the better songs from 💿 Beauty Marks, the 2019 album by 🎙 Ciara. What makes this bop a great fitness motivator? The hip-hop infused chorus goes a long away: “Level up, level up, level up, level up, level up / All this on me so yummy, all this so, so, yummy 😋.” YASSS! Furthermore, throughout the record, C blends chanting and singing. Regarding her overall performance, filled with swagger, showcasing ‘that attitude.’  I mean, it takes attitude, fortitude, and resolve to burn those calories and fat, and build up those guns, baby 💪 💪 💪 (“I turned nothing to something, my comeback on one hunnid / Less talking, more action, you just gon’ see Ci coming / I just keep elevating, no losses, just upgrading”)! The production work is slick, with the beat and synths standing out.  Adding to the edginess of “Level Up” is the fact that it’s set in a minor key. 

8. StarBoi3, “Dick” (Ft. Doja Cat) 

🎵 “Dick” • 🗓 2021

On 🎵 “Dick”, the gym 🏋️ 💪 routine hits different… literally 😏. 🎙 StarBoi3 doesn’t even try to hide his obsession with ‘the love below’ – he ‘pokes’ it right out 🍆.  He informs us just how awesome the pleasure is that he’s experiencing, courtesy of his girl: “She done made some plans with my dick, ayy / She goin’ HAM on my dick, ayy / Sittin’ on, stand on my dick, ayy /She goin’ HAM on my...” The outlandishness doesn’t stop there.  “She not with Jim tonight / She in the gym tonight,” he asserts, continuing, “Work out in that pussy / I’m gettin’ ripped tonight / R.I.P. that pussy / I’m goin’ in tonight.” Furthermore, in the first verse, there’s screaming, sucking, and a reference to a Vanilla Ice classic…  

As for featured guest, 🎙 Doja Cat, she’s ‘something else’ too: “He got me horny and ripped 💪, uh / Like I just walked out the gym / And them bitches is gutted ‘cause I took they Jim / Give him a job and he gave me a rim.” That rim is no basketball 🏀 rim, that’s for damn sure. The end of her verse is ‘nuts’ 🥜:  

“And why he in your tummy, bye bye to my ribs 

Turn him to a dummy ‘cause I got him stiff 

And watch, you think it’s funny ‘til y’all get the dick 

And turn into a zombie 🧟 and swallow your clit.” 

Beside the raunchy theme and lyrics, there’s also a suggestive, animated music video 🎶📼 that makes it clear that sex is on the minds of both artists. Mercy!       

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9. The National, “Dark Side of the Gym” 

💿 Sleep Well Beast • 🏷 4AD • 📅 2017 

“The first time I saw you, you were walkin’ out / I wanted to ask if you could stay.” Hmm 🤔, what does that have to do with working out? Getting buff 💪? Tightening up the bod? Nothing, honestly. Also, 🎵 “Dark Side of the Gym,” which serves as the penultimate record from 💿 Sleep Well Beast, the 2017, 🏆 Grammy-winning album from 🎙 The National, has little to do with fitness. Instead, “Dark Side of the Gym” excels at love. In the context of Sleep Well Beast, it serves as a companion piece and natural follow-up to a previous song, 🎵 “Carin at the Liquor Store”. While “Dark Side of the Gym” is straightforward for the most part, and avoids mentioning the gym (let alone all those gym machines), front man 🎙 Matt Berninger has some fun lyrically: “I have dreams of anonymous castrati / Singing to us from the trees.”  Berninger penned “Dark Side of the Gym” alongside his wife, 🎼 ✍ Carin Besser, as well as Bryce Dessner and Aaron Dessner, who also produced the record.

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18 Light and Dark Songs, In Three Phases (2018)

10. Britney Spears, “Work Bitch”

💿 Britney Jean • 🏷 RCA • 📅 2013 

🏆 Grammy-winning pop superstar 🎙 Britney Spears informed the world in 2013, “you better work… BITCH!”  Honestly, 🎵 “Work Bitch” was the best thing that went down on her 2013 album, 💿 Britney Jean. Honestly, even if you don’t approve of her use of the word ‘bitch’ for emphasis, Britney had a legit point with this song.  Furthermore, it’s giving fitness motivation, peeps. Specifically, Spears addresses working out!

“You want a hot body?  

You want a Bugatti? 

You want a Maserati?  

You better work bitch.” 

Facts, facts, facts! If I don’t work out and eat healthy (ugh), I can’t have that hot body, dammit! Furthermore, if I don’t somehow find a job that pays mad bread, well, there’ll be no Bugatti or Maserati for me!  I mean, Britney gives us a life lesson here! She’s oh so wise on “Work Bitch,” PERIOD!

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11. J. Cole, “Work Out”

💿 Cole World: The Sideline Story • 🏷 Cole World / Interscope • 📅 2011

🏆 Grammy-winning rapper 🎙 J. Cole once asserted, “I wanna see you (work out for me, work out for me).” It’s giving crunches, pull-ups, weights, and more 💪 💪 💪! The rapper embraces a fitness mindset on 🎵 “Work Out,” a hit single from his 2011 debut album, 💿 Cole World: The Sideline Story. Okay, okay, I’m lying through my teeth 😬. This double platinum, Billboard Hot 100 hit avoids traditional exercise, though seems to embrace natural exercise 😈. A prime example: “Now girl, won’t you drop that thing down to the floor?” It’s giving 🍑! And there’s more: “Man, that thing in them jeans 👖too fat for her.” Woo! Notably, this oft-criticized Cole song samples four songs, including 🎵 “The New Workout Plan” by 🎙 Kanye West, and 🎵 “Straight Up” by 🎙 Paula Abdul. Focusing on the latter, at the end of “Work Out,” Cole sings, “Straight up, now tell me / Do you really wanna love me forever? (Oh, oh, oh) / Or is it just a hit-and-run?” Safe to say, the rapper is more concerned about sweating it out in the bedroom than sweating it out at the gym.

12. Kanye West, “Power”

💿 My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy • 🏷 Roc-A-Fella • 📅 2010

“No one man should have all that power 🔋, with clocks ticking I just count the hours/ Stop tripping or tripping off the powder…” Ah, what an effective, powerful chorus 💪! 🏆 Grammy-winning rapper/producer 🎙 Kanye West is a walking ‘hit machine’ – or at least he was at one time. While his mouth keeps him in constant trouble, his musical genius is rarely disputed. One of the best moments from his 2010 album, 💿 My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, is 🎵 “Power.” While this career highlight never mentions the gym or working out, it gives off ample attitude and confidence. Furthermore, the sound of the record, fueled by a 🎙 King Crimson sample, alongside three others, provides the motivation to attain those fitness goals 💪. Throughout Power, West has some punch lines that are raunchy, but great.  A perfect example:    

“Fuck SNL and the whole cast 

Tell them Yeezy said they can kiss my whole ass 

More specifically they can kiss my asshole 

I’m an asshole? You niggas got jokes.”  

The production work is huge selling point (West, 🎛 Symbolyc One, and Jeff Bhasker). Gotta love the use of strings and piano towards the end (“Now this would be a beautiful death”). Gym-ing never sounded more powerful than in the hands of the asshole himself 😉. Worth noting, West has a song explicitly about working out (🎵 “The New Workout Plan”), while his 🎙 Daft Punk sampling classic, 🎵 “Stronger” also gets ample gym accolades.

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13. Frankie Goes to Hollywood, “Relax” 

💿 Welcome to the Pleasuredome • 🏷 ZTT Records Limited • 🗓 1984

The gym is gay 🌈… or it can be 😈. What better way than to close this sus gym playlist out than with a very gay, controversial 80s joint? “Relax, don’t do it / When you want to come,” front man 🎙 Holly Johnson sings on the naughty 1984 song 🎵 “Relax”, which appears on the 🎙 Frankie Goes to Hollywood album, 💿 Welcome to the Pleasuredome. This song is about sex (gay sex). Ultimately, they admitted it, but they didn’t have to – the sexual innuendo is on-point.  What’s cool about “Relax” is the fact that it can be so risqué and unapologetic without the use of explicit language. The suggestive chorus, continues, “Relax, don’t do it / When you want to suck it, chew it…” Again, gay 🌈! Even so, who doesn’t enjoy a little titillation while working out, or attempting to work out… thinking about working out… Notably, “Relax” appeared on Fit and Well’s 100 songs to power your sweat session 💪. Still, even with its electrifying groove and synths that make you want to be active 😈, the big draw is S Meets E and then they X.

The chorus is steamy, as is the verse.  Johnson sings, “But shoot it in the right direction / Make makin’ it your intention (ooh yeah, ooh yeah).” He adds, “Hit me with those laser beams / Ow, ow, ow! / Laser beam me / 1, 2.” Also, for good measure, during the various chorus sections, Johnson drops a few sexed-up gems 💎.  First, there’s simply, “Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, uh! / I’m coming / I’m coming, yeah.” There’s also, “The scene of love, feel it.” In the end, he asserts, “Now’s the time, it’s party time.” Hmm 🤔, we can assume after ‘saving up’ throughout “Relax,” he can finally ‘release’ 🍆 💦. More overt is the music video 🎶📼, which was banned. Even by today’s standards, the original video raises eyebrows. A gay club, with a drag queen, a large man dressed as a Roman, a tiger, and leather-clad patrons… Also, that ‘coming’ experience happens when the man dressed as a Roman undresses and releases. Holy moly! There are also some distinct facial expressions, which seem to depict the ‘O’ experience.  Rethinking this, maybe you shouldn’t listen to 🎵 “Relax” while working out. It might just make you lose control 😈.

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13 Thrilling Songs to Get Your Gym 🏋️ 💪 On… or Not (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; 4AD, Beauty Marks Entertainment, Cole World, Columbia, Conjunction Entertainment / SoNo Recording Group, EMI Recorded Music Australia Production, Interscope, Polydor, Primary Wave Music, Roc-A-Fella, StarBoi3, ZTT Records Limited; ALTERED SNAPS, Andrea Piacquadio, cottonbro studio, KoolShooters, Kuiyibo Campos, Leon Ardho, Nana Qwacy Listowell from Pexels]

13 Thrilling Songs to Get Your Gym 🏋️ 💪 On… or Not | Playlist 🎧

Published by the musical hype on November 15, 2023November 15, 2023