<strong>New Research Shows You Work Out Harder to Your Favorite Songs. Here Are 50 to Add to Your Workout Playlist.</strong>

Reported by Women's Health Magazine.

There's a reason your legs move faster the second your favorite song drops mid-run — and now there's science to back it up. According to Women's Health Magazine, a study published in Psychology of Sports and Science found that working out to self-selected music doesn't just make exercise more enjoyable — it makes you go harder. Researchers had 29 recreationally active adults complete two cycling sessions at 80 percent of peak power output: one with music, one in silence. The result? When music was playing, participants cycled 20 percent longer, showed a greater cardiovascular load, and burned more energy overall.

Translation: your playlist is a performance tool, not just background noise. The difference between a good workout and a great one might genuinely come down to whether "Freakum Dress" or "Ruff Ryders Anthem" is queued up. The research makes a compelling case for spending actual time building a rotation you love — because your body, it turns out, responds to that enthusiasm physiologically.

50 Songs Worth Adding Right Now

Women's Health editors and certified trainers pulled together 50 picks that span every genre and every kind of workout energy. The list covers everything from Beyoncé's "Get Me Bodied (Extended Mix)" and DMX's "Ruff Ryders Anthem" to Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain" and Bruce Springsteen's "Tougher Than the Rest" — proving that a great gym track has nothing to do with BPM rules and everything to do with personal connection. Charli xcx shows up twice ("Next Level Charli" and "Talk Talk" with Troye Sivan), Taylor Swift contributes both "...Ready For It?" and "I Can Do It With a Broken Heart," and Bad Bunny's "Después de la Playa" makes a strong case for bilingual cardio.

Fitness experts weighed in too — exercise physiologist Rachelle A. Reed, PhD, ACSM-EP swears by Ace of Base's "All That She Wants (Bali Bandits Remix)", while Winnie Yu, DPT, CSCS, a sports and orthopedic physical therapist at Bespoke Treatments in NYC, reaches for John Summit's "Where You Are" and Justin Bieber's "Yukon." Jordan Farrell, CPT, exercise physiologist and WH Strength in Diversity initiative member, brings the heat with Tyla's "She Did It Again" and Big Freedia's "$100 Bill" featuring Ciara. Lifestyle director Lindsay Geller vouches for The Chicks' "Wide Open Spaces" on an outdoor run — and honestly, that tracks.

Science has officially confirmed what every person who's sprinted through a final mile on the right song already knew: your music is doing real work, so build your playlist accordingly.

Read the original at Women's Health Magazine.