The answer is it depends on what kind of exercise you do. According to the team lead by Dr. Costas Karageorghis, a sports psychologist from Brunel University in London, there are genres of music that are best for a specific exercise. They also found out that listening to the wrong style can inhibit your performance.

The team claims that if your work out includes running and stretching, the best genre would be rap music. If you are into strength training, dance music is the perfect choice for it. If you are cooling down or warming up, pop music is an excellent choice.

The team came up with this conclusion by analyzing the almost 7 million playlists on Spotify that contain the word “workout.” The team compared the songs to some exercises with beats per minute (bpm).

For example, the typical stride rate per minute for running or jogging is around 150 to 190. To come up with the bpm, the team halved the stride rate per minute, which is about 75 to 95 bpm for a 150 to 190 stride rate. That 75 to 95 value is the bpm in rap music that compliments the running work out.

The team also found out that most of the rap music lyrics imbibe physical energy, which makes it an ideal choice for running or jogging.

The dance genre is ideal for weight training because of its fast rhythm that prepares the trainers mentally for their session.

Pop music has regular beats and rhythm, which suits for repetitive exercises like cool down and warm-ups.

The doctor said that it is advisable to select songs that are nostalgic about one's childhood because it makes the trainer feel young and healthy. He added that having a motivational playlist is also advisable so that if one feels like giving up because of fatigue or breathlessness, the trainer will inspire you to continue.

The psychologist also advises avoiding rock music because of the tempo fluctuations that can affect the rhythm of your work out.