The Best Oldies Workout Songs

What is the best oldies music for exercising and working out?

The best oldies workout or exercise songs are happy upbeat songs from the good old days. These songs are carefree, exciting, and make you want to move. You will not have any trouble doing a workout when you're using these songs. Your exercise time will go fast, and you will be done before you know it.

When choosing songs, pay attention to the tempo. Chosing the right tempo of music can be very important as your body will naturally move itself to that tempo. Choose a tempo that is too slow or too fast, and you may spoil your workout. For that reason, an approximate beat per minute has been listed beside each song. As you can see, unlike other types of dance music which has a high BPM, disco music usually falls in the moderate tempo range, about 110 to 130 BPM.

Here is a basic guideline of which tempos are good for different workouts:

• Under 100 BPM: Slower paced workouts and during warm ups and cool downs
• 100 to 130 BPM: Walking and portions of your workout that are a little faster paced
• Over 130 BPM: Higher impact exercise and cardio
• 135 to 140 BPM: Power walking
• 135 to 155 BPM: Jogging
• 150 to 175 BPM: Running
• Over 175 BPM: Fast running and sprinting

Pick music that will gradually increase your tempo until you reach your optimum speed and then gradually decrease your tempo at the end of the workout. This will ensure that you are warming up and cooling down properly. Below you will find different a variety of oldies music that is good for exercising. For your convenience, we have included links to the music on Amazon, iTunes, and Rhapsody.

Rhapsody provides both music subscriptions as well as individual mp3s for sale in WMA format. ITunes only provides MPEG-4 audio files for sale. However, Amazon is now offering mp3s that are compatible with both windows media player and iTunes. For more information about where to purchase music online, we provide it on our Music Downloads page or our Music Subscriptions page.

NEW! Listen to a sample and/or purchase the songs from Amazon by clicking the play button on the box below.

1. "Born to be Wild" by Steppenwolf Est. BPM: 139
    Find it on:        Rhapsody
2. "Breakin' Up is Hard to Do" by Neil Sedaka Est. BPM: 140
    Find it on:        Rhapsody
3. "Brown Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison Est. BPM: 150
    Find it on:        Rhapsody
4. "Dancing in the Streets" by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas Est. BPM: 140
    Find it on:        Rhapsody
5. "Gimme Some Lovin'" by The Spencer Davis Group Est. BPM: 141
    Find it on:        Rhapsody
6. "Great Balls of Fire" by Jerry Lee Lewis Est. BPM: 168 BPM
    Find it on:        Rhapsody
7. "It's My Party" by Lesley Gore Est. BPM: 150
    Find it on:        Rhapsody
8. "Jailhouse Rock" by Elvis Presley Est. BPM: 135
    Find it on:        Rhapsody
9. "The Loco-motion" by Little Eva Est. BPM: 120
    Find it on:        Rhapsody
10. "Louie, Louie" by the Kingsmen Est. BPM: 116
     Find it on:        Rhapsody
11. "Paint it Black" by Rolling Stones Est. BPM: 163
     Find it on:        Rhapsody
12. "Rescue Me" by Fontella Bass Est. BPM: 126
     Find it on:        Rhapsody
13. "Respect" by Aretha Franklin Est. BPM: 126
     Find it on:        Rhapsody
14. "Rock 'n Roll Music" by Chuck Berry Est. BPM: 168
     Find it on:        Rhapsody
15. "Rockin' Robin" by Bobby Day Est. BPM: 86
     Find it on:        Rhapsody
16. "Summer in the City" by Loving Spoonful Est. BPM: 109
     Find it on:        Rhapsody
17. "Wake Up Little Susie" by the Everly Brothers Est. BPM: 88
     Find it on:        Rhapsody
18. "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" by Jerry Lee Lewis Est. BPM: 164
     Find it on:        Rhapsody