Workout Playlist: BTS Edition

We are approaching day 7458 of what is our new normal and I, like many others, have taken up a new hobby we've been meaning to get into during this time.

Paying more attention to my health has been one of these revelations for yours truly.

When my work initially let us all go in mid-March and a complete lockdown was implemented in my city, there was no way for anyone to know just how long this quarantine would last. During the first few days of quarantine, I spent it doing what any reasonably responsible person would avoid doing entirely, that is, gorging on every single chocolate bar and Dr. Pepper that appeared my way. I quickly realized sustaining myself on Mini Babybels was not a feasible option for my well-being, particularly when there was a growing global health crisis and medical professionals had more important matters to worry about. As I have an unfortunate history of complications with diabetes and heart disease in my family, I realized this was the time for me to begin some kind of exercise routine and meal plan that I am proud to say I have kept up with for over a few months now with a cheat day (or week) granted to me every so often.

A month into our lockdown, I wrote a Quarantine Playlist piece featuring tunes from my favourite musical group of the millennia and was inspired to create a playlist I would listen to whenever I attempted a push up... Being as I had not had a successful push up experience since my early elementary school years, I had quite a bit of work ahead of me.

Delving into which BTS song fit into a respective category was a genuine highlight during those early quarantine days and focusing all my attention on it helped with my own mental stability as it began to slightly diminish with every passing day.

Due to the wide-range of variety found in BTS' discography, finding the right song for a particular exercise activity is simultaneously a simple yet challenging task.

While you may have an abundant of tracks to choose from, how can you possibly pick one? You find yourself see-sawing between whether "House of Cards" or "Hold Me Tight" is the better song to listen to when you're dramatically driving in the rain and you disappoint yourself because you can't make up your mind -- Last Monday, it was the former but now on a Thursday, it's the latter!

Thankfully we have lists to assist in our moral dilemmas so I will try my best to include a handful of songs I believe shape a glorious, other-worldly workout.

Begin with this Perfect Pair of Warm-Up Tracks

An effective, solid warm-up is essential for the betterment of your entire your workout as it "pumps nutrient-rich, oxygenated blood to your muscles [and] speeds up your heart rate and breathing." The Harvard Medical School suggests "a good warm-up should last five to 10 minutes and work all major muscle groups."

You definitely do not want to overexert yourself during the beginning stages of your workout and the key in achieving this would be what song you listen to as you warm up those glutes of steel.

A slower Bangtan jam is what you're looking for; a track that allows for the proper amount of time to be spent on commencing one's stretches and ensuring those jacks are jumped.

I'd recommend the V solo crooner track "Stigma" and the single "Black Swan" off this year's Map of the Soul: 7 album. Both of these tunes will gradually warm you up to the level needed to experience a stupendous workout without being overly drawn out.

"Stigma" (3:36)

Begin your workout with the soothing sounds of V as you stretch out all the elements needed to proceed with a productive workout. Stretch out those arms and make sure to expertly perform those lunges as V cries out "please dry... my... eyes... ooh!"

"Black Swan" (3:18)

There is one particular moment in the "Black Swan" choreography you can implement in your warm-up that I have certainly brought into mine:

Speaking as an ultra fitness expert myself, this move seemingly stretches out those all important hamstrings along with your forearms. An aspect of BTS' choreography that I've always admired is although they are mesmerizingly intricate, if you spend enough time on them you can similarly replicate their movements. If this proves to be a bit of a challenge -- and believe me when I tell you my neighbours were not happy during my bi-daily attempts at learning the "Boy With Luv" choreo -- including one of their moves into your workout will undoubtedly be a fantastic substitute.

Come On Let's Sweat

You're warmed up.

You want to start your workout.

The heart's pumping. The valves are happy. Blood is excitedly circulating. If they're content, you're good to go.

This section of the workout is designed to make you sweat as much as possible and one of the methods used to power through the sluggish feelings that creep their way into your workout is actually choosing which music you listen to.

There has been a ton of research performed by certified experts with a doctoral background on the correlation between music and exercise, specifically how "listening to music while exercising not only makes it more enjoyable, but it also increases stamina and motivates you to go farther and workout harder." Most of these studies bring up the idea of how many beats per minute (see: "bpm") found in a song can actively encourage an individual's body to "subconsciously... push itself to run or move at the pace of the music... For high intensity sprint interval workout, you’d want songs with a really high BPM – aim for 140 BPM or higher... For a longer, slower run aim between 100 and 120 BPM..."

… Of course, to each their own. If you find yourself brutally drenched following a "Clair de Lune" jam session, more power to you!

I have included the following recommendations for tracks that will work to excite the inner core of your being, listed out by bpm.

Keep in mind! Utilizing every single song suggested is not obligatory by any means. Time your workout to however long works for you; the suggested duration seems to be between 30 minutes to an hour of "continuous, steady-state exercise. For increased benefits and results, train for a minimum of 75 minutes per week with an allowable range anywhere from 20-30 minutes per day of higher-intensity interval work."

If you'd like to listen to maybe 3 or 4 of the following and head to your ab routine or rotate between them, it's entirely up to you.

"Not Today" (3:51) | 110 bpm

What better way to start out your cardio than with an inspiring battle cry as proclaimed by leader RM?:

"All the underdogs in the world ...

A day may come when we lose ,

But it is not today .

Today we fight!"

Beginning any activity with "Not Today" almost gives you an automatic boost of stamina to endure whatever challenge lays ahead of you. I'd recommend placing the exercises you find the most strenuous during this section of your workout as you are effectively warmed up and prepared to tackle whatever you previously thought to be too difficult.

"Danger" (4:05) | 112 bpm

The lead single off their debut studio album contains a heavy rock guitar and motto of "Am I easy to you? / Are you playing with me? / You are in danger now" to recite as you pick up the pace and feel your inner self strengthening with every note.

"Attack on Bangtan" (4:06) | 118 bpm

Throughout "Attack on Bangtan" there are moments when the music slows down ever so slightly allowing yourself to briefly catch a breath as it gradually builds up to "Who are we? The rising BTS! / Who are we? We will swallow you without fear!" The more you continue your training, the more of this fear initially felt is swallowed.

"DNA" (3:43) | 130 bpm

I find listening to the combination pop/EDM hit "DNA" makes for a productive boxing/squat session. You strive for every air punch made to sync with the brilliantly synthesized beats and once you familiarize yourself with the song, these punches are incredibly satisfying.

"RUN" (3:56) | 133 bpm

Not many people know this completely legal law in the eyes of... the law: It's actually mandatory for every individual of a country to listen to a song entitled "Run" when running on a treadmill.

(Disclaimer: while this may not be an actual real "law" in any "law books" I will continue to contend that it should be.)

It's rather hard not to power through whatever hypothetical mountain you're climbing when you hear them cry out "I run, run, run / I can’t stop / Run, run, run again." This part of the chorus only works to encourage me to reach that summit I'm striving for within my exertion imagination.

"Save ME" (3:16) | 140 bpm

Watching the Boys perform the choreography for this song is honestly a workout on its own, particularly during that remarkably energized chorus.

The electropop hit peaks endurance-wise during that chorus and I'd suggest heading to the elliptical or stair machine to have your limits tested. The sound of a clock ticking faintly toward the beginning of the song creates an immediate sense of urgency for me to proceed with the exercise and not allow my typical lethargy to engulf me.

"I NEED U" (3:30) | 158 bpm

There is a part at the beginning of their classic tune "I NEED U" where after Jungkook sings "Fall", the audience then shouts "BANGTAN!" as is customary during the fan chant for this song... I cannot possibly relay to you, my Reader friend, just how cathartic it is to yell out the word "Bangtan" while you are squat jumping.

(See the chant below)

"Boy In Luv" (3:50) | 166 bpm

Of every song mentioned in this section, "Boy In Luv" is my absolute favourite to workout to. The pulsating, aggressive beats featured throughout the track makes for an absolute exquisite cardio workout consisting of all the exercises I normally dread ranging from burpees to the ab wheel.

It's almost as if the group tailor-made this song for me because there's a fleeting moment of benevolence given around the 3:20 mark where everything goes quiet for about two seconds, giving me ample time to scream my frustrations to the ceiling fan before the song's roaring final moments occur.

Let's Strive for some Jungkook-Approved Abs

The way I like to train my abdominals within my workout playlist is to start out with a track as frenetic as possible and gradually work the intensity down as we approach the cool down.

"IDOL" (3:42)

From the opening notes of "IDOL" you are immediately slapped in the face with the hand of sheer fervor. The song starts at a 101 and concludes at 100. You feel the sweat protruding from your abdominal region while attempting to bicycle crunch your way to victory as you scream out "YOU CAN'T STOP ME LOVIN' MYSELF!"

"Dionysus" (4:09)

"Dionysus" is a fantastic pick to follow "IDOL" as the opening notes allow you to catch your breath before the passionate agony begins. While you mountain climb your way up a proverbial Mt. Hallasan, you recite "Drink, drink, drink, drink up my glass ay!" to yourself.

RM returns with another proclamation almost as if he knows just how wiped you are feeling at this point and gives you that bonus push needed to conclude the extreme latter portion of the workout:

"You ready for this?

Are you ready to get hyped up?

Come on...

Let's go!"

"Louder than bombs" (3:37)

Their collaboration with Troye Sivan on "Louder than bombs" places you in a dream-like trance where the only thing that matters is finishing what you started. Whether it be the pounding bass or impassioned vocals, the quiet intensity featured in the track is a definitive bonus to have in your playlist.

"My Time" (3:54)

There was certainly no doubt in anyone's mind that I had to end our Jungkook-approved ab session with a Jungkook solo track. The genuine calm felt in this personal track from the youngest member allows for a soothing feeling to wash over you as you bust out those final few Russian twists and approach the cool down.

Time for the Cool Down

The cool down is similarly just as vital to a successful workout as the warm-up. After an intense session where you feel your ears throbbing, ensuring that a proper cool down is performed "allows your body temperature, blood pressure, and heart rate to return to their normal levels."

When I initially began my workouts in March, I legitimately believed there was no need for a cool down. A quick shower afterwards should suffice in bringing my heart rate down.

Dearest Reader: I was wrong. Always do a cool down especially following a particularly vigorous session.

"Intro: Singularity" (3:16)

If there is one thing I need after an arduous workout session, it's the tranquil, baritone smooth sounds of vocalist V returning to say goodbye. "Singularity" is a welcome change of pace following the previous tracks as the crooner wraps you in a silky blanket, lulling your body to its state of normalcy.

"We are Bulletproof: the Eternal" (4:21)

What better way to conclude a victorious workout session than with an avalanche of ugly tears? Let's reach for the heavens with "We are Bulletproof: the Eternal" and do this all again during our next session scheduled for sometime next year.

I've included all these songs in this delightful Spotify playlist you can find below. Happy workout!

For those hungry for more BTS, their upcoming album BE is set for release on November 20th with the group set to perform the lead single "Life Goes On" along with their hit "Dynamite" at the American Music Awards on the 22nd.

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