Heavy metal is characterized by its visceral nature — its speed, power, and aggression. It’s also physically, even athletically demanding to play, requiring the upmost skill and dexterity from the musicians, as well as repetition and endurance.
Many parallels can be drawn between metal and a physical workout, making it one of the best genres for soundtracking a session at the gym. Whether you’re on the last mile of a long run or grinding out your final weight-lifting reps, there’s nothing like locking into a triumphant riff or an epic refrain to give you that last bit of inspiration to carry you home.
Look at it this way: When you go to a heavy metal concert, you don’t stand still. You move, you mosh, you pump your fist, shout, sweat — it’s active. And you can channel that same energy into your own tests of strength and endurance.
Below, we collected 22 songs that are sure to make your next 90-minute workout that much more metal — and that much more productive. Now you can pump iron to the gallop of Motörhead’s “Iron Fist,” and knock out laps to the driving riffs of Ratt’s “Round and Round.” Or maybe you simply need to “Push It,” in the words of the late Wayne Static, and make those gains.
Throw on your favorite heavy metal tanktop and a pair of headphones or airpods; it’s time to get to work. Side effects include sporadically busting out air guitar in front of the gym mirror. During your cooldown, you can check out our list of the Most Anticipated Metal and Hard Rock Albums of 2025, as well.
Our New Year’s Resolution Workout Playlists, including our Rock and Hip-Hop playlists, are available on Amazon Music. You can sign up here for three free months of Amazon Music Unlimited, which includes over 100 million songs in HD sound, the largest catalog of ad-free podcasts, and audiobooks from Audible. Submit proof of your free signup here for a chance to win a Bluetooth headphone bundle.