Choose two for your cool down:
- Diamonds, Rihanna
- Try, P!nk
- So Easy, Phillip Phillips
- Madness, Muse
- Anything Could Happen, Ellie Goulding
- The A Team, Ed Sheeran
- Halo, Beyonc?
- Girl on Fire, Alicia Keys
More: Your Bikini-Body Workout
Make your mix catchier: We rec'd great songs, but don't just slap them on a playlist. Listen to each five times, researchers say; familiar songs are 18 percent more motivating. You know the lyrics, look forward to the chorus and will associate it with positive memories.
Then keep it "sacred." Your workout playlist should be for one thing and one thing only: working out. No listening to it on your commute or party pregaming. That can desensitize you to the song's pump-up effects, explains Costas Karageorghis, Ph.D., author of Inside Sport Psychology.
Tweak the beat. You can use songs you already have for your workout. Download Cruise Control ($5; iTunes). It alters tracks to lower or higher beats per minute without creating annoying chipmunk vocals.
More: Favorite iPhone Fitness Apps
Stay in shape in a fitness class.
