The 10 Best Pump-Up Sports Songs
The 10 Best Pump-Up Sports Songs. I’m guessing most of you can relate to the routine repeated over and over every weekend in my car. Twenty minutes before we arrive at any game, my Bluetooth gets hijacked by whichever kid is about to take the field, court, or pool. They are in search of the perfect song to ‘pump’ them up and ready themselves for world domination!
Researcher Costas Karageorghis spent 25 years studying music and its effect on the brain. In his most recent book, “Applying Music in Exercise and Sport,” he explains how music can enhance mood, improve muscle control and help the brain build key muscle memories – so putting up with the blaring stereo on the way to the game may be well worth it.
I remember popping the coveted “mixtape” into my mom’s car stereo as a kid on the way to my games; it was much less sophisticated but took a LOT more time. Each one was created with such love and care that a good one might last several years.
Nowadays, kids can create a pump-up playlist in seconds using just a few swipes. It’s hard to keep track of what the good songs are, so I asked around and got a lot of feedback about what really gets the kids’ blood flowing before games. Some of these are oldies, which proves a good pump-up song has staying power. Michael Phelps, The most decorated Olympic athlete of all time – from any country, has said that music is a large part of his success and that Eminem was his go-to artist. So it’s no wonder two of Em’s songs made it onto our top list.
(Every family has varying degrees of tolerance these days for music with strong language, so be advised not all of these songs are appropriate for young children. Although we used the ‘clean’ links, sometimes ITUNES will default to the explicit version if you don’t have restrictions set on your ITUNES. Some of the songs contain strong language and content.)
Click to Upload Entire Playlist HERE
- Eminem – “Til I Collapse”
- Imagine Dragons- “Believer”
- Kanye West – “Stronger”
- 2 Chainz/Whiz Khalifa-“We Own It”
- ACDC – ” Thunderstruck”
- Eminem – “Lose Yourself”
- Machine Gun Kelly – “Invincible”
- Jay Z & Kanye West – “Who Gon Stop Me”
- X Ambassadors – “Jungle”
- Imagine Dragons – “Thunder”