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Song-Based Mini Workouts: Hit The Right Note With These Five Drills

By Originally posted: Last updated:

SONG

This article is by new writer Robin Legat.

While many trainers use music to give their clients and campers an extra motivational push during workouts, sometimes it can be fun to use music as part of the workout itself. Whether you’re looking for a quick finisher or just want to change things up in the middle of a longer workout set, a song-based mini workout can be a fun way to go.

While some songs have achieved popularity as song-based workout choices via viral internet videos, there really is a great deal of room for creativity when it comes to using a song as a workout.

That said, there are some basic tips that help determine what types of songs might be better choices, including:

  • LENGTH OF SONG – Generally, it helps to use songs that are on the shorter side. While “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” by Iron Butterfly might be fodder for a truly unforgettable workout, this seventeen-minute epic might prove to get old several minutes in, especially if you’re asking your campers to hold a plank the entire time.
  • REPETITIVE WORDS – The through line to the examples you’ll see below are repeating words. Usually in this type of workout, there is a trigger word or phrase that is used to get everyone to do a certain exercise. So when looking for new potential songs to use, listen for words that are repeated, and make note of the frequency in which the words are repeated. If the word isn’t repeated for several minutes, think about what you’re having your campers do in the meantime. If you are having them hold a plank, can they reasonably hold for that long? If they are doing another exercise, will they get bored? And conversely, when the words are repeated quickly, can your campers keep up? Is there a way to modify if they can’t? In my experience, I have found that the best songs to use for this type of workout repeat a word with relative frequency throughout the song, while repeating more and more frequently toward the end. Even if the campers can’t fully keep up on the later side, they are often having so much fun and laughing so much that it doesn’t really matter.
  • KEEP IT SIMPLE – In my experience, I have found that limiting the exercises to two or three per song is the best way to ensure that campers are able hear the trigger words, know what to do, and be able to return to whatever exercise they need to do in between. As exciting as the idea of having your campers re-enact this Uptown Funk video, they may not be ready for exercise that borders on choreography. (Trust me: I tried it!)

With all that in mind, the following are some examples of some song-based workouts that can be great additions to your bootcamp:

BRING SALLY UP

Song: Flower
Artist: MOBY
Length: 3:30
Buzzword/Phrase: Bring Sally Up, Bring Sally Down

Bring Sally Up may very well be the king of all song-based workouts. It’s great because it pretty much tells you what to do. When you hear Bring Sally Up, do an upward movement, and when you hear Bring Sally Down, do a downward movement. Hold wherever you’re at in between.

More advanced campers can do a push-up every time they hear Bring Sally Down. You can also have them do up/down planks, coming down with every Bring Sally Down and returning to push-up position with every Bring Sally Up.

Squats can also be used for this, as it provides several opportunities for isometric squat holds.

ROXANNE

Song: Roxanne
Artist: The Police
Length: 3:15
Buzzword/phrase: Roxanne, Put On The Red Light

This classic starts off innocently enough, with each word/phrase repeated only periodically. But by the end of the song, the buzzwords/phrases are repeated often and right next to each other, making for a super entertaining mini-workout. And it’s short enough to allow for some intensity in the exercises. For this song, try having your campers hold a plank.

Every time they hear Roxanne, have them do a push-up. Every time they hear Put On The Red Light, they do a half burpee. By the end, they’ll pretty much be constantly going back and forth between push-ups and half burpees, and by the point they think they can’t take it anymore, it will mercifully be over!

GHOSTBUSTERS

Song: Ghostbusters
Artist: Ray Parker Jr.
Length: 4:01
Buzzword/phrase: Ghostbusters, I Ain’t ‘fraid of No Ghost”

“Bustin’ makes me feel good!” – and so do burpees! How have we made it this far without a single burpee? Let’s remedy that with Ghostbusters! Have your campers do alternating lunges, with a burpee at every Ghostbusters.

Switch things up with a reverse burpee at every I Ain’t ‘fraid of No Ghost, then return to lunges.

THUNDERSTRUCK

Song: Thunderstruck
Artist: AC/DC
Length: 4:54
Buzzword/phrase: Thunder, Thunderstruck

Want to burn out the legs in five minutes flat? Get Thunderstruck! Have your campers hold a squat. Every time they hear Thunder, they do a squat jump, and then return to the squat hold. With every Thunderstruck, have them do a short sprint and return to a squat hold at their mats.

Everyone’s legs will be completely thunderstruck by the end of the song!

AMERICA

Song: America
Artist: Neil Diamond
Length: 4:18
Buzzword/phrase: America, Today!

For our American friends, this song comes in handy around the 4th of July. A simple way to incorporate this song is to have campers alternate between two different exercises every time they hear America. For example, make this a killer core workout by moving between a superman hold and a banana/hollow rock hold at every America.

Kick up the intensity and simulate 4th of July fireworks with star jumps at every Today! that repeats with great frequency at the end of the song!

Here’s a playlist on Spotify of these songs.

Of course, these are just examples, and there really are no limits when it comes to song and exercise choices. Have your own variation of the above song-based workouts or another song we didn’t mention?

Share in the comments below!

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Comments

  1. Cheryl says

    I Get Around by the Beach Boys is a great one! I had them squat / stand up from a squat every time they heard “round” or “around” They were moving so fast it made it fun.

    Also, “Happy” by Pharell Williams. I had them in 2 groups opposite each other holding a wall squat. They sprinted to the opposite wall and back into squat every time they heard “happy.” Again, by the end they couldn’t even make it to the wall there were so many “happys.”

    • Robin Legat says

      I’ve done a version of Happy that involved group high-five jump squats. Hard not to be happy when you’re doing that. I love your idea! So much sprinting! I may try that this week.

  2. Sarah Elizabeth Starling says

    “Best of You” by Foo Fighters works perfectly for a music based drill! I have campers hold a plank the whole time then do a plank jack on ‘best’ & a push up on ‘you.’ Gets tough in the chorus. A thruster on ‘best’ and burpee on ‘you’ works too!

  3. Matt Boyles says

    Some great ones…
    Calvin Harris – Feel so close: Press-ups during the verses, then lying cycles/bicycle kicks in the chorus. There are 64 beats in each chorus, so campers can focus on the number and the music, knowing the end is in sight

    DJ Zinc – Only for tonight: perfectly split up into 8 sets of 64 beats. We do bridge raises on sets 1, 3, 5 & 7, and Mason twists on sets 2, 4, 6, & 8.

    Zedd ft. Foxes – Clarity: Lying front/back raises in the slow build up, you can add in a pause at the top to start, then make them quicker as the song builds up, then running on the spot high knees when the beat drops.

    Enjoy!

    • Robin Legat says

      Love the idea of using beat counts to keep campers engaged and hanging in there! I’m an old schooler at heart (as you probably noticed from my song choices), so it’s great to see some current song ideas here, too!

  4. Jo Cantle says

    I use Bruno Mars “Locked out of Heaven”
    For the first part it’s press-ups and every time they sing “Ooh” I have all the FitCampers shout out “ooh” too.
    When it goes into the pre-chorus “Cause your sex takes me to paradise” I have them do Mountain Climbers.
    Then as the chorus starts “Cause you make me feel like I’ve been locked out of heaven” – it’s pulsing sumo squat then we start again with press-ups for the verse, mountain climbers for the pre-chrous and pulsing sumo squat for chorus until
    “Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah” which is when we go into High Knees > pulsing Sumo squat for the slow chorus and then
    Jumping Jacks for “Oh, oh, oh, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah..”
    Pulsing sumo squat with press-ups to finish 🙂 Love it!

    • Robin Legat says

      I call my campers FitCampers, too! 🙂

      Love this! Can’t go wrong with Bruno Mars. This comment thread is giving me so many great ideas!

  5. Kjell Crowe says

    Jackson 5 “Shake your body down”
    Cue phrases: Let’s dance, lets shout and shake your body down to the ground.

    Let’s dance, lets shout=Burpee
    Shake your body down to the ground= 5-6 high knees

    The rest of the time boot campers/clients are constantly squatting. I love this one.

    • Robin Legat says

      Great one! Can’t go wrong with a Michael Jackson-related jam. Speaking of, I bet good things can be done with “Can You Feel It” by The Jacksons. They say that A LOT in that song! 🙂

  6. Todd Young says

    Tubthumper is great for burpees! Run in place until “I get knocked down” and during “Danny Boy” switch to jumping jacks or something like that.

    • Robin Legat says

      Can’t believe I haven’t thought of this one! Much like the Moby song, Tubthumper practically tells you what to do. This is a great one – thanks for posting!

  7. SKP says

    I did an entire class worth of these in Bootcamp yesterday. Needless to say, it was exhausting.

    Just a few more to add to the LIST

    “Push” by Matchbox Twenty
    “Sweetest Thing” by U2.

    If anyone wants a complete list and exercises, I’ve got a sample for ya!

  8. Lee says

    Five – Everybody Get Up
    Start in low plank
    Hold until “Everybody get up” move to press up position and do press ups on the 1,2,3,4 count, then return to plank on the “Everybody get down”.

    • Sarah Brown says

      Yes it looks like an old thread but I’ve just got on here and would love a copy of that list if anyone has it and doesn’t mind sending me a copy.. it would be greatly appreciated!!
      Sjce04@gmail.com

  12. Georgia says

    “Hey Mickey, You’re So Fine” with high knees and star jumps or squat jacks – think inner cheer leader! They think they’re dying until I call them out, and suddenly their knees can go higher again!