Age group, high school, college, masters, amateurs, professionals – all types of swimmers at one point or another have struggled once that early morning alarm blares the most annoying sound in the world to get your body out of bed and into the pool.
Some people wake up with a natural spring to their step (who ARE you people, anyway??), but for those of us that need any help we can get to activate our minds and bodies in the morning, a music psychologist has come up with the most ‘scientific’ wake-up playlist to assist in our early AM efforts.
During a study, David M. Greenberg, a music psychologist, along with Spotify, collected data on tracks containing 3 primary elements marking the criteria they say contribute to the song’s ability to get your blood pumping before the sun rises.
- Music that builds – songs that start gently, then build, help you wake up more gradually
- Positivity – once alert, you need positive motivating lyrics to keep that momentum going; steer clear of grumpy or gloomy attitudes including in your music
- Strong beats – according to the study, songs that emphasize 2 and 4 beats per measure (usually with bass and drums) with a BPM of 100-130 should do the trick to get that body of yours spunky and spry for practice
What songs fit the bill for waking up in the best predisposition possible in the morning? Take a look at the tracks below and add to your playlist as needed to get you alive and ready for practice tomorrow.
- Coldplay – Viva La Vida
- St. Lucia – Elevate
- Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – Downtown
- Bill Withers – Lovely Day
- Avicii – Wake Me Up
- Pentatonix – Can’t Sleep Love
- Demi Lovato – Confident
- Arcade Fire – Wake Up
- Hailee Steinfeld – Love Myself
- Sam Smith – Money On My Mind
- Esperanza Spalding – I Can’t Help It
- John Newman – Come and Get It
- Felix Jaehn – Ain’t Nobody (Loves Me Better)
- Mark Ronson – Feel Right
- Clean Bandit – Rather Be
- Katrina & The Waves – Walking on Sunshine
- Imagine Dragons – On Top of the World
- MisterWives – Reflections
- Carly Rae Jepsen – Warm Blood
- iLoveMemphis – Hit The Quan
Wake Up- AWOLNATION is perfect
AC/DC- Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution. Years ago it was features in a Nike add which showed athletes waking up and working out before dawn and the spot included swimmers. The song has been in my wake up rotation ever since. If you can find the spot on YouTube it’s a fun one to share with your swimmers
Every time we touch -Cascade
Thunderstruck – ACDC
Enter the Sandman – Metalica
If you are into 80’s Pop – Transformers The Movie (don’t knock it) or Rocky IV
Bawitdaba – kid rock
Or
Believe – Cher
Wake me up before you go-go… Wham
Top Gun Soundtrack… Kenny Loggins or Cheap Trick.
Joyride – Roxette
Really anything that doesn’t give a headache at 0500 and does not remind you its -25c outside.
Not Giving In – Rudimental