If you thought Christmas music was just for decorating the tree or awkward family car rides, think again. Apparently, it is also perfect for breaking a sweat.
A new study looked at holiday songs that actually work for workouts, and the results might surprise you, or at least make your gym playlist a lot more festive.
The research comes from a site called MyBodyTutor, which analyzed 500 Christmas and holiday songs on Spotify. The goal was simple, find tracks with the right tempo to keep you moving.
According to fitness experts, songs with 120 to 150 beats per minute are ideal for moderate to high intensity workouts like running, cardio circuits, and strength training. Faster songs help keep your pace up, while slower ones are better for cooldowns.
Topping the list is a song nobody is shocked to see, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” At 150 beats per minute, it hits the sweet spot for high energy workouts and officially earns its crown as the most fitness friendly Christmas song of all time. Love it or roll your eyes every time it comes on, Mariah might actually help you shave a few seconds off your mile.
Here is the full Top 10 Christmas songs to work out to, according to the study:
- “All I Want for Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey, 150 BPM
- “Feliz Navidad” by José Feliciano, 149 BPM
- “Jingle Bells” by Frank Sinatra, 148 BPM
- “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee, 146 BPM
- “Jingle Bells” by Michael Bublé, 143 BPM
- “Christmas Time Is Here” by August Burns Red, 143 BPM
- “The Christmas Song” by Nat King Cole, 141 BPM
- “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” by Bruce Springsteen, 141 BPM
- “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby, 138 BPM
- “Mistletoe” by Justin Bieber, 128 BPM
If you are doing high intensity interval training and really want to push it, the study points to Ariana Grande’s “Last Christmas,” which clocks in at a wild 206 beats per minute. That one is basically a sprint in song form. On the flip side, if you are winding down with stretching or yoga, Kelly Clarkson’s “Underneath the Tree” is a better fit at a calmer 95 BPM.
So yes, Christmas music can absolutely be workout music. And if Mariah Carey gets you through leg day, who are we to judge?