Disco Workout

Hey, we all want to look good, but the ultimate goal of exercise has got to be fitness — which only makes the Bee Gees' live-strong disco landmark, "Stayin' Alive," all the more perfect for your workout soundtrack. Disco was made to keep you movin', with the kind of heart-thumpin' beats and seductive heat that spur you on to sheer physical euphoria whether you're workin' the elliptical to Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" or practicing your martial-arts moves to the '70s sounds of Carl Douglas' fierce "Kung Fu Fighting." Your reward for sticking to it? The loose, hip-deep groove of Hot Chocolate's "You Sexy Thing." Feels good, right? Well, keep it up in Next Steps . . .

Sure, Olivia Newton John's leg-warmer super-smash "Physical" is a no-brainer when it comes to a disco-drenched workout, but we've got much more musical inspiration where that came from. Take muscular matters into your own hands with People's Choice's invitation-to-exhalation "Do It Anyway You Wanna" when you really need to pour it on, or the super-funky workout weapon "Machine Gun" from the Commodores. The Village People come on strong for their ode to the cut male physique, "Macho Man," while the Bee Gees advocate a fancy-footwork approach to head-to-toe fitness with "You Should Be Dancing." We know you can! Dig deep and give it one more rep in Deep Cuts.

Fire up Marvin Gaye's all-you-got chart-topper "Got to Give It Up, Pt. 1" and your workout might as well be a Saturday-night party; but if it's feeling more like a Monday-morning meeting, you need our Deep Cuts disco cheerleaders, bouncing in from dance floors of yore with commands that are strong, sweet, and straight-to-the-fitness-point. We're talkin' Kleeer's feel-the-burn mantra "Keep Your Body Workin'" and the Latin-spiced heat of Taana Gardner's "Work That Body"; the horns and handclaps of A Taste of Honey's "Do It Good," and Al Hudson & The Partners' motivational freaker "You Can Do It."

Just for the record, the answer is yes, we do count that funny, spell-it-out dance to Village People's "Y.M.C.A." as exercise. Hey, the point is to get movin' and feel good, right? Well, there ain't much that's gonna help you do that better than disco, and there aren't many playlists that are gonna help you have as much fun keeping to the workout straight-and-narrow as Disco Workout Essentials. Our carefully selected mirror-ball motivators are designed with the groove in mind, from Gloria Gaynor's no-guts-no-glory anthem "I Will Survive" to Peaches & Herb's "show 'em how to do it" command, "Shake Your Groove Thing." Just try to sit still for Rose Royce's "Car Wash," and while you're at it, hitch on to the relentless beats of Michael Jackson's "Workin' Day and Night" and marvel at how time on the treadmill simply seems to fly right by.