Put A Record On: A Country Workout Playlist
A workout playlist by an extra special guest!
This week we've got a playlist contributed by an extra special guest. Will Groff is a great writer on all things country and otherwise as well as a friend of the newsletter; originally from Albuquerque, he now lives in New York (Queens, famously). Read more of his work on his website here, and check out his latest piece on how all things country are increasingly trendy in NY for the Wall Street Journal!!
By Will Groff
Hieeeee! I’m gooped, gagged, thrilled and honored to be presenting Country Gains by DRTI.
A few disclaimers:
- I am NOT a cardio bunny and don’t regularly take HIIT classes (probably should?), so I’m not overly precious about BPM. For me, good workout music is less about tempo and more about whatever triggers the elusive, flow-like state known as “beast mode.”
- I love to push the boundaries of good taste, and what better place than a country workout playlist to throw all pretense out the window? There are several songs on here—particularly the dance mixes—that could be persuasively described as “not good” or even “cringey.” To that I say, idgaf and ijbol!
- It probably goes without saying, but so-called “pop-country” is welcome and even celebrated here. There are songs by Kelsea Ballerini, Tanner Adell and even Luke Bryan (where Natalie draws the line). Personally, I’d venture to say that there are great songs from every era of country radio; I have an entire playlist of nothing but synthy, schlocky, urban-cowboy stuff from the ‘80s. I also think (gasp) bro-country was kind of fun in hindsight?
- I cannot in good faith condone the politics of every artist on this playlist. I tried to avoid the worst offenders — no Aldean or Wallen here — but I also feel that occasionally streaming songs by artists whose views I don't share is inevitable and maybe even sort of fine in some cases? I don’t know. I just want people to have healthcare, honey!
More on that last point: 2025 was a tough year to be a country fan. Probably the low point was watching several artists I had pegged as “hopefully secretly woke” come out as Charlie Kirk sympathizers. One in particular posted some truly unhinged, Jesus-themed Kirkslop that is now seared into my brain.
As for 2026… yeah. Not exactly off to a hopeful start. I feel like most days the best we can do as individuals is try to find peace where we can (including at the gym!). Stay woke, but also blow up your TV and all that. Oh, and get those gains I guess?
