As we navigate a new year, health and wellness remain a top priority. Staying healthy not only means improving your physical strength but also your mental wellbeing, especially as we continue to face extended periods of working from home and social distancing.
Other than the obvious physical rewards of exercise, experts also agree on the benefits of exercise for improved brain function and emotional wellbeing – boosting your mood and relieving stress.
Spotify recently chatted to popular local content creator Tshepang ‘Twiggy Molli’ Mollison and actress, author and ‘yogi’ Bonnie Mbuli around the benefits, for themselves, of setting up a daily exercise routine.
For Twiggy Molli as an avid traveller and foodie, exercise forms an essential part of her daily routine.
“My line of work requires that I always stay in shape, travelling and its adventures means that I need to be fit to take on long trips and adventurous activities to get the most out of what I do, and this motivates me to always maintain a healthy lifestyle. Working out is very therapeutic for me. I have such a busy schedule that it allows me to take my mind off it for a few hours a day and simply unwind.”
Twiggy enjoys working out to American rapper Megan Thee Stallion, “I love her music because it gives me the confidence to carry on when I feel like giving up. If I’m not listening to her, my go-to workout playlists are the ones like Beast Mode, a playlist made up of top hip hop tracks.”
For Bonnie, yoga is her passion and she is strict about practicing for 15 minutes every day. Bonnie’s daily routine also includes meditation, which helps her to get into focus before she starts her day and often inspires her to work out after that.
Bonnie adds, “Music is essential, I have compiled playlists that feature my favourite workout tracks, which I cannot go without. I love working out to hip hop and Afrobeats and I discover new music every week, compiled specifically to my tastes, by Spotify.”
Alongside yoga, Bonnie also enjoys boxing adding that “Yoga, and exercise overall, is great for my mental agility and it increases my serotonin levels. Of course, it tones my body, and it is great for long-term health.”
Spotify knows that the best workouts go together with a great playlist and has an extensive and varied audio catalogue to inspire you through your preferred workout.
See Twiggy and Bonnie’s top 5 workout picks below or browse ‘Workout’ on Spotify to find playlists that will revamp your exercise routine. From Gym Beats to Cardio, Hype to Hip Hop Yoga there is a playlist for everyone – keeping you motivated and ready to move!
Create your own Spotify workout playlist or collaborate with a gym buddy to create a collaborative playlist to kickstart your exercise routine. To get you started here are Twiggy’s top 5 workout track songs:
Areyeng – Costa Titch ft. Riky Rick & Maphorisa
Lemonade – Internet Money ft. Gunna, Don Toliver
Positions – Ariana Grande
If I Can’t – 50 Cent
Cocky AF – Meg Thee Stallion
And Bonnie’s workout essentials include:
Electricity (with Dua Lipa) – Diplo, Mark Ronson
Run Up (feat. PARTYNEXTDOOR) – Major Lazer, PARTYNEXTDOOR, Nicki Minaj
Loading (feat. Bad Boy Timz) – Olamide, Bad Boy Timz
Ima Boss (feat. Rick Ross) – Meek Mill, Rick Ross
POWER – Kanye West
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