Best AC/DC Songs for Squat Day and Leg Workouts
UPLIFT IRON CLUBWhat Makes an AC/DC Song Good for Squat Day
Leg day is not one emotional state. The empty-bar warm-up, the first meaningful ramp set, the top set and the final round of accessories all ask for something slightly different. That is why simply pressing play on the loudest AC/DC songs is less useful than sequencing them around the work.
For squats, the best tracks combine a clear pulse with enough space to brace. A song can be aggressive without being frantic. In fact, a mid-tempo riff often works better under a heavy bar because it does not encourage you to rush the walkout, breath or descent. AC/DC are unusually good at this: Malcolm Young’s rhythm guitar and Phil Rudd’s famously economical drumming built a huge amount of the catalog around simple, repeatable grooves.
The ranking here is therefore not a list of AC/DC’s greatest songs in a historical sense. It is a leg-day test. Does the opening help you switch on? Does the groove survive a set of five? Is there enough payoff for a hard attempt without three minutes of dead space? And can the song still work when squats are finished and you are staring at hack squats, Romanian deadlifts or lunges?
One rule matters more than the playlist: music supports the program; it does not rewrite it. Keep your planned rest periods, use safeties and spotters when appropriate, and do not turn a technically demanding squat into a rushed rep because the chorus arrived. The best soundtrack makes good training feel more focused, not more reckless.
Warm-Up and Ramp Sets: Rock N Roll Train, T.N.T. and Highway to Hell
The first ten or fifteen minutes should build energy rather than spend it. “Rock N Roll Train” is a near-perfect opener because the groove is obvious, repetitive and upbeat without sounding like the final boss has already arrived. Use it while you move through bodyweight squats, hip and ankle prep, the empty bar and the first light ramp set.
“T.N.T.” works when the bar starts gaining plates. Its pulse is almost comically easy to follow, which makes it useful background music while you are still thinking about stance, depth and bar path. You should not need maximum psychological arousal for a weight you could comfortably triple on a bad day. The song keeps the room alive without turning a routine set into theater.
Then bring in “Highway to Hell.” The track has more swagger and a bigger chorus, but it is still controlled enough for a moderate ramp set. That makes it a good bridge between preparation and real work. If your top squat is scheduled at 180 kilograms, this is the territory where 120 or 140 starts feeling meaningful but should still move cleanly.
The advantage of saving the most explosive songs is psychological contrast. If every warm-up is performed to your favorite PR track at maximum volume, the cue becomes ordinary. Let the early playlist feel good rather than desperate. By the time the plates get serious, you want somewhere for the music to go.
Heavy Squats: Thunderstruck, Back in Black and Hells Bells
This is the part of the session where AC/DC earns the stereotype. “Thunderstruck” is the obvious top-set choice because its opening creates anticipation before the full band arrives. That build gives you time to tighten the belt, set your hands, take a final breath and approach the rack. AC/DC’s official site notes the song’s long-running impact, and it remains a staple of modern live sets for a reason: the opening is an instant event.
But “Back in Black” may actually be the better song for repeated heavy work. The riff is slower, heavier and less frantic. For a set of three to six controlled reps, that patience is useful. You can unrack, settle and brace without feeling as if the song is sprinting ahead of you. If “Thunderstruck” is the adrenaline button, “Back in Black” is the track for making a heavy weight feel deliberate.
“Hells Bells” belongs here for the opposite reason. The opening is almost absurdly patient, which makes it excellent before one set you care about. The bell creates a ritual window: sleeves, belt, chalk, visualise the first rep, then go. Once the riff arrives, the song has weight rather than speed.
For most lifters, pick one of these as the anchor instead of trying to time all three to consecutive sets. Keep the other two in reserve for later weeks. A pre-lift song works partly because it becomes associated with a specific routine. Rotation keeps that association from becoming wallpaper.
Volume Squats and Machines: Shoot to Thrill, Dirty Deeds and Let There Be Rock
After the top work, leg day changes. You are no longer trying to manufacture one perfect burst of aggression; you need enough rhythm to survive multiple hard sets. “Shoot to Thrill” is arguably AC/DC’s best pure working-set song because the groove stays muscular without relying on one giant chorus. Louder’s retrospective on Back in Black highlights exactly that quality: the track’s power sits inside its groove.
“Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” is less cinematic and that is a feature. It sits behind the work. Put it on for a back-off squat, hack squat or leg press set where the challenge is eight to twelve controlled reps rather than one dramatic attempt. You want the music to keep feeding the set without stealing attention from range of motion.
“Let There Be Rock” is the escalation option. The track becomes increasingly frantic, especially live, so save it for a hard machine set or the final back-off set when technical complexity is lower and effort is high. On a stable hack squat or leg press, a little more chaos can be useful because you are not balancing a loaded bar on your back.
This is also where playlist pacing should follow fatigue. If the previous squat set moved badly, take the recovery you planned even if the perfect riff is already playing. Start the next song again if you have to. Your quadriceps do not care that Angus Young has reached the solo.
Posterior Chain: If You Want Blood, Whole Lotta Rosie and Riff Raff
Once squats are done, the best music can get rougher. Romanian deadlifts, leg curls and hip-hinge work still demand technique, but the session no longer needs to revolve around a single squat ritual. “If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)” is ideal here. AC/DC have used it as a modern concert opener, and the song gets to its point quickly: raw guitar, forward motion and very little polite buildup.
“Whole Lotta Rosie” brings more swagger. It is especially good for Romanian deadlifts because the groove feels heavy without being rushed. The goal on an RDL is not to bounce through reps; it is to control the eccentric, keep the bar close and finish each rep with the hips rather than the lower back. A song with a strong, steady pulse fits that job better than pure speed.
“Riff Raff” is the choice when the posterior-chain block starts feeling like work. It has the scrappier Bon Scott-era energy that makes a fourth set feel less clinical. Pair it with leg curls, back extensions or another hinge variation after the main RDL work.
At this stage, the playlist can become more personal. If a deep cut reliably keeps you engaged, it has more training value than a famous single you keep skipping. The ranking is a starting point, not a rulebook. The best song is the one that helps you execute the planned work with consistent effort.
Finish Leg Day With Lunges, Extensions and a Proper AC/DC Encore
The final phase needs momentum more than menace. Walking lunges, leg extensions and calves are uncomfortable because fatigue has accumulated, not because the loads are necessarily maximal. “You Shook Me All Night Long” works here because the groove is clean and upbeat. It is not AC/DC’s heaviest song, but it is easy to live inside for a long accessory set.
Move to “Heatseeker” or “Shot in the Dark” when you want the pace to rise. Both are useful for shorter machine sets, supersets or a conditioning-style finisher because they reach a high energy level quickly. Then save “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)” for the last meaningful set. Its slow build is awkward in the middle of a fast workout but perfect as an encore when there is only one ugly task left.
A practical sequence could therefore be: “Rock N Roll Train” during general warm-up, “T.N.T.” and “Highway to Hell” through ramp sets, “Thunderstruck” for the top squat, “Back in Black” and “Shoot to Thrill” for heavy volume, “If You Want Blood” and “Whole Lotta Rosie” for posterior-chain work, then “You Shook Me All Night Long,” “Heatseeker” and “For Those About to Rock” to finish.
That sequence is more useful than simply ranking the band’s loudest songs because it respects how a real leg workout changes. Early on, you need rhythm. At the top set, you want anticipation and weight. During volume, you need a groove that survives multiple reps. Late in the session, you need enough fun to keep moving when your quads have already filed a formal complaint.
And yes, “Thunderstruck” still gets the headline slot. Just do not waste it while you are foam-rolling.
There is another reason not to front-load every anthem: lower-body training usually has the longest rest periods of the week. A heavy squat session can easily contain three to five minutes between difficult sets. If the playlist is built entirely from short peak-energy songs, half of the best moments happen while you are sitting on a bench checking the timer. A better approach is to let songs run independently and treat the opening of a favorite track as a bonus rather than a command to lift immediately.
For hypertrophy-focused leg days, the hierarchy can change again. A lifter doing hack squats, leg press, extensions, curls and lunges may care less about one cinematic top set and more about keeping the session moving. In that case, “Shoot to Thrill,” “Highway to Hell,” “T.N.T.” and “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” become more valuable because their grooves stay useful across longer sets. “Thunderstruck” can move later and become a finisher instead of the centerpiece.
Volume deserves some restraint too. If headphones are so loud that you cannot hear a spotter, a rack command or somebody approaching your platform, the soundtrack has stopped helping. AC/DC already cuts through at sensible volume. You do not need arena levels inside your skull to make a set of Bulgarian split squats feel unpleasant; the exercise has that covered.
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