Workout music can help you survive a tough cardio workout. Costas Karageorghis, a sport and exercise psychologist at Brunel University in England, notes that music can distract and relax you during challenging exercise and therefore reduce your feelings of fatigue. Karageorghis suggests that music can even improve your coordination. To get the maximum benefits from music during your workout, select an appropriate soundtrack.
Types
Karageorghis recommends listening to stimulating rather than sedate music during exercise. Look for music with a tempo of about 120 to 140 beats per minute. Most popular dance, techno or rock music fits this description. Kate Gfeller, a music professor at the University of Iowa, suggests listening to music with a consistent beat. Avoid music with many abrupt changes in beat, key signature or intensity, such as jazz, punk or indie rock.
Function
Music with a tempo of about 120 to 140 beats per minute corresponds with the average person's heart rate during an aerobic workout, according to a 2008 New York Times article by Steven Kurutz. When you listen to music with a tempo that matches your heart rate or the tempo of your strides or steps during a workout, you can more easily stay motivated to maintain a strenuous pace.
Features
When creating a playlist or mix CD for a workout maintain a constant beat by avoiding pauses between songs. Even a brief pause between tracks can break your momentum. Gfeller and Karageorghis also suggest that you can remain motivated and interested in your workout by varying the music. Though each track should have a steady, energizing tempo, you can create a mix that alternates between tracks with slightly different tempos. For example, alternate between tracks with high and moderate intensity tempos to correspond with an interval workout of sprinting and jogging.
Considerations
Listen to familiar, long-time favorite tracks during your workout. Familiar tracks will provide stronger psychological motivation than unfamiliar ones, according to Karageorghis. Songs with positive, uplifting lyrics provide the best motivation during exercise. Look for songs that have lyrics associated with movement, dancing, sports or triumphing over difficulties.
Warning
Karageorghis recommends listening to music loud enough so that you can hear it over any background noise at the gym. If you are jogging outdoors on roads, however, do not wear headphones, because they can dramatically reduce your ability to hear traffic or hazards.
Benefits
When you use music to motivate yourself to achieve better workouts, you might find it easier to meet the minimum weekly exercise totals recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC recommends that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise or 75 minutes of intense aerobic exercise each week.
References
- IDEA Health & Fitness Association: The Beat Goes On—The Effects of Music on Exercise
- Dr. Len Kravitz: Music and Exercise
- The Sport Journal: Music in Sport and Exercise—An Update on Research and Application
- Fitness Venus: Can Music Aid Exercise Performance?
- New York Times: Choosing the Best Music for Exercise
Member Comments
mheutinck January 12
Lets get a discussion going. I need to buy some new music.
My all time favorite album: Zebrahead, MFZB