Sometimes, walking can get a little boring. Particularly if you're walking every day as part of an ongoing exercise plan. However, music can help you focus, walk farther and put a spring back in your step. The easiest way to add music to your walking exercise is by using a personal stereo with earphones. Avoid any bulky units that could interfere with your walking or hamper your rhythm.
Weight Loss and Motivation
In 2005, researchers at Fairleigh Dickinson University found that listening to music while walking helped people lose weight. The female participants that listened to music lost twice as much weight as those who listened to nothing. The weight loss occurred over a 24-week program that included walking exercises. Music may help you stick to your exercise and fitness goals, including your diet targets. If you enjoy walking, you're more likely to keep doing it. That good feeling helps keep your motivation levels high in all aspects of your fitness program.
Type of Music
Some evidence suggests that the type of music you listen to while walking or exercising can affect your performance, according to Len Kravitz, Ph.D. at the University of New Mexico. For example, listening to slow or sleepy music can actually lower your muscular fitness potential. A steady rhythm might help you maintain a regular walking pace, while more upbeat music can help motivate you to keep going -- and can even increase your heart rate.
Distance
A 2002 study from researchers at Ohio State University suggests that listening to music while walking can increase the distance you're prepared to travel. In particular, the study showed that people with severe lung disease walked an average of four miles more when listening to music than those who didn't play music while walking. In total, walkers using music players walked 21 percent farther. Adding music to your exercise routine could help you push on the extra mile.
Rhythm and Flow
A 2008 report by researchers from the UK's Brunel University suggests that listening to music while exercising can help your motor skills and rhythm. Music can help bring you into a state of "flow" -- the feeling where your body and mind are working fluently together. This makes you feel more coordinated when walking and can improve your energy efficiency. Music can be a shortcut to reaching your peak in terms of walking rhythm.
References
- University of New Mexico: The Effects of Music on Exerise?; Len Kravitz, Ph.D.;
- Ohio State University Research News: Listening To Music While Working out Helps People With Sever Lung Disease Improve Their Fitness;
- Fairleigh Dickinson University: Walking To The Beat; 2005
- The Sport Journal: Music in Sport and Exercise : An Update on Research and Application; Costas Karageorghis and David-Lee Priest; 2008
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