Go to any gym and you're likely to see people working out with headphones and earplugs. Most often, they're listening to music. Go jogging or walking at the park and you're likely to see the same thing. According to Steven Kurutz of the "New York Times," popular fitness magazines around the country routinely ask people what they like to listen to when they exercise. Tempo is one of the most important factors for individuals choosing music for their workouts, according to sports psychology professor Costas Karageorghis of the Brunel University in England.
Cardio
Fast-paced music with a tempo that mimics pace or heart beat is common for those engaging in cardio workouts on treadmills, elliptical trainers or steppers, according to Karageorghis. Taste and preference in music determines what style of music is chosen, though dance and rock music is a popular choice for high-intensity exercise routines. Music with a fast, hard tempo is effective in maintaining motivation and pace for cardio or aerobic workouts. Songs with a beat of approximately 120 to 140 beats per minute are suggested for cardio workouts.
Rhapsody offers a list of the most popular cardio and weightlifting routine workouts that you can download onto your iPod or MP3 player, many of them for free. Some of the best songs for cardio include Madonna's "Jump" and "Move This" by Technotronic.
Weightlifting
Not all weightlifters listen to acid or hard rock when lifting, but there's something about the intensity of such music that seems to help weightlifters and bodybuilders pump that iron. Hard rock gets the blood pumping; especially music with rich bass and beat overtones. Such songs can be slow or fast; what matters is the beat that you can feel deep in your bones.
Muscle Mass Magazine (also known as mm2) offers a selection of weightlifting tunes that help keep the beat and keep you moving during intense workouts, with choices such as AC/DC's "Thunderstruck," the bulk (no pun intended) of Rammstein's head-banging selections and, of course, Metallica's "Enter Sandman."
Walking
Walking exercise programs, whether it's power walking or intervals, require music that offers a variety of tempos. Many individuals subconsciously alter their pace when walking to the pace of the music they're listening to, so something that encourages a moderate 4 to 4.5 miles an hour, with about 115 to 135 beats per minute is ideal, according to Steven Kurutz of the "New York Times."
Fitness magazine performed a survey of favorite exercise tunes that suggests that music is an entirely personal choice, mixing ranges of pop, disco, rock and rap to motivate exercisers on an entirely individualized basis.
Workout Music Videos also offers a choice of walking music selections that you can select according to your walking speed in genres that range from The Beatles to jazz to 1940s big band selections and new age.
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