Is loud music the secret to a better workout
Are you looking for a way to get a better workout?
Maybe you step into the gym only to not really feel like doing anything so you end up half heartedly walking on the treadmill? Or maybe you have just started your run and already your excited about the prospect of finishing and cut it short? What you were suffering with is an exercise slump, a brief or sometimes long period of time where you just really can’t be bothered.
When fitness instructor Shirley Archer plays Annie Lennox’s song “17 Again” for her indoor cycling class, she urges students to connect with the vitality of their inner 17-year-old legs.
When she teaches yoga she rolls out the harp solos.
Experts say exercising to the proper music can boost your mood, kick your workout up a notch and channel the energy of a younger you.
Music could make your workout better by helping you last longer and enjoy it more.
You just have to know what types of tunes to put on your playlist.
Music as Motivation
Music can motivate you to work longer and harder, says David-Lee Priest, PhD, a psychologist and researcher at University of East Anglia, Norwich, England.
Music increase exercise endurance
Research conducted at Brunel University has confirmed that listening to music while you exercise could increase your endurance by up to 15%. Whilst many athletes routinely use music to enhance their workout this is the first time that research has actually proved its benefits. People often plug into their MP3 players while running or using the gym, whilst aerobics and other class instructors like to motivate people with a thumping bass line. Now it seems that this could supply more than simply an aid to timing and something to divert attention from the burn.
The interplay of exercise and music have been long-discussed, crossing the disciplines of biomechanics, neurology, physiology and sport psychology. People “automatically feel the beat” of the music they listen to and instinctively adjust their walking pace and heart rate to the tempo of the music[citation needed] . Listening to music while exercising has been found in multiple studies to create an increased sense of motivation, distracting the mind while increasing heart rate. Faster tempo music has been found by researchers to motivate exercisers to work harder when performing at a moderate pace, but peak performance has been found to be unaffected by listening to music.
“I dare them to find the iPod on me,” Richie Sais told the New York Times in 2007, when he was preparing to run the Marine Corps Marathon. USA Track & Field, the national governing body for distance racing, had just decided to ban athletes from using portable music players in order “to ensure safety and to prevent runners from having a competitive edge.” Rais resolved to hide his iPod shuffle under his shirt. Many fellow runners protested the new rule, which remains in effect today in an amended form: It now applies only to people vying for awards and money.
