The other night I was having a casual conversation with some friends and we were discussing working out. One friend mentioned how it was extremely hard for him to run, and of course the first thing that was suggested to him was making sure he had great music for him to exercise to.
After listening to the pitch, he wasn’t sold. He much preferred the sounds of nature (we were discussing hiking), which I thought was an excellent point. Although in my mind I thought ‘Well, of course you don’t like running, because there is nothing to keep you motivated!’ Sure, scenery is great and nature can provide an array of ‘music’ but there is something to be said about matching your actions with a sonic experience.
Personally, I refuse to work out if I don’t have music. This is how crucial it is to me. I have spent countless hours curating songs and discovering new sounds to keep my heart rate pumping and the sweat pouring.
Regardless of the platform used, I couldn’t imagine getting ready, warming up or even really cooling down without having something to ‘hold my hand’ through the therapy session also known as working out.
The following day, I came across a study of how beneficial music can be and, while I have previously read different studies and opinions, this was serendipity. Instead of showcasing my passion by going into an in depth monologue of how important music is to people the night before, I chose to keep quiet and look what happened…the universe presented this article to really ‘show him the receipts..
This article may not make or break anyone’s opinion on how music can affect your work out but I found it a very interesting read and there are several theories of how music can affect your workout. Who knows, with music you may be able to push through another five minutes of exercise.
Check out The Circuit, Toned and Modern Workout to get a feel for the programs we use to keep the energy up. What are some of your favorite genres or artists to listen to while exercising? Here’s a Santigold track that always gets me going:
– Submitted by Tristan Bolden, Music Design