17 Oct PUMP UP THE JAM!!

Some say music makes the world go round.  For me, music gets me through hours of exercise and training every week.  It can get me across the finish line of a 10 km run, other days it pushes me to lift more, to do one more push-up or the last 5 squats.

For me training and music go hand and hand. I don’t remember a single workout when I didn’t have my music pumping.

But look out because when I’m working out alone in my home gym I like to blast my music, the louder the better!! Sadly for my family, the garage isn’t soundproof and we don’t share the same tastes in the music department.  Although I have to say when it comes to workout music, depending on the day, or on the planned training, session my selections can vary from rap, heavy metal, 80s to top 40s and everything in between!!! In general my music tastes are all over the map. I really do like it all.

Music can get you in a good mood, motivate you, put you “in the zone” and just get you moving and grooving.

This guy may have been on to something with “Sweatin’ to the Oldies”!

When you think you can’t push yourself any further, a motivational song with a great beat can really pump you up and help you power through that last uphill treadmill run, sprint or rep with weights.

It can sometimes be a good kind of distraction because working out with music tends to make people less aware of their exertion.

Although if you are a serious athlete in training, you may want complete focus.

There is lots of scientific research and data on how much music affects people’s performance in a variety of physical activities with different intensities from walking to sprinting. Some of the most important qualities of workout music are tempo, or speed, the beats per minute (bpm) and what sports psychologists call rhythm response, which is basically how much a song makes you want to boogie-woogie. Most people automatically want  to synchronize their movements and expressions with music, to nod their heads, tap their toes or break out in dance (although most of us hold out on this one).Syncing beats per minute with an exercise pace increases your efficiency.
The type of music that brings out this instinct varies from person to person. In general, fast songs with strong beats are the most stimulating, so they fill many people’s workout playlists.

From personal experience I can tell you that singing out loud with earbuds on in the gym is usually frowned upon.

Or if you are going to sing along, make sure you are alone and not perhaps being watched by several colleagues in your office gym on a Saturday morning while running on the treadmill belting out “Gold Digger” by Jamie Foxx.

This may or may not have happened to me.

With different apps and smart phones today it’s amazing how easy it is to find the right music for the right activity. It’s literally at your finger tips.  I also love asking people what type of music they listen to when training, favorite playlists, genres or go-to songs.

So tell me, what do you listen to?

Great apps like Songza, provide all types of tunes.