Move To The Beat

Using music to motivate...

 We all listen to music, whether it be on the radio in the car at home or more importantly in the gym.

For many of us, music is essential for a strong workout. It's not just about elevating our mood or keeping us in rhythm, though.

Studies have shown;

Music affects our bodies and minds in multiple ways:

Music distracts people from pain and fatigue, elevates mood, increases endurance, reduces perceived effort and may even promote metabolic efficiency. When listening to music, people run farther, bike longer and swim faster than usual-often without realizing it. In a 2012 review of the research, Costas Karageorghis of Brunel University in London, one of the world's leading experts on the psychology of exercise music, wrote that one could think of music as "a type of legal performance-enhancing drug."

Selecting the most effective workout music is not as simple as queuing up a series of fast, high-energy songs. One should also consider the memories, emotions and associations that different songs evoke. For some people, the extent to which they identify with the singer's emotional state and viewpoint determines how motivated they feel.

In recent years some researchers and companies have experimented with new ways to motivate exercisers through their ears, such as a smartphone app that guides the listener's escape from zombies in a postapocalyptic world and a device that selects songs based on a runner's heart rate.

How do we use this to create a great workout playlist?

Not surprisingly you are going to want some fast paced music, this will increase your heart rate and can sometimes increase your performance by almost 2.5%.

The best exercise music should be between 120-140bpm (beats per minute).
 
Work out the bpm of your chosen songs here.

A good way to test your playlist is to workout without music then repeat the workout to see your improvement, then adjust your playlist accordingly.

Although make sure that you choose music that you like otherwise it may have the opposite effect.

Comment on here to share your favorite workout tracks and playlists.
Remember to follow on Twitter also as I be using #MusicMonday to share some of my favorites.

Sam.
FitandFull.
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