Have you noticed people who workout (resistance or cardiovascular exercises) have either a portable music player or the workout environment itself has music? More than taking off boredom from stationary cardio exercises, there might be a significant effect on our workout results if we have music.
Although music does not reduce the perception of effort during high intensity work, it does improve the experience thereof: It makes hard training seem more like fun, by shaping how the mind interprets symptoms of fatigue. by The United States Sports Academy Journal
Music has a great effect to all of us, no matter what generation we are from. Songs may dictate/enhance our mood, distract us from our external environment or help us get into a state of mind where we can focus.
A study by the United States Sports Academy Journal called “Music in Sport and Exercise: Theory and Practice” said that although we cannot reduce our perception of effort during our workouts, it a little but significant way it helps us improve its experience. In other words, it can make hard work during workouts more tolerable than working out without music. It may also make it more fun, especially if we are doing cardiovascular exercises like treadmill or bike.
Song Genres and Tempo in Workouts
Trance or House songs may seem to affect me if I am doing High Intensity Interval workouts or high intensity body weight circuits. The upbeat helps improving tempo and keeping up the rhythm when the workout is really tiring. Hip-hop and rock may affect more the resistance training because it is a lot slower than trance, house or techno so the rhythm or the lifting is a lot slower too.
Alternative, love songs or any other kind of music is more for the steady state cardio for me. It can help me pass the time while maintaining a steady pace. It helps me think also or talk to people, a nice way to end the workout.
Variety Helps in Becoming Bored
Bringing variations to workout songs helps a lot because it doesn’t make me bored and the difference in tempo may also help in getting more results from the workout itself. If you have set yourself goals and want focus, other than changing your workouts often, you can change also your workout songs depending on your mood. Hope this helps!
