Every morning when my fiance and I get up to go workout (4:30AM ouch!), we walk into a gym that is blaring some sort of techno, electronica or hip hop. Although I usually cringe at the music and quickly shove my headphones in to listen to my own version of motivational music, I know why they play that music. It’s upbeat, it’s lively, it’s what is needed to get us awake and moving at that early hour of the morning, if it were silent I’d probably sneak into the sauna and sleep. Think about it. You’d be hard pressed to find a gym or exercise class that doesn’t have some form of music happening in the background. Can you imagine putting your all into a silent spin class or salsa-ing in Zumba to no Enrique Iglesias or Shakira? Music = motivation and it helps to set the mood and fuel the workout.
In a study conducted by the Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences at Liverpool John Moores University they found that the beats per minute (bpm) of a song had a direct correlation to the performance of a cyclist on a stationary bike. The quicker the pace of the song, the faster they peddled and the slower the song the slower they peddled which resulted in the bikers heart rate dropping and a decrease in their overall performance. Not only is music important to your workout but the type of music you listen to is important. Now, I am not here to tell you to listen to a certain genre or musician but I can tell you that the agreed upon beats per minute of a song for a steady paced workout should be anywhere from 120 to 140. So how might you find out whether your favorite song is within that range? Check out this handy website that tells you the beats per minute of almost any song you are wondering about. When it comes to taking a stroll, stick to around 115-118 bpm. Power walking today? Go for 135-140 bpm. If you’re looking to run try to stick in the 140-160 range.
It really is remarkable what you are able to accomplish when you have a good soundtrack accompanying you. Perhaps you’ll find that some of your favorite songs are great for the type of workout you are wanting to accomplish or branch out and listen to some tunes that are outside your norm. I love asking my friends and family what some of their favorite upbeat songs are and giving them a try (although my fiance really digs heavy metal so that doesn’t work so well for me). I also like making a great playlist and not letting myself listen to any of the songs in it unless I am working out which is another great motivator to get me going. Now salsa/dougie/two step your way over to your tennis shoes and get movin’ and groovin’!