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Wellness

4 Ways Music Helps Your Workout

Want to improve your performance? It’s all about the beat.

Ready to burn calories, build lean muscles and have fun? Tune in and turn it up.

World-famous, Grammy-nominated DJ and producer Steve Aoki produced and created the music for the high-impact Strong by Zumba workout. His own workout playlist includes Skrillex and Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory album. “Sometimes it’s hard rock or punk music that’s really fast and fierce to get that kind of energy. And sometimes, if I’m going to do a run or something like that, and I want a certain tempo, then I listen to other kinds of music.”

Aoki and countless other fitness professionals know that music benefits your workout. Here’s how:

Energetic Music Speeds Up Your Cardio

Research published in Frontiers in Psychology suggests energetic music motivates you to move faster. That’s good news if you’d like to pick up your pace while training for a marathon or burn calories more quickly. One technique for speed training runners use, for example, is to match the speed of the song to timing goals. Songs that are 145 beats per minute (bpm) may be a pace for a warm-up, whereas a song that’s 155 bpm may be a good speed pace, equivalent to a 9:30 minute mile or 6.32 mph. To put it in context, Rock and Roll by Led Zeppelin is a racy 181 bpm.

For your cool-down and to help you recover from a tough workout, a study out of Brunel University in London supports the theory that “slow, sedative music can expedite the recovery process immediately after strenuous exercise,” in part by helping the heart rate return to resting levels and lowering cortisol levels.

Music Can Increase Endurance

Studies show listening to motivational music quickens your running time. Australian researchers found the kind of music didn’t matter as much as its beat and the ease of matching the movement to the tempo. “Music provided ergogenic, psychological and physiological benefits in a laboratory study, and its judicious use during triathlon training should be considered,” the study concluded.

Music Makes Your Workout Seem Easier

Listening to music can distract many people from pain (although more studies are needed to learn to what degree). Distraction is just one factor. There’s the power of synching your bpm to an ideal pace that makes for an easier workout, and music can also help your mood. “The music itself is essentially your emotions elevating you to get past your own wall and past your own limits,” says Aoki.

Find what inspires you. For example, music doesn’t just have a positive impact on cardio, it can make you feel stronger. According a British study, music reduces perceptions of effort by about 10%, especially at low-to-moderate intensities of exercise.

Music Improves Motor Coordination

Group fitness class without music would turn into experimental theater—interesting, but perhaps not as efficient. In a University of New Mexico study, researchers concluded that, “When an exercise program involves the coordination of motor skills, large or small, the concept of applying a rhythmic component to exercise sessions may aid clients in learning these skills.” Auditory rhythm is linked to stimulation, and a nice added bonus is that synchronization boosts self-confidence.

So pick up your pace, and shake it to the rhythm with fun self-assurance. Music is giving you and your fellow music lovers a big assist by helping you burn calories and literally moving you with its magical powers.

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