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7 Reasons You Should Listen To Music When You Work Out

⇢⇢⇢⇢ Best Workout Songs 2017

A recent study found that not just listening, but controlling and creating music in time to one's pace had an even more profound effect on perceived effort during a workout.

Listening to music when you hit the gym to improve your workout isn't exactly a new concept. But understanding how your favorite tunes enhance your exercise is a little less obvious.

Research consistently finds that listening to music distracts athletes from their "bodily awareness" (read: pain). And a recent study found that not just listening, but controlling and creating music in time to one's pace had an even more profound effect on perceived effort during a workout.

Here are seven very good reasons to rock out during your next gym session.

1. Music is the good kind of distraction.

While the study did suggest there's more to it than distraction, working out with music did make participants less aware of their exertion. Such a distraction canbenefit athletic performance by up to 15 percent, The Guardian reported. The faster the better, according to WebMD: Upbeat tunes have more information for our brains to process, which takes your mind off of that side stitch.

2. It ups your effort.

A 2010 study found that cyclists actually worked harder when listening to faster music as compared to music at a slower tempo. But too fast is no good, either. Songs between 120 and 140 beats per minute (bpm) have the maximum effect on moderate exercisers.

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3. Music puts you "in the zone".

Everyone has that go-to song that gets you "in the zone," and there's science to why it works. We associate certain songs with memories, often relating to the context in which we originally heard them, such as the first time you watched Rocky. Channeling that memory -- or even just the emotion of the singer -- boosts the motivational power of the song, and has been shown to improve physical performance.

4. A good beat can help you keep pace.

The rhythm of your workout music stimulates the motor area of the brain as to when to move, thereby aiding self-paced exercises such as running or weight-lifting. Clueing into these time signals helps us use our energy more efficiently, since keeping a steady pace is easier on our bodies than fluctuating throughout a sweat session.

5. Music can elevate your mood.

An August 2013 analysis found that people often listen to music as a way to change their mood and find self-awareness. Study participants said that listening to music allowed them to think about themselves, who they wanted to be and give them an escape from the present. No matter what happened an hour ago, you can use your tunes to help you escape negativity and power you through your workout -- and you know you'll feel great when it's over.

6. It makes you want to move.

You really can't stop the beat! Researchers found that when music possesses "high-groove" qualities, the brain gets excited and induces movement in the listener. Basically, your playlist has the ability to make you move -- no matter how much you're dreading that workout.

7. Listen to music already? Take it to the next level: Making music while you work has an important added benefit.

According to a study published earlier this month, the relationship between music and physical exertion may be more complicated than we initially thought. It isn't just listening to music that drowns out our pain and exhaustion, asserts lead researcher Tom Fritz. The process of creating and controlling music in time to one's exercise improves the experience even more.

Participants exercised on machines designed to alter the music they were listening to based on their movements, essentially allowing them to create their own soundtrack. Compared to exercisers who had no control over the music, those with "musical agency" reported feeling like they hadn't worked as hard.

We can't all work out on equipment that coordinates our movements with musical sounds, but we can harness the power of creating music when we exercise. The finding, said Fritz about his study may provide "a previously unacknowledged driving force for the development of music in humans: making music makes strenuous physical activities less exhausting."

⇢⇢⇢⇢ Best Workout Songs 2017

Does music improve your workouts? Let us know in the comments below!

The benefits of listening to music while you train

Ever since the first bulky Walkman hit the shops in the late seventies, people have been listening to music while they train. Thankfully iPod and MP3 players arrived making listing to music whilst training so much easier than carrying a portable tape deck around! But is listening to music while you train actually beneficial? Read on to find out...

Why listen to music when you are training?

You might choose to listen to music your training just because it’s the only opportunity in your day when you can listen to music of your choice. Alternatively, you may view it as your chance to switch off from all the sounds around you – particularly if you’re running in an noisy urban area or working out in a busy gym. Of course, if running outside, it pays to still be aware of your surroundings. Try running but keeping the volume low in the busy areas, or alternatively take one earphone out so you can still hear what's going on around you.

To improve performance

We all know that certain inspirational songs can help to motivate you while training. From hardcore trance to to full-on rock anthems, everyone has their own motivational music which helps give them an extra push just when they need it.

The benefits of music to running performance

There’s now almost universal agreement that if you play music with a quick tempo, then you’ll run harder when you’re training. Evidence from a study by Porcai and colleagues, which was presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Kansas backs this up. In the study in 2003, healthy volunteers were given music to listen to while they pedaled on gym bikes. The findings showed that the cyclists’ pedaling rate increased as the music tempo increased.

If that evidence isn't enough to convince you, then this fact might: the great Ethiopian, Haile Gebreselassie, is said to have set an indoor world record for the 2,000m in 1998 by synchronizing his stride rate to what he was listening to! We'd love to know what he was listening to.

Why do we choose certain types of music to train to?

Music downloads make it much easier to make personalized playlists which match our individual running requirements. Many of us choose tracks because we associate them with a memorable moment, or simply just because we love the music.

Tempo is also frequently a key factor in what music we choose – and much depends on the intensity of the exercise we’re doing. For example, when heading off on a long run or cycle, you don’t want the music to be too fast-paced at the start because this might make you go off too fast, causing you to burn out too soon. Your choice of music should instead match the pace at which you want to go at the various stages.

Somebody doing a quick cardiovascular session, of say 20 minutes on a treadmill, may want to go hard at it for the full session, and so they may want something with a fast tempo for the duration – whereas people doing a steady-paced activity such as lifting weights will want music with an equally steady tempo.

Music and your training goals

Music seems to provide a lift when people need it. Fast-paced music can instantly raise the heart rate and give you an energy boost just when you’re starting to flag. It can also help sustain your rhythm, when you can literally step in time with the music.

Whatever your training goals are, listening to music will almost certainly help rather than hinder your performance. What you listen to should be your choice as music that works for some may not work for you. If you've never tried training to music, why not give it a go and see how it impacts on your performance?

As a note of caution, don't get too reliant on running with music to see you through in a race, since many races are actively banning the use of iPods or equivalent on safety grounds.

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