Written by Marcel Franek, personal trainer, Vital Fit Club
Most everyone knows that listening to music helps their workout, but not everyone knows why. Here are a few explanations as to why listening to music while exercising can be a beneficial habit:
- Music is the good kind of distraction. – A recent study indicated that there’s more to it than just the distraction aspect. Working out with music made participants less aware of their exertion. Upbeat tunes have more information for the brain to process, which can help to take your mind off the task at hand.
- It increases your effort. Another recent study showed that bicyclists worked harder when listening to faster music as opposed to music with a slower tempo. But, too fast is not good, either. Songs between 120 and 140 beats per minute have the maximum effect on listeners, according to the study. A good beat can help to keep pace. The rhythm of workout music stimulates the motor area of the brain, in essence, telling it when to move. This helps self-paced exercises such as running or weightlifting. Researchers found that when music processes “high grove” qualities, the brain gets excited and induces movement.
- Music puts people “in the zone.” Everyone has that go-to song or song they love that gets them “in the zone.” And this is the science to why it works: People associate certain songs with memories, often relating them to the context in which they originally heard them. Channeling that memory – or even just the emotion of the singer – helps to boost the motivational power of the song. This has been shown to improve physical performance, according to researchers.
- Music can elevate your mood. According to research, people often listen to music as a way to improve or boost their mood. And if a person’s mood is better, this will often improve the quality of a workout.