In the past we have done articles on the influence of music rhythms and beats on your workout. There is research that is surfacing that it’s not just the beat and rhythm that make the difference it’s actually the volume of the music. MSNBC gives us the inside scoop on why this makes such a difference in our workout routines.
“It can help you get through your workout,”says McMordie. “From a personal standpoint, I can’t exercise without music,” she says. “I find it really boring.”
Music — whatever type gets your toes tapping — may help in a couple of ways, according to McMordie, who likes to blast heavy metal during her workouts. “Psychologically, music gets you pumped up and it also distracts you from what you’re doing,” she says. In other words, you don’t notice the pain so much. Music might also cause a surge of adrenaline that kicks things up, she says.
For the study, the participants could pick their favorite “pump-up” song. “I had everything from Madonna to Pink Floyd, Rihanna to Pantera,” says McMordie.
They listened to each volume level or no music while cycling as hard as they could for 30 seconds and while performing leg press repetitions and bench press repetitions.
With cycling, results showed, listening to music at all volume levels helped the women power through the test better than when they had no music. “Music seemed to help participants push through the psychological aspect of the test that is telling them that ‘it’s too hard’ or ‘just quit,’ as well as push a little extra through the pain caused by lactic acid build-up [in the muscles],”McMordie says.
But with strength-training
, the louder music had the greatest effect. Women could perform more repetitions before fatiguing when the music was louder than when it was softer or they weren’t listening to any music. With the leg press, for instance, the women did an average of 26 repetitions before becoming exhausted when they weren’t listening to music. They did an average of 29 reps with both the preferred and soft volume levels. But with louder music, the women could do an average of 36 reps (source).
Music seems to be a generational thing for people at the gym. The older generations seem to look past the benefit of music while working out, while the others won’t come to the gym without it! Forget listening to the music that’s blaring at the gym, it’s either not your favorite or its entirely too loud. If you aren’t taking advantage of distracting yourself while working out then its time you made your workout more enjoyable and more productive. Music can also brighten your day and uplift your mood.
Adria Ali
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