Music and Fitness

Fitness routines can get monotonous. The same exercises, the same steps on the treadmill, it gets boring. What is something that can be done to make it a little more exciting and something you look forward to? The answer is music. We know music is often used in a yoga-type setting to calm the participants and aid in relaxation. But you can also arouse your body with the energy of sounds.

Most of us watch enough TV at home and some gyms play music in the background, which you may or may not enjoy. So instead, bring your own set of headphones to the gym or make use of that stereo at home. Create your own exercise mix to listen to. The music can be used to motivate and to cue you throughout the workout. Walking on the treadmill? Use songs to set and change your pace. You can create your CD so it has a slow song to warm up to, an up-tempo one for the actual workout and then another slow one for the cool down. Match the songs to the type of workout you want to participate in.

Recent research shows music, often used in healing, can actually affect brain wave patterns. It can definitely get one energized. Music can oftentimes put you in a more positive mood (often an outcome of exercise in general), which is also beneficial to your health. The more fast-paced the music is, the more adrenaline you might experience.

Vary the music with your workout. What you listen to while biking may be different than what you’ll need during your toning routine. Use the songs to customize the exercises. You can actually go as far as to coordinate the beats per minute in the song to your own heart’s BPM.

Music serves to take your mind off of the fact you are exercising. It’ll distract you from the stress of your day and let you enjoy some time just for yourself. Working out will become more pleasurable than simple monotonous movements. There is no one specific musical genre best combined with exercise; that clearly depends on your personal taste. Some great ideas, though, for something upbeat include salsa, country, big band, disco, or even funk. Pick songs you can sing along to, or that have a great rhythm. Most of all, bring some fun back into exercise. While the guy or girl next to you is sweating away on the machine, you can be belting out lyrics in your head, or out loud for that matter. Enjoy!

Comment: Same with children. Music is a mood maker or breaker. You should see children dance. It's remarkable.