You all know that feeling when loud music training in cinema starts, your heart beats faster and you feel more focused in that moments.
What music can do for us in terms of boosting the effectiveness of training?
- New research has found that listening to high-tempo music during exercise can distract you and make your exercises look less challenging.
- Researchers found that those who listened to high-tempo music during exercise experienced the highest heart rate and also realized that exercise was less difficult for them.
- Previous research has also shown that music has a profound effect on the mind and body.
People come up with all sorts of creative excuses to get out of training: Maybe you’re too tired, can’t find motivation, or simply exercising is too uncomfortable, exhausting, or boring.
In addition, a recently published smaller study published adds to the growing body of research that music can have the power to divert your thoughts from that discomfort and help you get through the exercise.
Listening to high-tempo music during exercise can distract you and make the exercises look less challenging, which ultimately makes them even more influential, the study said.
If you want to go to the gym longer and harder, maybe it’s time to strengthen your playlist.
Faster songs improve people’s performance at training
To understand how music affects people’s exercises, the researchers evaluated 19 women who participated in endurance activities, such as walking, running, or cycling, and high-intensity exercises, and weightlifting.
The women practiced under four conditions: no music, with slow music, with a fairly high tempo, and extremely fast music with a high BPM (beats per minute).
The researchers measured women’s heartbeats during exercise and then asked them what they thought about exercising with different types of music.
They found that those who listened to high-tempo music experienced the highest heart rate and also realized that their training was less difficult.
These effects were most noticeable in those performing endurance exercises, such as walking or running, compared to those participating in high-intensity exercises.
The results show that the beneficial effects of music are more likely to be seen in endurance exercises.
Accordingly, music can be considered an important tool for stimulating people who engage in low-intensity physical exercise, the researchers said in the report.
Music motivates us
Getting started can be a daunting task for many.
Many people associate exercise with diet and weight loss, mostly in a bad way.
Instead of thinking about restricting food, you could enjoy all of its other benefits, including lowering blood pressure, improving sleep, improving digestion, reducing stress, and lowering blood sugar.
Previous research has also shown that music has a profound effect on the mind and body.
One study from 2017 found that music can increase how long people exercise.
Another study from 2019 showed that music makes us enjoy exercise, and a study from 2006 found that people who run on treadmills ran faster and farther while listening to fast, loud music.
There are several reasons why music can improve our training.
As this new research shows, people who have listened to music have also seen an increased heart rate, which can make exercise more effective and useful.
Heart rate is a great variable for measuring exercise intensity. The more effort you put in, the harder your heart works.
In addition, music improves our mood. It increases our level of serotonin (happiness hormone), which makes every experience feel better, even exercise.
Although high BPM has failed to distract from discomfort during weightlifting, people should not be discouraged from listening to music during weightlifting, because music can also improve your mood and allow for more enjoyable weightlifting training.
So, if you are afraid of your next training, compile a powerful playlist and let the music push you.
Bonus information: Play classical music or some music that calms you down at the end of your training.
In combination with deep breathing exercises, you can significantly reduce cortisol (stress hormone) and start active rest.
Find more topics here.
No comments