Does music help you get through exercising?

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Nowadays whenever you see someone going for a run or in the gym working out they have headphones in and are listening to music. Have you ever wondered if music helped you get through a workout or made a workout seem easier? I have, that last two minutes in your run or last 30 seconds in your intense workout, the music just seems to help you push yourself a little longer!

An article from the New York Times talks about how music can help boost a high intensity workout. Another article that I found here talks about how music improves endurance during exercise. In the New York Times article they did a study with 20 healthy young adults. The experiment went as follows, “Using stationary bicycles, they completed four 30-second bouts of what the researchers call “all-out” pedaling, at the highest intensity that each volunteer could stand. Each 30-second bout was followed by four minutes of recovery time, during which the volunteers could pedal gently or climb off the bike and sit or walk about. Throughout the all-out intervals, meanwhile, the scientists tracked the volunteers’ pedaling power output and asked them how hard the exercise felt and whether they were having fun. Or not.” Then the scientists asked the volunteers about what their favorite songs were and made them an individualized playlist. The next time they came in to do the intense workout they listened to music and the time after that they didn’t listen to music. The study found that, “The volunteers all reported that the intervals had been hard. In fact, their feelings about the difficulty were almost identical, whether they had been listening to music or not. What is interesting is that their power output had been substantially greater when they were listening to music. They were pedaling much more ferociously than without music. But they did not find that effort to be more unpleasant. Without music, the workout struck them as about the equivalent of an eight or higher on a zero to 10 scale of disagreeableness (with 10 being unbearable). With music, each interval still felt like about an eight or higher to the riders, but they were working much harder during each 30-second spurt. The intensity increased but not the discomfort.”

So maybe music doesn’t really help you get through a workout but it does pump you up to work harder when you are working out. I know we all want to burn as much as we can while we’re pushing ourselves in the gym! So if you’re not already listening to music when you’re exercising try it out, and if you are then keep it up. That’s all folks.

 

Work Cited: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/22/how-music-can-boost-a-high-intensity-workout/?_php=true&_type=blogs&ref=health&_r=0

 

 

10 thoughts on “Does music help you get through exercising?

  1. Meghan Catherine Conklin

    It definitely helps me to listen to music as I work out. However, different types of music influence my workout differently so I wondered.. What type of music is best to listen to as you work out? Turns out, its not necessarily the type of music, but rather the beats, and also the memories each song brings to the person working out. The right type of music that makes you happy will increase your mood and help you to forget about the physical pain your body is going through.
    http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/psychology-workout-music/

  2. Joseph Daniel Girardi

    Everything I’ve read online and in magazines about weightlifting has said that music is a great energy booster and I agree completely. When I’m at the gym I often wait until the chorus of whatever song I’m listening to before I begin my set because I know it’ll help me push out the last couple reps. Music also is the only thing that makes running tolerable. So whenever I go to the gym and forget earbuds I feel almost lost. Here’s an article that you should check out:

    https://www.acefitness.org/certifiednewsarticle/805/

  3. Christopher Vecchio

    I enjoyed this post a lot. This topic is talked about a lot because music does influence a lot. I personally think music can help people get through workouts or your just listening to music you don’t realize how long you have been working out. Different types of music have different effects on you too. While working out you wouldn’t want to be listening to classical music. Music has a huge impact on heartbeat as well according to web MD. Here is the article which is really good http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/exercise-and-music.

  4. Megan E Butter

    I agree with this 100% my old soccer coach suggested that when we conditioned on our own we should listen to music because then our minds would be focused on something else besides the daunting task of running. I found an interesting article about listening to music while working out and it mentioned a half marathon in London where they played certain tracks along the route for the runners to keep their endurance since music distracts us from the actual running itself.
    http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/exercise/workouts/music-increase-exercise-endurance.htm

  5. Katerina Economikos

    Over the past few years I have become so accustomed to listening to music while working out. It is nearly impossible for me to run on a treadmill without my headphones in and the only time I take them out is when I am taking a break. From personal experience I have found that music motivates me to work harder. Also, I think the kind of music a person listens to can have a different effect on their exercise. For me, I cannot workout to music that isn’t upbeat and fast-paced. Slow music actually slows me down and makes me feel as though I am dragging my body through whatever workout I am doing. According to WebMD, a study was done to examine how listening to different music tempos affected exercise intensity and performance. The results showed that the volunteers’ speed increased on the machine they were working out on when listening to music with increased tempos. Music can also help working out because it distracts you from your heavy breathing and counting.

    http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/news/20031018/upbeat-music-exercise

  6. Heather Elise Wagner

    What an interesting article I also listen to music when I workout. I was doing some reading and discovered that different types of music styles can influence how well your workout is. So its not just a matter or either listing to music or not, genres can be either inspirational to continue working out or detrimental and cause you to stop or do poorly. The best type of workout music has fast and upbeat tones while the worst kind of music to workout to is slow-paced.

  7. Somil Patel

    I don’t know what it is about music, but when I am lifting, everything just seems easier with it on. I find that I have much more energy and can perform lifts that I otherwise could not. Part of it is that the music distracts me from the pain of the workout. It is also possible that the actual music can be motivational as well.

    Your post makes me question what other tasks music can affect. Can music make intellectual tasks such as studying easier, or does it only affect physical tasks? Also, does the type of music being played affect the level at which it improves a workout? I feel like I can push myself harder when I listen to a song with a loud bass, as opposed to a classical piano piece.

  8. Hayley Lynn Pontia

    It’s really cool to see that music does have a somewhat affect on people who work out. Although it’s not what I would predict, it’s still encouraging enough to get me to make sure I listen to music (not that I ever wouldn’t). I remember reading somewhere that when you are lifting, counting in a different language will also help you get through the workout. The distraction of counting is probably what helps, but I would be interested in seeing what other factors that contribute to the overall efficiency of a workout.

  9. ram5928

    I enjoyed reading your blog because I find it very hard to workout without music. I will still do it and work hard, but I find that I am much more motivated when I have music playing than when I do not. It is interesting that music does not decrease displeasure but that it makes people workout harder. Maybe this is because people match how hard they workout to the beats of songs. This only works though if the songs they are listening to are actually upbeat. Music keeps you going, blocks out your heavy breathing, and can make working out feel more fun compared to having no music. This article names some benefits of listening to music when working out. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/01/why-exercise-workout-music-playlist_n_4173931.html

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