Musical Motivation: Exercise Tip

 

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IPod_Mini_with_headphones.jpg

    Musical motivation. This is not a new concept. Whenever I go to the gym, or exercise period, I ALWAYS bring my iPod along with me unless I'm working out with a trainer who is giving me instructions I need to listen to. Although I love how good I feel afterward, I am not a person who relishes the feeling DURING working out. My iPod, filled with techno, club music, rap and hip-hop playlists, is the perfect way to ignore the discomfort of sweating and of aching muscles. Today in the gym, I noticed about 95% of the people in there were plugged in to their iPods, MP3s, or whatever music playing device they had on their person.
     A song with a loud, consistent background beat gives your brain something to concentrate on, rather then focusing on, "oh, God, do my legs feel tired." The sound waves going into your brain distract it from the anti-exercise signals, and sometimes if it's a song you really like you'll feel a huge burst of energy while listening because your brain is rewarding you for distracting it.
     That is why music like rap, techno, and hip-hop are great while weight lifting, running, or anything like that. You can even time your reps and steps and breathing with the beat of the music!

     My suggestion to you. Make several playlists of fast paced, loud music specifically for working out. In each playlist, have a different number of songs, so one playlist can be used on a day when you work out for 30 minutes, another for a day when you work out for 45 minutes, and another when you work out for an hour, etc. That way, when the last song plays and your music shuts off, you'll realize your period of exercise went by in a flash because your brain was not devoting all of its attention to how hard whatever exercise you were doing was. It makes exercising go faster, become easier, and also just become a lot more enjoyable and fun.