How Music Helps Your Workout

There is nothing music can’t do. Whether it tells the story of your mood, puts you in a peaceful place, or inspires you, there is literally a song for every moment. Unsurprisingly, music is also a very affective workout tool for when you need a good sweat sesh. Like everything, there is even science behind the potency of listening to music while you workout so let’s dive in a little.

First, music is very useful in helping you to keep pace. Whether you are getting your cardio on or lifting weights, listening to music will help you find timing by creating a “rhythm response”. This simply means you synchronize your movements to the beat of whatever you are listening to. Want to get more technical? The best, most natural tempo to follow is between 120 and 140 beats per minute and you are in luck! Most popular dance and rock songs fall into this tempo, so it is hard to go wrong.

Music also can lift your mood and motivate you to work harder. This stands to reason if you think about it this way—have you noticed it is easier to attack your day when you are in a good mood? Music can create that feeling and set the stage for a good workout. Picking motivating songs has been shown to increase your workout endurance by 15 %. Sign us up.

You have probably noticed that music provides a good distraction for most things in your life without stopping your productivity. The same is true during workouts. It is much easier to power through the muscle fatigue and shortness of breath that often comes with exercise when you are too busy jamming out to your favorite songs.

Along the same lines, music can make you feel like you want to dance and groove which promotes a need to move. No, seriously, this is really a thing and it is pretty fun if we are being honest. Lets face it, workouts are more enjoyable when they don’t feel like work and if you are dancing, singing and jamming out to songs you like, chances are you aren’t noticing as much how hard you are working.

With that said, choose your playlist wisely. Make sure you are picking songs with tempos that match the kind of workouts you are wanting to accomplish. If you are doing a high intensity workout you are probably going to want faster songs, if you are going at a slower pace you may want to consider something a little milder with a good beat. It is also important to pick songs that have significant meaning to you. Maybe it is your favorite artist you’ve seen in concert, a song that takes you back to high school or even your favorite club anthem.