You probably don’t pay much attention to your headphones when exercising, right? When you realize the power they can have on your performance, they’ll be your best friends on gym trips. A pair of headphones will do you better than warming up sessions.
Listening to music improves exercise performance in multiple ways. You’ll feel less pain, let your stress go, and enjoy the moment. Here are eight benefits music can have on your daily exercises.
1. Music Will Act as a Motivation
Working out needs some motivation most of the time. Before it’s time to begin with your exercises, you start questioning your decision, especially if you’re exhausted for some reason. At moments like these, turn your favorite upbeat song on and raise the volume. You’ll get an instant boost of energy to get up.
This kickstart happens because the beats will reduce your feeling of fatigue and improve your mood. A song you’re familiar with can also have a positive effect on your cardiovascular system. It’ll boost your blood circulation, and thus give you a push.
2. Music Will Distract You
Sometimes, you’re in the middle of your exercise when you realize all the uncomfortable feelings rushing through your body at once. The sweat, the quick heartbeats, and the rapid breaths. Coming to that realization can put a dampen on your mood and urge you to take a break, which may affect the sequence of your training.
Letting the music jam in your ears while exercising will take your mind off any soreness you’re feeling, thereby increasing your pain threshold for the moment. I recommend Taylor Swift’s Ready for It? for an upbeat distraction.
As for the scientific explanation, the attention system in our brains aims at reducing activity from the areas that focus on negative aspects. Instead, it’ll improve the neural activity in other areas, which will let you focus on the positive side of the session.
3. Music Will Encourage You to Go Harder
One of the worst moments during exercising is when your captain shouts ‘Harder!’. Taking your movements up a notch can be painful, especially during cardio exercises. But it doesn’t have to be the same while you’re listening to music.
A 2017 study on sprint interval exercises showed that music can get you to enjoy your workout, which will push you to go harder when you need to. You’ll also be willing to repeat the exercise in the next sessions, looking forward to feeling the energy rush again.
The LETSCOM headphones are a nice option to consider for cardio exercises, thanks to their wireless design. The noise cancellation will also keep your focus on what you’re doing.
4. Music Will Make High-Intensity Interval Training Easier
High-intensity interval training is one of the hardest workouts to endure, although it doesn’t last long. The short bursts of all-out exercises will leave you out of breath. Literally!
Listening to music during HIIT will make it more endurable. Studies showed that people who went through the exercises while listening to music had favorable opinions about the workout. Princess of China by Coldplay and Rihanna is a perfect song to start with for HIIT.
5. Music Will Help You Maintain Your Pace
The biggest challenge during cardio exercises is maintaining your pace. A fluctuating rhythm will be hard on your body to handle, and it’ll eventually need a break. A study showed that listening to music will stimulate your brain’s motor coordination, which is the ability to move multiple body parts at once to achieve a specific move.
This will help you keep your pace intact in tough cardio exercises, such as intense sprinting. That way, you won’t break out of pace. You’ll feel the difference significantly after the exercise; it won’t have a toll on your body’s energy as it usually does.
This will need a pair of reliable headphones that deliver clear bass, such as the Under Armor Sport headphones. They’ll bring the music to life and help you match your moves.
6. Music Will Reduce Your Stress
Everyday stress can affect your mood before exercising. It can act as a distraction, which will affect your results. The best way to avoid this is to prepare while warming up.
Tuning in to the right songs while warming up can reduce your stress significantly. Also, doing it with a pair of comfortable headphones will make a huge difference. The ABLEGRID headphones have active noise cancellation that’ll let you focus on the relaxing rhythms.
7. Music Will Improve Your Coordination
When you’re listening to songs with repetitive beats or a constant rhythm, your brain will coordinate your moves accordingly. You’ll find yourself matching your moves with the beat, which will regulate your breath and raise the efficiency of your exercise. It’ll also make your session more fun, therefore encouraging you to repeat the process.
8. Music Will Help You Pass Boring Exercises
Some exercises are too monotonous for you to focus on. They’re usually associated with weight lifting. These exercises can break your focus and slow down your heart pace, which will eventually urge you to take a break or distract you.
Avoiding this is easy. Keeping upbeat music in your ears during these workouts will quicken your pulse and keep your breathing fast. Therefore, you won’t focus much on the monotony of what you’re doing. If the headphones are sweat-resistant, it’ll be a bonus because the buds won’t slip out. The Powerbeats wireless pair is a good option in this case.
Closing Thoughts
Now that you know how music can have a positive impact on your workout performance, I trust that you’re planning to buy a headphone or preparing a playlist for your next gym trip.
I recommend that you create two separate ones. One for the warm-up and one for the actual workout. That way, you won’t need to shuffle songs frequently.
We all love exercises, but they can be tiring. And a lot of times you have to convince yourself to get up and start. I hope I’ve made that easier for you!
