Music and Fitness
Music will enhance your workout in many
ways. Music helps to relax you, energize you, motivate you and regulate the
pace of your movement. Here are five exercise benefits of music and fitness:
- Mental Stimulation. One of the challenges of exercise for some people is that it can get boring. If exercise has become a chore for you, consider listening to music while you work out. It will keep your mind busy. Listening to music may seem like it demands nothing from your mind but, in reality, it does. When you listen to music, your brain is sorting through rhythms, timing, tones and the sequence of pitches and sounds in order to understand and appreciate the music. Listening to music actually stimulates the frontal lobe of your brain, which is generally involved in advanced thought processes. When you listen to music while exercising, you are giving your brain something to do.
- Increases Enjoyment. When you’re lost in the enjoyment of your favorite music while exercising, time goes by faster. If you’re just starting your day, the combination of music and exercise can energize you and lift your mood for the rest of the day. If you tend to exercise at the end of the day, listening to music while working out can help you to relax and unwind from a stressful or tiring day.
- Increases Exercise Intensity If your goal is to get a really good workout, choose faster tempo music. The body has a tendency to move in time with the rhythm of the music. You have probably noticed other people naturally tapping their feet to music without even realizing it themselves. When your goal is to push yourself to the next level, whether you are lifting weights, doing aerobics or running up a hill, listening to high energy, fast-paced music will increase your energy and help your muscles to move faster and to demonstrate more strength.
- Increases Motivation. One of the benefits of music is that it can be rejuvenating and energizing. If you don’t feel like exercising on some days, just turn on some music first. You may find yourself feeling more excited about moving around. Music is a great motivator. It creates excitement and may push you to get going with your workout.
- Assists
with Warm Up and Cool Down. Every workout
should start with a proper warm up. This is essential to get the blood
flowing, to stretch your muscles and to prevent injury. For warm up music
you may want choose pieces that start off with a slower tempo and build
slowly. For your cool down, select fitness music that is slower paced and
with less complicated rhythms. You want to give your body the signal that
the workout is coming to an end. Your heart rate needs to decrease
gradually. You can follow your cool down with classical music or an
instrumental piece of music that you find exhilarating and relaxing.
Image Source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1390010
Post a Comment