Music Improves Exercise Endurance

By WLR Guest Writer, Cara Frost-Sharatt

If you enjoy working out to your favourite tunes then you will be pleased to hear that it could help you have a better workout.

Research conducted at Brunel University has confirmed that listening to music while you exercise could increase your endurance by up to 15%. Whilst many athletes routinely use music to enhance their workout this is the first time that research has actually proved its benefits. People often plug into their MP3 players while running or using the gym, whilst aerobics and other class instructors like to motivate people with a thumping bass line. Now it seems that this could supply more than simply an aid to timing and something to divert attention from the burn.

Particular Types of Music Good for Exercise Endurance

However, the research, which has been conducted by Dr Costas Karageorghis, found that only certain music genres aid the workout and some music is totally inappropriate. There is also a pretty defined speed that must be adhered to and tracks should ideally be between 120 and 140 beats per minute to maximise the results. Dr Karageoghis has spent years working on the relationship between music and exercise and his latest findings were put into practise on a grand scale in London recently. The ‘Run to the Beat’ London half marathon featured a number of music stations along the route, with tracks scientifically selected to help runners achieve their maximum potential.

WLR says . . .

Music can have such a powerful effect on your mood that it’s hardly surprising that it can help boost endurance levels during exercise. The fact that research now confirms this should be a real boost for both amateur and professional athletes, as they can push themselves that little bit further simply by playing the right soundtrack. It seems that music helps to increase the actual enjoyment of the exercise as well, making it more of a pleasure than a chore.

Workout to Music

Anyone who is using exercise as part of their weight loss programme will be particularly pleased by this news as it should give them that extra push when the going gets tough. As the winter months set in it, it could prove to be a real boost and should help encourage people to venture out for a run or a workout even when it’s cold and dark.

Music is used in bars and restaurants, as well as at weddings and parties to increase everyone’s enjoyment of the event, so why not use it to aid exercise? If better results can be achieved without increasing the amount of time you work out for, then it’s definitely time to pump up the volume.