Do you also like to wear earphones when you work out? I know a lot of people do. In this post, we will try and understand why people mix music with exercise.
Music and exercise: A match made in heaven?
When you watch athletes training on TV, there’s always some form of music playing in the background. When you see celebrities on social media bench pressing or treadmilling, there seem to be some rocking sounds blazing just below their voices.
Even when you attend simple yoga classes in your locality, you still find people wearing headphones or bringing earphones along.
It then makes me wonder: What’s really the correlation between this two? Is music supposed to be a coping mechanism for exercising or is there a rule that says working out has to be done in tandem with listening to music?
Truth be told, no rule enforces this. However, it is believed that music helps one get into the flow more easily, giving you that extra push to go for it fully.
To fully understand the correlation between the two, we will explore the impacts one has on the other.
Music and exercise: How one impacts the other
Music can be a form of exercise
As you already know, listening to music requires focus and attention. And to achieve those, the brain has to be put to work.
When we work out, we exercise various body parts, including the brain. Based on this, it’s clear that an attempt to focus on music is a way of exercising the brain.
Furthermore, certain music-related activities – e.g., guitar playing- can be categorized as outright exercises. For instance, you exercise both the brain and your fingers when you play the guitar.
You exercise the brain mentally – because of the required focus and attention – and you exercise the fingers physically. According to various reports, guitar playing can help burn around 140 calories an hour if play seated down and 200 calories an hour if you play standing up.
If you’re looking to burn fat or lose weight fast, you really should consider enrolling in guitar classes near me soon. You can check the Nicelocal.in site for more info on how to find guitar or music classes near you.
Music helps you exercise harder
As earlier mentioned, music can help someone get in the flow better. Say you’re just starting out on the treadmill, and you’re feeling a little sluggish. Putting your favorite music on or turning up the volume of a song playing in the background can spur you on.
Indeed, music can help one feel that extra pep in their step.
Look at another scenario. You’re in the gym working out. Then all of a sudden, your favorite music pops up on the stereo; chances are you’ll feel a sudden burst of energy. And this energy will push you to do more reps.
Music helps to reduce pain
It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been working out; pain will always be a part of the process. Hence the saying, “NO PAIN, NO GAIN.”
However, you can reduce your pain or at least distract yourself from feeling it by listening to music. It’s believed that music helps to take the mind off normal aches and pains.
So, instead of your brain nipping at you regarding the pain in your biceps, music will give it something else to focus on.
Music lifts your mood and boosts your happiness
Dopamine is a type of neurotransmitter responsible for how we feel pleasure. Serotonin is also a neurotransmitter, but it focuses on the mood.
Even on a regular day, the body responds to music by becoming happier, energetic, and in good spirits. These are the effects of serotonin and dopamine at work.
Now, when you listen to music while working out, your body gets an increased supply of these two neurotransmitters, thus propelling itself to go a little bit further.
Stress and anxiety reduction
It’s common knowledge that exercise causes the body to undergo stress. That’s just one of the few side effects of working out.
Thankfully, one can reduce work-out-induced stress by listening to music. When you listen to music, you give your brain another focus point during a strenuous stretch or a painful weight lift. So, rather than feeling stressed, you feel the relaxing benefits of the music in your ears instead.
Music can boost your immunity
According to various medical reports, stress inhibits the immune system’s ability to ward off antigens.
Another factor that can ruin one’s immunity is negative emotion – being in a bad mood. Studies have shown that positive emotions enhance the immune system, while negative emotions suppress it.
As we’ve earlier shown, music clearly impacts mood and the body’s ability to fight stress. Since it can help with those, it’s safe to say music plays a vital role in boosting one’s immune system.
Music turns you into a better runner
Your workout regimen isn’t complete without a round of runs and jogs – whether on a treadmill or in the streets.
If you want to run a little bit faster, sync your reps to an upbeat, blazing playlist, and you’ll be surprised at how jacked up you’ll be.
Music can be motivating
Listening to your favorite rapper say, ‘I just completed a hundred pushups in my yard’ can be all you need to get off your couch and hit the gym.
Indeed, music can make the difference between a great workout session and no workout at all.
If you’re feeling down or too weak to exercise, just plug in your earphones. You’ll be surprised where the energy will come from.
Music improves coordination
Hardly will you find a gym class or a fitness group workout without some music playing in the background.
For these groups, music is the best means of maintaining focus and achieving coordination. For instance, a group instructor could instruct his students to follow the beat counts in a song and use that as a focal point for their reps.
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