Diets in Review Blog » music

Do You Listen to Music While Running?

Carmen — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 06:00:31 +0000

Let me start off by saying that I am a novice runner. I’ve done a handful of races – mostly 5Ks and 8Ks, one 10K and one memorable half marathon. I’m a slow runner, one that is making her way back from a pretty severe injury – I tore my calf muscle almost in half in February and wore a boot for 14 weeks. So I’m laboriously working my way back up with intervals, that red-headed stepchild of running. One thing that helps me, keeps me going and pounding, pushing and struggling is my music.

I’ve always been a big fan of music anyway, so it stands to reason that I’d find it to be useful when exercising. I’ve got a particular playlist of music – it starts off slow, builds and then slows. It repeats twice and then finally it slows even further for walking.

There are some really great places to find running playlists for every level of runner – beginner, intermediate or advanced. I was really inspired to find complete audio or video workouts at both iTrain and PumpOne. These are great for going the extra distance. Also a new program – BeatScanner, found at BestWorkoutMusic. The free program searches your music library for upbeat tunes so you can create your own great exercise sets. I did this and it put together songs that I’d never considered, and yet, it all works together beautifully.

One more freebie – MotionTraxx has free (yes, FREE) 60 minute podcasts of music 140-160 beats per minute updated every two weeks.

Now you have NO excuse not to lace up your shoes and get outside!

(photo via Flickr user hernan.seoane)

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Do You Listen to Music While Running?

3 Ways to Stop the Gym Blues

Mike — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:30:50 +0000

We all use them – “I’m tired.” “I’m sore.” “I don’t have time.” – and the worst of all, “I deserve a break.” We all use excuses to not go to the gym, to not workout, and to not be healthy. But why? One reason may be that workouts can be boring, tedious, and down right dreadful. Well, from personal experience, workouts can be all of those things, but they don’t have to be.

When you start feeling the gym blues, it may be time to shake things up. Changing your workout routine has a few benefits.

First, a new routine will keep you entertained for a little while, and hopefully make your gym time a tad more exciting.
And secondly, but more importantly, when you change your routine, you keep you body guessing. You start hitting muscles from a different angle and force them to adapt and grow.
Changing your workout regimen from its normal daily grind can also help bust through the dreaded weight loss plateaus.

If changing your routine isn’t your thing, try listening to some music, or different music when you workout. My entire gym experience is based off of playlists on my MP3 player. And I seriously mean everything. Driving to the gym, warm-up runs, lifting, cool-down runs, long jogs, short runs, driving home, they all have a different set of songs. Try to find tunes that really get you going and into a workout. Studies have shown that listening to your own music preference while exercising increases productivity. So listening to something you enjoy will get you moving faster, burning more calories, and hopefully enjoying your exercise experience more.

If you hate music and change, try getting a workout buddy. Having someone to exercise with can help tremendously. Having someone to exercise with, to push you, to get you going, even when those excuses come creeping up, is a great, great, help.

So in a nutshell, when the workout woes start to set in, and you really just don’t want to exercise, try one of these three things. Change your workout, change your music, and find some friends.

If you have any other questions, tips, or areas you want covered, leave me a comment and I’ll do my best to get back to you.

Until next time, DIRnation.
- Mike Morelli

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3 Ways to Stop the Gym Blues

Top 5 Michael Jackson Workout Songs

Matt — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:53:21 +0000

The world was shocked nearly two weeks ago to learn of Michael Jackson’s passing. He was and will always be a legend and his music and dancing will live on forever. I live in L.A. and have heard hundreds of different stories that lead to his death; a couple of which are related to anorexia and exercising with his trainer, Lou Ferrigno, for six hours or more a day in preparation for his upcoming tour.

I was working at my penthouse gym in Beverly Hills the day he passed away and it seemed like the entire L.A. area shut down in disbelief. Word is that Michael had dropped to around 100 pounds, which is a sickly weight for a male, at the time of his death. (For his height of 5′ 10″ at 100 pounds, Michael’s BMI would have been about 14, dangerously underweight.) While the world mourns, Michael’s music is becoming more and more popular today.

I took a random survey asking people their favorite Michael Jackson song that gets them pumped up and the results are below. Feel free to leave a comment if you have another favorite workout song as well.

Top 5 Michael Jackson Workout Songs

[poll id="12"]

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Top 5 Michael Jackson Workout Songs

Music’s Health Benefits Sing a Happy Tune

Jason — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 06:00:44 +0000

Everyone should have a steady diet of fruits, vegetables, and music. That’s right, music is good for the soul, and the rest of your body. Authors of the latest study on music’s health benefits claim that the best type is opera, which may help particularly with stroke rehabilitation.

Researchers tested various combinations of music with silence on volunteers and found that songs that emphasized alternating between fast and slow tempos were most effective in improving circulation and heart health.

“We have seen enormous benefits in people who have had strokes or heart attacks. The power of music is just incredible,” says Diana Greenman, chief executive of Music in Hospitals, a UK-based charity that provides live music to hospital patients.

“I hear time and again of stroke patients who suddenly are able to move in time to the music after previously being paralyzed,” she adds

Greenman emphasized that music has to be tailored to the patients’ taste. No word on whether or not that could include hardcore or thrash metal. The examples given at the BBC website are all classical and opera, with Verdi’s Arias the most effective. It has musical phrases 10 seconds long, which appears to synchronize perfectly with the natural cardiovascular rhythm.

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Music’s Health Benefits Sing a Happy Tune

Please, Don’t Stop the Music

Brooke — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 13:00:01 +0000

Jason, Matt, and I have all blogged about the importance of music to our workouts. There has been a lot of research about the effect of music on mood and even matching tempo to heart rate. There also appears to be a magic number for volume; Spinal Tap had it right all along.

Dr. Neil Todd and his team has been cited extensively on their research regarding the sacculus, an organ in the inner ear that helps regulate balance. The sacculus is attached to the hypothalamus by the vestibular nerve. The hypothalamus is the part of the brain that helps regulate appetite, libido, temperature, anger, and fatigue. They report that this connection could explain the rush that many feel when their balance is effected through carnival rides, bungee jumping, or even swinging as a child.

They have found that the sacculus also appears to be stimulated by sounds above 90 decibels. A very similar physical and emotional rush can be experienced when we listen to music above 90 decibels. Todd has stated that “the distribution of frequencies that are typical in rock concerts and at dance clubs almost seem designed to stimulate the sacculus.” Rock and dance music are often the most commonly chosen playlists for exercise, and most people like to turn the volume up to drown out the rest of the world, likely putting you at or above the 90 decibel level.

Normal conversation is approximately 60 decibels, a dial tone is about 80 decibels, and street traffic while sitting in your car is approximately 80 decibels. Singing (you know you rock out in the car) can have the same effect on your sacculus. No wonder we love turning up our tunes and hearing ourselves sing while driving in traffic; it’s not just the acoustics of your vehicle. Large groups of people chanting or cheering can also have a similar effect, adding to the emotional tie to your favorite football team; isn’t it more fun to watch the big game at the stadium or a party?

Exercise alone provides a sense of euphoria, improves circadian rhythms, and improves mood. Music helps us prepare for exercise, makes it more enjoyable, and helps us extend our workouts. When listening to loud music, you may be regulating appetite, temperature, libido, fatigue, and mood through your hypothalamus. However, research states that continued exposure to noises above 85 decibels can cause hearing loss, so we are not suggesting that you turn up the tunes too far.

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Please, Don’t Stop the Music

Music That Makes You Move

Brandi — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 15:33:04 +0000

When I’m in the gym, I want music that makes me feel like I have no choice but to move. Sometimes to keep the workout interesting, I’ll run on the elliptical to the beat of the music- so for three or four minutes it might be really fast, and then the next song might slow me down a bit. I like Rhianna, Justin Timberlake and The Killers while I’m working out.

Recently, Andrew at GoHealthyGoFit published the music preferred by several fitness bloggers, including our resident trainer Matt Johnson. It’s worth checking out – you’ll learn a bit more about Matt, and maybe find some new tunes to get your heart rate going in the gym.

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Music That Makes You Move

Chill Out with Yoga Music

heather — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 16:09:50 +0000

Playing music while you do yoga greatly depends upon the kind of yoga you do. Generally speaking, the more traditional yoga practices like Ashtanga and Iyengar do not have music playing in class because the focus of the practice is to offer no other distractions, like music, to your breath and asanas (postures). But newer forms of yoga like power yoga or other hybrid-styles have soft yogic music playing in the background.

Whether you’re in a yoga class or just simply want to unwind and relax, yoga-inspired music is a calming alternative to your usual Sade or favorite piano concerto. Here is beautiful Yoga-Meditation Music that will leave you feeling calm and restored. And who couldn’t use a few moments of peace during this holiday season?

You can also buy a CD with your favorite yoga music to keep you calm in the car, or download from iTunes to take anywhere.

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Chill Out with Yoga Music

Music is Happiness

Jason — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:00:38 +0000

I could never imagine a world without music. And there’s good reason why…

A Swedish study has come to the conclusion that music makes us happy. Shocker, right? I’ve always said that a workout without music is just work (outdoor activities excluded).

Researchers in Sweden followed 32 college students and monitored their behavior with and without music. While music made the participants happy, when not listening to tunes, emotions such as anger, irritation, anxiety, and boredom prevailed.

“The study shows that emotional responses to music depend on complex interactions between the listener, the music, and the situation,” the authors write in their conclusion.

The study was published in Emotion, a journal of the American Psychological Association. Here are more details on how the Swedes came to their conclusions.

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Music is Happiness