Training to music

Why listen to music when training?
So, why should you listen to music while you’re training? Well, you might choose to listen to it during your training just because it’s the only opportunity in your day when you can listen to some of your favourite tunes – pretty much in the same way you would if you were going somewhere in the car. Alternatively, you may view it as your opportunity to let your mind get away from it all, including all the sounds around you – particularly if you’re running in an urban area or working out in a busy gym. Of course, if you’re running in the street, always be mindful of traffic! A good idea is to keep the volume low in the really busy spots, or alternatively take one earphone out so you can keep tabs on what’s happening around you.

For many people, listening to music while exercising is primarily done to aid their performance. For example, certain inspirational songs can help to motivate you while training, particularly on days where you are finding the going tough. From hardcore techno and R&B to indie tunes and full-on rock anthems, everyone has their own motivational music which helps give them an extra push just when they need it.

The benefits of listening to music
There’s now almost universal agreement that if you play music with a fast tempo, then you’ll work harder when you’re training. But if you are looking for evidence that there are benefits to exercising to music, then this is provided in a study by Porcai and colleagues, which was presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Kansas, in 2003. Healthy volunteers were given music to listen to while they worked out on stationary bicycles – and the findings afterwards gave clear indication that the cyclists’ pedalling speed increased as the music tempo increased.

If that evidence didn’t convince you, however, then this fact might: the great Ethiopian athlete, Haile Gebreselasie, is said to have set an indoor world record for the 2,000m in 1998 by synchronising his stride rate to what he was listening to!

Why do we choose certain types of music to train to?
Being able to download music has made it easier for all of us to come up with music that's highly personalised to us and matches our individual running requirements. Many of us choose tracks because we associate them with a happy moment such as a holiday or other pleasant occasion, or simply just because we love the music.

On the other hand, tempo is frequently a key factor in what music we choose – and much depends on the intensity of the exercise we’re doing. For example, if you’re going on a long run or cycle, you won’t want too fast-paced music at the start because then you’ll go off too fast and end up burning out. Your choice of music should instead match the pace at which you want to go at the various stages of your training. Somebody doing a quick cardiovascular session, such as running for 20 minutes, will probably want to go hard at it for the full session, and so they may want something with a fast tempo pretty much all the way through – whereas people doing a steady-paced activity such as lifting weights will want music with an equally steady tempo.

Music and your training goals
Music seems to instantly give people a lift when they need it. Fast-paced music can instantly raise the heart rate and give you an energy boost just when you’re starting to flag – and it can also help you to sustain your rhythm, when you can literally exercise in step with the music almost like a metronome. For example, if you enjoy running, you may find it more motivating to run to the exact tempo of you music.

Whatever your training goals are, listening to music will certainly help rather than hinder your performance. What you listen to should be your choice, of course, as music that works for some may not work for you, and vice versa. And even if you’ve never tried training to music, it might be worth giving it a go to see if it helps you reach – or even exceed – your training goals.