One Easy (and free) Way to Take Your Workout to the Next Level
“The key to long-term success is a willingness to disrupt your own comfort for the sake of continued growth” – Todd Henry
This workout video of T-Swift doesn’t only have us laughing but now I’m finally reassured we aren’t the only crazy ones taking drastic measures to get pumped up for our workouts.
If you “hate cardio”, can’t wake up…maybe soreness kicked in or you straight up aren’t feeling it today…thankfully many tools exist to launch us into a great mindset and enjoy a productive workout. You can have accountability of friends, family, and coaches, triggers, goals, races, etc…but our personal favorite…
Music
For over 100 years, starting when an American investigator found that cyclists pedaled faster when listening to some tunes, researchers have been discovering the power of music in leveraging our workouts, mood…and even diet ?!
We all have those days when the last things you want to do is that dreaded long run…but music can override our physiological feedback that we would otherwise be focusing on..as well as change our perception of effort.
Try to tell me it’s not easier to run 8 miles when you have Eminem bumping in your ear.
One of the leading experts on the psychology of exercise music wrote that one could think of music as “a type of legal performance-enhancing drug” and that it has the ability to “promote ergogenic and psychological benefits during high-intensity exercise”.
I guess Drake’s been reading up on the scientific journals as well…”[finding] his tempo like [he’s] DJ mustard” is really what got him here.
When healthy individuals performed sub maximal exercise, they not only worked harder with faster music but also enjoyed the music more when it was played at a faster tempo. This is suggested to be an evolutionary effect of our brain expecting that whenever there was music, there was movement.
Two other savvy uses of Music…
The singing/rapping/talking test:
How hard are you really working? Can you belt out Kelly Clarkson’s bone-shaking high notes or are you huffing-n-puffing trying to make it to the end of the HIT session? This is a great judge of our effort and a helpful tip for measuring relative intensity and keeping us in necessary workout efforts. If you’re doing a mod-int workout..I should expect you to be able to talk, maybe rap…but not sing. Vig-int? Anything more than a few words and you gotta step it up! (except we always encourage you to sing or dance at the end..(Go Elena!)
Music makes brussel sprouts taste good:
Okay well I actually like brussel sprouts..but for the picky eaters out there – this is game changing.
News fresh in the world of music research – the music you’re listening to could greatly influence your taste perception.
A recent study linked background music to the enjoyment of food and sweet taste perception.
What went down: Participants who were digging the music while eating something sweet (like chocolate ice cream) experienced a sweeter taste. BUT when they didn’t like music, that same chocolate ice cream was nasty and bitter. You don’t need scientist to confirm music elicits positive emotions..but they did…and they found it correlates with our perception of sweetness.
Put it to the test: Next time your forcing down the veggies or serving the kids dinner – crank up your fav jams… see if your experience enhances the sweetness of “blander” foods. So long dessert!
What makes you what to wake up and grind? How can we help you set in motion a course of action that will allow you to unleash your best and most enjoyable workout?