It seems that listening to some tunes can ease the pain of a workout. In a 2012 paper, Costas Karageorghis at Brunel University London even . Listening to tunes while you exercise can improve power, strength and endurance. But your choice of drug matters: achieving the runner’s high might be easiest when the music’s tempo matches your own.
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It turns out . When researchers secretly sped up or slowed down music that cyclists were listening to, they quickened or eased their pace accordingly. Choosing songs that match the rhythm at which we cycle or run can make exercise feel easier. A study of runners found that listening to either a metronome or music at a tempo that tallied with their typical stride rates than they could without music. While the metronome helped them maintain a consistent pace, the runners said music made the workout feel easier.
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Karageorghis and his team also asked volunteers to cycle at a set pace and listen to music that was either in or out of sync with their pedalling. When the music matched the tempo of their exercise, the cyclists .
To try this trick, count how many times one foot hits the ground or one pedal completes a rotation in a minute and double it to get your stride or pedalling rate. Then find a song with a similar number of beats per minute. (Try jog.fm to search for tracks organised by bpm or use the Spotify app, which matches songs to your tempo.) For example, if you run at around 160 strides a minute, Ready for It? by Taylor Swift might be just what you need to crush your next workout.
This article appeared in print under the headline “Does music make exercise easier?”
