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Last week, The New York Times featured an article on work-out music. Author Steven Kurutz writes:
Studies have shown that listening to music during exercise can improve results, both in terms of being a motivator (people exercise longer and more vigorously to music) and as a distraction from negatives like fatigue.
But are certain songs more effective than others?
Generally speaking there is a science to choosing an effective exercise soundtrack, said Dr. Costas Karageorghis, an associate professor of sport psychology at Brunel University in England, who has studied the effects of music on physical performance for 20 years.
[…]
One of the most important elements, Dr. Karageorghis found, is a song’s tempo, which should be between 120 and 140 beats-per-minute, or B.P.M. That pace coincides with the range of most commercial dance music.
I’ve found that the right playlist can have a powerful motivational effect. Fun music with a strong beat can keep me exercising past the point I would normally quit. I’m a huge fan of familiar pop music that has been remixed for dancing. Some favorites of recent years include:
- Verve Remixed, a fabulous album of remixed jazz standards (Dinah Washington’s “Is You Is or Is You Ain’t My Baby” is fantastic)
- Motown Remixed, which features a great version of Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back”
- What is Hip?, which remixes 1970s soft-rock classics
- Superstars #1 Hits Remixed, remixing hits of 2004-2005
It’s even more fun — and more motivational — when I construct personalized workout mixes. One of my favorite playlists (lost in a painful iTunes crash) blended country (Miranda Lambert’s “Kerosene”), hip-hop (Black-Eyed Peas), Trance, Pop (lots of ABBA), and even classical (a remix of Barber’s “Adagio for Strings”).
The Oregon winter has reached its nadir, and soon the weather will begin to improve. We’re just a couple weeks away from the occasional clear, sunny day. I want to be outside exercising on those days, so I’m beginning to construct playlists for my iPod. A little digging revealed Tangerine, a $25 Macintosh app that will scan my iTunes library and determine the BPM (and beat intensity) of all my songs. This will help me build perfect workout playlists.
In the meantime, Kris and I continue to get our exercise indoors — sweating our lives away to Dance Dance Revolution!
[The New York Times: They’re playing my song. Time to work out. (via Lifehacker)]
Mac
9 responses so far ↓
1 J.D. // Jan 13, 2008 at 11:16 am
And that’s actually what I think is happening. It’s doubling or halving the actual BPM. I understand why this might be occurring, but it’s annoying. (Fortunately, there’s easy built-in functionality to double or halve the BPM coount, but it still takes work on the user’s part.)
2 KenLin // Jan 13, 2008 at 11:27 am
Let me recommend podrunner. The mixes are free, about 1 hour long, and the BPM is in the title.
http://www.djsteveboy.com/podrunner.html
oooh, looks like he’s going to start doing some interval mixes feb 1.
3 Asithi from Small Steps to Health // Jan 13, 2008 at 11:53 am
I second Podrunner. The fitMusic podcast is great too.
I find that Podcast, especially ones on personal finance, motivating when I am lifting weights. It is a subject I am interested in, but I rarely use my ipod except when I am working out, it keeps on that bench doing extra sets.
4 J.D. // Jan 13, 2008 at 11:59 am
5 Lazy Man and Money // Jan 13, 2008 at 11:10 pm
I have a mix of montage songs from Rocky movies. If Gonna Fly Now doesn’t get you going nothing will.
6 Brigid // Jan 14, 2008 at 7:25 am
I have one of those little iPod shuffles. It’s the cheapest iPod you can get. It still holds a massive amount of songs - enough for me to run two marathons without listening to the same song twice.
A lot of people and a few races I’ve run, HEAVILY discourage headphones because you aren’t as aware of your surroundings. Cars are quieter these days. So if you’re running, biking, walking, etc. outdoors, keep that in mind when you set your volume.
My favorite is Mr Blue Sky by ELO.
Cheers!
Brigid
7 Matthew // Jan 14, 2008 at 7:44 am
Based on the list of your favorites it sounds like you’d really like Bootie mashups. I strongly recommend the Best of Bootie 2006 collection as a good place to start. http://bootieusa.com/bestofbootie2006/
8 dingbat // Jan 14, 2008 at 10:19 am
As a resident of the upper midwest, where it’s reliably 25 degrees and snowing, let me suggest that it’s possible, and indeed enjoyable, to exercise outdoors given the right gear. I jog in cold-weather tights, an Under Armour Cold Gear shirt, a cotton knit hat, and gloves. It’s a little bit of an investment (or none at all if you luck out and borrow your friend’s gear while she’s pregnant), but totally worth it.
The other thing is that I remembered hating the feeling of that cold air getting down that deep in my lungs…but since I’ve started exercising regularly about a year ago, and quit smoking just over 6 months ago, I can’t tell whether I’m breathing 25-degree air or 60-degree air.
And lastly, the incrementalism is just sooo important. Last year I bought a treadmill, planning to use it only for walking and incline work. I tried running one day on a whim, and was ridiculously proud of myself to have run one mile, if one painful and slow mile. Now I do 4-5 miles per workout, with less pain than that first mile. It’s a matter of doing a little bit regularly, and adding on increments regularly even when you think you can’t–one day you wake up and you can’t remember not being able to run one mile.
9 Sean Berry // Jan 18, 2008 at 11:38 am
I just started a blog site that is all about indie music and jogging - basically stuff that works while running with an iPod and Nike+ sensor (and soon, I’ll be adding stuff that doesn’t work). You can find it at: http://theindiejogger.blogspot.com/
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