Training with Tempo

I don’t know about you guys, but when training starts, I like music blasting in the background. I want to feel as though the music was made to be a soundtrack for my set. As corny as it sounds, loud music with a strong rhythm makes me feel like I’m on top of the world during training, so whenever I go to a gym that replays the same old top ten hits on repeat at quarter volume, I usually don’t have an excellent workout unless I pull out my own headphones. It could just be in my mind, and I might be lying to myself when I say that music gets me pumped, but according the American Council on Exercise, music really does help raise exercise intensity.

The American Council on Exercise offers three ways that music influences exercise:  1) It increases the tendency to step with the beat, 2) the desire to move versus remain still, 3) and it distracts from discomfort felt during exercise. There have been many studies that support the claim that exercise intensity can be driven by fast tempo, and think about it: we are a species that loves tempo. ACE uses the example of Roman rowers who had a drum beating in the background to not only synchronize everyone’s strokes, but to increase intensity as well.

So if you want to exercise with more intensity, think about getting a pair of headphones and jamming out to your favorite music. I’ve provided a short list of songs below that I really enjoy listening to during my warm-up to get me pumped. Enjoy!

The Blister Exists/Slipknot

I Wanna Be Sedated/ Ramones

Airplane Mode/ Flobots
 

Ugol Padeniya/ 2NRO8OT

Going Down in Flames/ 3 Doors Down

Nights Off/ Siriusmo

4 Minutes /Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake and Timbaland

Reptilia/ The Strokes

Savannah Steamer, Intern