By Chay Westall
Everyone loves listening to music in the gym.
I’ve even arrived at the gym, realised I'd forgotten my earphones and then gone home to get them because the idea of completing an hour workout in silence is just too stressful.
Have you ever been on a long car journey? Maybe traveling away with a couple of friends that you haven’t seen in a while, have loads to catch each other up on and suddenly you have arrived at the hotel and everyone goes “wow, we’ve arrived already!”
Well, this is due to your perception of time. When you have something to distract you like a conversation with friends, or your favourite music, you perceive time to go faster which brings me to the first benefit of exercising with music...DISTRACTION! No one would turn down the ability to make a 5km run feel like it takes half the time.
Not only does music distract you, it also motivates you to work harder. Listening to a song like Eye of the Tiger to 'get pumped', you can’t help but picture yourself as Rocky doing one-arm press ups, climbing the “Rocky Steps”, and sprinting through the streets of Philly. Let music boost your performance, listen to the words of Eminem's “Lose Yourself” and you’ll smash that 5k row.
Finally, there are the physiological changes that music has on your body:
Reduces stress
Increases heart rate
Reduces blood pressure
Reduces feelings of fatigue
These changes all speak for themselves. So listen to music! Let it improve your mood and your performance...you won’t regret it!