Good morning!
I was so excited when my alarm went off this morning because that meant that I could run today! :) After a quick check of how I was feeling I deemed that it was a run day. Yippee.
Before I left, I had half of a Glo Bar. This bar doesn’t even exist yet! It is a trial from several weeks ago that I popped in the freezer.
Yum.
After 15-20 minutes of digesting and reading, I was on the road. It was a cool and sunny morning. Perfect for running! I didn’t bring Dwight with me because I wanted my body to tell me how fast it wanted to go and not have any watch feedback. I find the best way to get back into exercise after several days off is to ease in slowly and let your body tell you what it feels up for.
I ended up running my 3 mile route and I felt pretty good, albeit a bit more ‘rusty’ than usual.
I was excited for my first Green Monster since before the Chicago trip. We haven’t had any spinach or kale in the house, but I picked some up last night when I got a huge craving for a GM.
In the mix…
In the GM = 1 cup Almond Milk, 1 tsp Raw Maca Powder, 1 scoop Amazing Grass Wheatgrass, 1/2 ripe banana, 3 cups organic spinach, 1 juicy nectarine, 2 pieces ice.
Mmmm it was silky and delicious! The nectarine was really nice in it too.
And of course loose leaf…
Does Music Make You Workout Harder?
This morning I read an interesting article on the NY Times website about music and exercise. Tara Parker-Pope writes, ‘It’s music’s dual ability to distract attention (a psychological effect) while simultaneously goosing the heart and the muscles (physiological impacts) that makes it so effective during everyday exercise.”
Personally, I have always been a huge fan of pumping the fast beats during exercise and I do believe that it helps me train harder and not give up. However, I will admit that sometimes music just doesn’t seem to be that effective and can even be annoying.
What I thought was most interesting was that research shows there are limits to the impact music has during exercise, most notably during intense exercise. Research suggests that when you exercise at an intense level music doesn’t really have much of an impact. In a recent review of the research in 2009, Karageorghis and Priest claim that music narrows attention and distracts the mind from fatigue during moderate exercise, however during intense exercise “perceptions of fatigue override the impact of music, because attentional processes are dominated by physiological feedback.” Despite music not having as great an impact during intense exercise, many participants still claimed that they enjoyed listening to the music regardless!
I can totally relate to this research because I find that music works great for me during training runs, but during all of my races, I found that the music didn’t have as much of an impact on my performance. At times I even found the music was annoying during a race, but during other times a certain song got me through a difficult mile. It really varies for me! Sometimes during a race I will turn my music off completely and just listen to my breath and focus on my stride, pace, and the course.
What about you, does music make you workout harder? Does it help your training? What about during for intense exercise?
Music always pumps me up no matter what the workout. I notice when I’m hiking I keep a better pace with Trance/techno music that keeps my beat for me. If the music works with you in keeping the beat or pace then it is helpful, if it is nothing but a filler to keep your mind off the exercise, then it’s not always productive. My favorite workout right now it Turbo-fire which has amazing music, plus the sound effects, it helps pump you up to hit it harder.
When I first started running, I NEEDED my ipod. I would even postpone a workout if I forgot it. Then, when I started running again after my knee injury was semi-sorted out, I ran without my ipod. I think it helps me stay more in tune with how my body feels. Music is a nice distractor and motivator when you need it, but I was surprised to find out how much I love running without it!
music definitely makes me workout harder, it kind of distracts me from what i am doing so that i just GO rather than thinking how tired i am and want to just give up
Speaking of music, do you have a good site that you download from other than iTunes?
I read that story too and am actually working on a blog post about it! I can’t imagine my workouts without music. I feel like it always keeps me motivated and when things get tough, I just listen to the music and kind of zone out.
I definitely think that music makes me work out harder. I find myself trying to keep up with the beat and use fast-paced songs for motivation, especially when I’m running. I don’t think I could even run without my ipod!
Music is an absolute must for my cardio sessions! I don’t think it makes me work out harder, but it definitely makes long runs more entertaining. I don’t think I could run for AS long without it, but I’m not sure it has a huge impact on my actual speed.
I don’t ever listen to music. When I first started running 4 years ago I got an iPod and almost always listened. Ever since training for my first 1/2 marathon with a partner, I quit that habit. I love the sound of my feet and breath, and even the sound of my creeky knees…music to me is a distraction and takes away from the organic experience of running. Certainly somedays I think I would benefit from the use of music, but for the most part, I would rather run with someone else even if we aren’t talking.
It’s funny, because before this year I would never want to run with music if it was outdoors (on a treadmill though, I would). I used to like the sound of nature and would be paranoid that some big commotion would occur as I was running, and wouldn’t hear it if I was listening to something else :|
A year after my last run, however, I decided that the reason why I was never motivated to go for a run, besides the anxiety that came from lack of energy as a result of my ED, was because I felt that I would get bored too easily. So I bought myself an iPod jogging band and a Garmin Forerunner 305, and within the next few days (weather-permitting!) I will be going for my first run.
I am extremely nervous as I have held myself back from doing it for so long, but I think listening to some upbeat music will help me overcome my fear (it’s a silly fear, I know, but this coming from a person who went from loving to run, to hating it). I guess I’m just afraid that I’ll dislike running again, and/or I’ll put too much pressure on myself :(
I guess I’ll find out how music works on me during my runs though, soon enough!! I really hope it’ll be a good first-run! :)
Interesting topic. Most of the time music pumps me up and keeps me going, but I have also felt that ‘annoying’ feeling during a race. So interesting. One thing that helps is keeping my iPod stocked with new tunes.
I must say I’m addicted to Green Monsters now and have one almost after every long workout! But yeah I need music to workout with. I feel that upbeat, fast paced songs really get me motivated and really into whatever workout I may be doing. Especially running and spinning! Music is a must for me in both these types of workouts. I’m running my first half marathon this upcoming Oct. and am still debating on whether I should or shouldn’t use my beloved mp3 player during the race. I’ve always been interested in seeing how I’d do without music during long runs, oh well we’ll just have to wait and see ! :)
I love music when I run. I don’t use it when I hit the trails or for any trail marathons for safety reasons and also because I love just focusing on the nature around me.
However, for flat (sometimes boring) road races…I love my music!
I’m the same way….on my moderate days of workout I LOVE music it definitely helps the time go by, but if its an intense workout I dont need any music whatsoever b/c I’m so focused on my training goal that music just becomes an annoyance and distraction.
I love to listen to music when I’m running, but I have found that sometimes it causes me to go too fast on long runs when I should be running slower than normal for my training. I try to put a lot of songs on that are a good tempo for my slower pace, and that works out well.
Hmmm… interesting article! I find that music allows me to keep going. I don’t know why but when I feel like giving up I put on a really fast track, pump up that volume, and bam I have my second wind. :)
I’m glad to see a few non-music folks. Running is meditation for me. I get to hear my body breathing and I like to focus on what that breath is doing for me – it’s helping my circulation, my focus, and keeping me strong. Also, I run with my dog and I want to make sure he’s breathing how he should, too :-)
I like music for outdoor runs when they’re intense runs. I find for my ‘relaxing’ runs, music can be annoying and distracting. I prefer to contemplate and let ideas flow in during those peaceful runs. For workouts in the gym, however, I always have my iPod with me. I work in a relatively small gym, and I find there’s a lot of gossip exchanged. My iPod keeps me focused on my workout, and less annoyed by the Gossips(tm) or the Braggarts(tm).
I absolutely need music when I run. I don’t run with anyone else so I need the distraction of music. I find if I don’t have it, I often focus too much on my running and make it harder on myself or find that it is easier to talk myself out of going that extra mile without music.
Music does help me, but my mind gets really focused on my body, which is both good and bad. I find a running partner helps much more than music! My awesome nephew went running with me today even though he hasn’t been running in months and it was cold+raining.
i usually train indoors (at the gym) and i find that music really helps me through my runs, moderate or intense, and makes me push harder.
but when i weight train i find that music sometimes distract me, especially on my intense workouts.
i also find that when my earphones are on (with or without music playing) i’m focued on my workout with no one to distract me (chating etc.)