Does music make or break a workout? Until recently, I would have said "make" without hesitation. But with the rise of mindfulness, I began to wonder: was zoning out or hyping up to my favourite tunes really the most sensible way to train, even if it did enhance my enjoyment? Perhaps my headphones took me away from my body and environment when I should be tuning in to them?
The fitness industry is divided. "It’s very hard to listen to music without becoming distracted and repeating exercises too fast and poorly, instead of doing everything correctly, keeping excellent form," says Dalton Wong, a personal trainer at Twenty Two Training.
When it comes to demanding resistance exercises, I would have to agree, but there are times, when running or cycling, when a heavy beat or guitar solo can make all the difference. Alice Rickard, a high-intensity exercise instructor at 1Rebel studios in central London, agrees. "I’ve known people to hit personal bests on sprint times [that they never dreamt of] by using music," she says, adding that the tunes she picks for her classes are crucial. Rickard likes Waiting all Night by Rudimental and Gold Dust by DJ Fresh.
Costas Karageorghis, a psychology researcher at Brunel University, says: "When you are exercising at low to moderate intensity, music can reduce your idea of how hard you have to work." It could, therefore, make you try harder and perform better.
"Hearing music you associate with peak performance will fire areas of the brain that deal with your long-term memory. It can inspire you and help you shift up a gear," he says.
How much can music help you improve your performance? Dr Karageorghis says that when you are putting in so much effort that you can no longer hold a conversation and your heart rate is high, music can’t make exercise easier. However, until this point, it can influence how you feel, reducing pain and motivating you to continue.
Music can help you recover faster from workouts, too, both physically and mentally, he says.
Dr Karageorghis recommends music with a simple harmonic and melodic structure, and a tempo that reduces from about 90 beats per minute to 60bpm, such as Enya’s Orinoco Flow (Sail Away) or Ed Sheeran’s Thinking Out Loud. This sort of music will help reduce your heart rate and relax you so that your body can begin healing.
Sometimes, however, it is better to take off your headphones when you are exercising.
During intense training sessions, your ears actually become more sensitive. Dr Karageorghis says: "During high-intensity interval training, the blood flow to the shell-like part of the inner ear is reduced, which leaves the follicles that pick up the sound more susceptible to damage from the sound."
If you must listen to music, he recommends limiting the volume so that you can hear someone chatting on a nearby treadmill.
Dr Karageorghis suggests that one in three exercise sessions should be done without music – but not just to protect your hearing. It is all too easy, he says, to dissolve into your own world when you listen to a track and become so immersed that you accidentally trip over a dumbbell or overstretch your hamstring.
Focusing on breathing (exhaling on the difficult part of a movement), visualising your muscles working and accepting wherever your body is that day – rather than trying to change it by listening to upbeat tunes – can help you remain injury-free, too.
Five tips for getting on track
- Use music to help get you in the right frame of mind before you exercise. Turning up with the right attitude is half the battle. Pick a track that will motivate you.
- The tracks you choose should mean something to you. If you will be doing a tough interval session, select ones that you’ve performed well to in the past.
- Switch off your music if you’re struggling with an exercise or lose track of repetitions.
- Limit the volume during high-intensity sessions to protect your ears.
- If you can’t get to sleep after an evening workout, listen to a gentle track before you go to bed.