How Harry Styles Can Change Your Workout: Music and Training
Aug 25, 2022
Can Listening to Music Affect My Workout?
Yes! Listening to music can definitely have an effect on your workout experience and performance. Music is shown to have a direct impact on your mood - it can boost your serotonin and get you feeling good. You can use that information to manipulate your mood during your workout - your favorite or most inspiring songs put you in a better head space while grinding and make the work more enjoyable and easier to handle. You may even have the desire to sing or dance along with the song which will distract you from the burn you feel during each exercise to make it seem like the workout is going by faster! Music is shown to decrease feelings of fatigue and increase your stamina and ability to push through. Even listening to motivational podcasts can make you feel better about yourself and encourage you to work harder. So, pop in those earbuds with confidence, because music works.
What Style of Music Should I Listen to?
For the most part, the style of music is going to vary per person - it depends on what genres of music you like and what kind of workout you are doing. You should listen to any style that gets you going. You don't have to get to picky about BPM or happy verses sad songs for music to work for you; but, know that you can tailor your playlist for success.
For higher intensity workouts, songs with more beats per minute are ideal. People tend to sync the exercises they are doing with the beat of the music, so the more beats per minute there are, the higher the intensity of that workout will be. Higher tempos are also more distracting and can help get you through the exercises without focusing too much on your burning muscles. Higher BPM sounds would be ideal for running (quickly), cycling (quickly) and HIIT training, all of which require fast-paced movements. You'll probably want to aim for 140-180 BPM for these activities.
Medium intensity workouts, like weightlifting and steady state cardio (moderate intensity elliptical, biking, jogging, etc.), would benefit from a bpm that is quick, but not so fast that it gets your nerves on edge. This falls more under the 130-150 BPM range. I’d worry less about music tempo here, though, and more about motivation. What songs get you feeling ready to go and strong? That uplift your mood and zest for life? That get you willing to go that extra rep or lift that heavier weight? Those are the songs that should make it onto this playlist. Because you’re moving a bit slower here, you can really play around with what’s going to give your brain the best boost for your workout and your day in general.
For lower intensity workouts, such as yoga or Pilates or even a cool down, use slower, more mellow music with fewer beats per minute. This type of music will create a relaxing and calming environment to perform the exercises and help provide a flowing soundtrack for flowing movements. Aim for 60-90 bpm here.
Not sure what BPM your music is? You can use platforms like Spotify or Apple Music to search for BPM-specific playlists. If you'd prefer to create your own, all it takes is a simple Google search. I just searched "All I Do is Win" by DJ Khaled to find it is 150 bpm.
Examples of Songs for Various Workout Styles:
Yoga: “Orinoco Flow,” “For the Joy of it All,” “Nostalgia”
Weight training: “Fearless Motivation” podcasts, “Remember the Name” “Juicebox” “All the Small Things”
Cardio: “New Shoes”, “Toxic”, “Don’t Stop the Party”, “Play Hard”
HIIT: “Lose Yourself”, “Mambo #5”, “Hey Ya!” “In Da Club”
BONUS PLAYLIST (Client Made)
If you have a playlist you’d like to hear during your workouts - send it our way!
