Music To Your Ears and Muscle?

MP3 players and ipod’s are everywhere and people are using music more than ever to stay motivated in the gym.  As a matter of fact, when you get your invite to the Members Only Area, you will see we have whole audio workouts for you to follow and utilize for your training.  Trainers believe that music is arguably one of the best motivators to keep clients consistently moving during a workout.
 
For years PT’s have used different forms of music to keep their clients moving and grooving during exercise to ensure their clients get out one more rep or stay on that treadmill 2 minutes more.  Until recently we had to use instinct that our theories were correct.  That is, until now.
 
Muscle and Fitness magazine just published a study on how they utilized a shoulder training protocol with two workouts.  All subjects performed 10 repetition sets and all worked to exhaustion of the muscle (failure).  During the first workout they used music during the training session.  And during the second workout no music was used.
 
The results?  On every set, of every exercise, the subject performed at least one to two reps more than the same workout without music.  Simply speaking, the motivation music provides stimulates your brain and body to give a little more effort.
 
How about cardio training?  The December 2006 issue of Ergonomics and the September 2006 issue of Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness showed vast improvement in the speed of runners and walkers as well as a decrease in overall fatigue during the workout.
 
So what does this mean for you?  Simple… put the tunes that make you happy, motivated and keep you upbeat and moving on your MP3 player.  Then go to the gym and crank em’ up.  Don’t want to go to the hassle?  We will offer that option for you shortly and to top it off you can get instructions on how to keep your program efficient and on track throughout the program. Either way, you shouldn’t be working out without something motivating coming out of your headphones.