My iPod contains some slower music but I have attempted to place mostly upbeat songs on it. I have found it's very important to me to have music with the right tempo when I work out on various machines. I see some people paging through magazines, reading books, and watching television when working out, but that isn't for me.
On the weight machines, I can have just about anything playing since the repetitions need to be done at my own pace. At the peak of a repetition, I must hold the position for about three to five seconds. This type of activity can't be timed to a beat.
On machines like the NuStep, the treadmill, the exercycle, the stair stepper, and the elliptical, I like to have songs which have a tempo paced from 100 to 110 beats per minute (BPM). Most upbeat pop songs alternate their tempos from the low end of this range to the high end. Rock songs are anywhere from 100 to 130 BPM.
Examples of this speeding up and slowing down tempo are "Land Down Under" by Men At Work, "26 or 5 to 4" by Chicago, "Africa" by Toto, and "Just Can't Get Enough" by the Black-Eyed Peas. Just put up the metronome website listed below in one window and one of these songs found on You Tube on another window. Turn the music down so you can hear the metronome over the music and see if you can hear where the song's beat varies.
Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" starts off at around 110 to 115 and speeds up until it's sailing away at around 150 BPM at the end.
The 80s song "Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker, Jr., is set to a beat of 115 BPM and remains fairly constant throughout the song.
A song which moves along at about 120 BPM is close to what many exercisers' target heart rates are. I have gotten up to 120 BPM walking at a 3.2 mile per hour pace on the treadmill.
The right music can keep you motivated and moving. The wrong music can be a drag to your workout.
Here's to good music that inspires you to keep it going! Until next time, think healthy, think fit.
A metronome for you to determine your exercise beat:
http://www.visionmusic.com/metronome/110bpm.html
"Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np0solnL1XY
To read more about the science of choosing a beat and music to go with your workout:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/fashion/10fitness.html
On the weight machines, I can have just about anything playing since the repetitions need to be done at my own pace. At the peak of a repetition, I must hold the position for about three to five seconds. This type of activity can't be timed to a beat.
On machines like the NuStep, the treadmill, the exercycle, the stair stepper, and the elliptical, I like to have songs which have a tempo paced from 100 to 110 beats per minute (BPM). Most upbeat pop songs alternate their tempos from the low end of this range to the high end. Rock songs are anywhere from 100 to 130 BPM.
Examples of this speeding up and slowing down tempo are "Land Down Under" by Men At Work, "26 or 5 to 4" by Chicago, "Africa" by Toto, and "Just Can't Get Enough" by the Black-Eyed Peas. Just put up the metronome website listed below in one window and one of these songs found on You Tube on another window. Turn the music down so you can hear the metronome over the music and see if you can hear where the song's beat varies.
Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" starts off at around 110 to 115 and speeds up until it's sailing away at around 150 BPM at the end.
The 80s song "Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker, Jr., is set to a beat of 115 BPM and remains fairly constant throughout the song.
A song which moves along at about 120 BPM is close to what many exercisers' target heart rates are. I have gotten up to 120 BPM walking at a 3.2 mile per hour pace on the treadmill.
The right music can keep you motivated and moving. The wrong music can be a drag to your workout.
Here's to good music that inspires you to keep it going! Until next time, think healthy, think fit.
A metronome for you to determine your exercise beat:
http://www.visionmusic.com/metronome/110bpm.html
"Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np0solnL1XY
To read more about the science of choosing a beat and music to go with your workout:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/fashion/10fitness.html
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