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Choosing The Right Music For Your Workout Can Increase Your Efficiency, Endurance And Lessen Fatigue

When I go running, or workout with weights, I’ve always found that a powerful motivating factor can be the music that I listen to. If I listen to upbeat music that sets a good pace, I’ll often have an extremely good workout. If I don’t listen to music or the music just isn’t as upbeat – the workout isn’t always as good.

Now new research is showing why music helps to motivate us when we workout, and looks at the key elements in music that can get us pumped up for our workout.

For the last 20 years, Costas Karageorghis, a sports psychologist at Britain’s Brunel University, has been setting the research pace for understanding our need to groove and move… According to Kargeorghis, there are four factors that contribute to a song’s motivational qualities: rhythm response, musicality, cultural impact and association. The first two are known as “internal” factors as they relate to the music’s structure while the second two are “external” factors that reflect how we interpret the music.

Rythm Response: Rhythm response is tied to the beats per minute (bpm) of the song and how well it matches either the cadence or the heartbeat of the runner
Musicality: A song’s structure such as its melody and harmony contribute to its musicality.
Cultural Impact: The external factors consider our musical background and the preferences we have for a certain genre of music.
Association: We associate good things with certain songs and artists, and that music can help to motivate us.

Choosing The Right Music Can Increase Your Efficiency, Endurance

Another thing the researchers found in their studies was that syncing beats per minute with an exercise pace could increase the efficiency for their subjects:

In a recent study, subjects who cycled in time to music found that they required 7 percent less oxygen to do the same work when compared to music playing in the background. Music can also help block out the little voice in your brain telling you its time to quit. Research shows that this dissociation effect results in a 10 percent reduction in perceived effort during treadmill running at a moderate intensity.

Not only did they find that their efficiency could increase, but they found that the right music choice could increase endurance and lessen the impact of fatigue.

“The synchronous application of music resulted in much higher endurance while the motivational qualities of the music impacted significantly on the interpretation of fatigue symptoms right up to the point of voluntary exhaustion,” Karageorghis reported.

What Is The Conclusion?

So what is the conclusion that we can reach from these studies? To me it means that I should be making my workouts better by being careful about the music choices I make. If I choose the right music that has an upbeat tempo (high BPM), has a good association for me, and that can be in sync with my workout, I can expect to have more effective and even longer workouts because of the motivational effect of the music.

So, how do you go about finding the right music for the workout? There are a variety of softwares out there that will analyze your music library and categorize songs into different playlists according to beats per minute – and some even will create playlists so that you have a warmup, exercise and warm-down. One example of that is the Tangerine plugin for Itunes. Use one of those softwares to create your optimal playlist for your workout!

Have you found that music helps you to have a better workout? Do you have playlists for certain types of exercise, or for certain goals?

Want To Lessen The Pain Of Working Out? Coffee To The Rescue!

By Peter 3 Comments

The initial results from a new study have suggested that caffeine may have the effects of lessening the pain from intense exercise. From MSNBC.com

That cup of coffee that many gym rats, bikers and runners swill before a workout does more than energize them. It kills some of the pain of athletic exertion, a new study suggests. And it works regardless of whether a person already had a coffee habit or not.

The study looked at how caffeine helps to block a certain biochemical that is important in pain processing.

Caffeine works on a system in the brain and spinal cord (the adenosine neuromodulatory system) that is heavily involved in pain processing, says University of Illinois kinesiology and community health professor Robert Motl. And since caffeine blocks adenosine, the biochemical that plays an important role in energy transfer and thus exercise, he speculated that it could reduce pain.

What they found was that the caffeine did in fact help with reducing the pain of exercise, both in people who regularly drank coffee or caffeine filled drinks, and in those who didn’t. Details of the study:

An hour prior to each session, cyclists — who had been instructed not to consume caffeine during the prior 24-hour period — were given a pill. On one occasion, it contained a dose of caffeine measuring 5 milligrams per kilogram of body weight (equivalent to two to three cups of coffee); the other time, they received a placebo.
During both exercise periods, subjects’ perceptions of quadriceps muscle pain was recorded at regular intervals, along with data on oxygen consumption, heart rate and work rate.
“What we saw is something we didn’t expect,” Motl said. “Caffeine-naïve individuals and habitual users have the same amount of reduction in pain during exercise after caffeine (consumption).”

So what is the conclusion that they’ve reached, and what is the practical application?

We’ve shown that caffeine reduces pain reliably, consistently during cycling, across different intensities, across different people, different characteristics. One of the things that may be a practical application, is if you go to the gym and you exercise and it hurts, you may be prone to stop doing that because pain is an aversive stimulus that tells you to withdraw,” Motl said. “So if we could give people a little caffeine and reduce the amount of pain they’re experiencing, maybe that would help them stick with that exercise.

So drink up! Starbucks here we come!

Being Active Gives You Hope And Reduces Depression

By Peter 4 Comments

Have you ever found that when you’re living an active lifestyle, your mood and temperment tend to be better than when you’re more sedentary? I know I tend to be in a better mood when I’m working out.

Now a new study has found that men who aren’t active are more likely to “feel hopeless”.

More active men seem to have a rosier outlook on life, new research from Finland shows.

Dr. Maarit Valtonen of Kuopio University Hospital and colleagues found that men who spent less than one hour a week doing moderate to vigorous leisure-time physical activity were 37 percent more likely to report feeling hopeless than men who logged at least 2.5 hours weekly.

The men who got at least 2.5 hours of moderate activity each week were significantly less likely to be hopeless than men who were active for an hour or less weekly, and this association remained even after the researchers adjusted for age, socioeconomic status, smoking, and other relevant factors. Vigorous physical activity had a particularly strong effect.

When the researchers adjusted for depression, the link between hopelessness and activity remained. But while low levels of fitness were also tied to greater likelihood of feeling hopeless, further analysis found depression was the responsible factor.

Many people, including those who aren’t depressed or otherwise mentally ill, feel hopeless, the researchers note. The current findings, they say, suggest that “hopelessness and depression are overlapping, but distinct entities.”

The findings also suggest that being active can help “ameliorate or protect against feelings of hopelessness” even if a person’s fitness levels don’t improve.

So once again, being physically active is shown to be good for your health – both physically and psychologically.

As for me? I’m still waiting for that study that says eating hamburgers and pizza – and being a couch potato are good for your health. I’m still waiting.

Weight Loss Success Doesn’t Have To Cost A Lot, But It Depends Upon Your Level Of Motivation And Willingness To Change

By Peter 3 Comments

In talking with my wife, we often have conversations about losing weight, getting fit, and finding the “right plan” to help us to lose weight. My wife will talk about how if she just finds the right fitness plan, things will be different. I sometimes feel the same way, thinking if I find just the right workout and nutrition plan I’ll be able to turn the corner.

Over the years I’ve lost a considerable amount of weight (40+ lbs) more than once, and on different plans, but never spending a lot of money. The problem is that I haven’t been able to completely turn things around, and change the way I live. I haven’t had the motivation or the willingness to change my habits in order to keep the weight off. Now, I’m wondering if maybe to find that right plan I may need to spend a bit more money to get that added boost and motivation?

A study published this year in the New England Journal of Medicine talks about how weight loss doesn’t have to be expensive. The caveat? You have to be motivated and willing to change. The greater your motivation, the less you’ll probably have to spend. The study compared 4 popular diets:

They found they all produced similar results. After two years, the dieters in each group lost an average of nine pounds. Notably, the dieters who attended more counseling sessions lost a little bit more, which may support the notion that behavior is more important than diet alone.

Motivation, though, is not always easy to come by — especially when it involves changing habits. Some people may need a little help to kick-start a weight-loss regimen, whether that means following a popular diet or enrolling in an organized program. Your goal, though, should not be short term.

“Keeping weight off permanently is a lifelong process,” says James O. Hill, a psychologist and a founder of the National Weight Control Registry , a database of 6,000 people who have lost weight and kept it off.

How ready are you? The more committed you are, the less you will need to spend.

Motivation And How Much You Spend To Lose Weight

The article goes on to talk about the different levels that people are at with their motivation, and how much they ‘ll need to spend:

Highly Motivated and Willing To Change Do It Yourself-ers – Spend The Least: You can lose weight for no cost if you are very motivated, and are ready to change your lifestyle. Free resources for losing weight abound on the web, and usually your doctor can give you some helpful pointers on good healthy nutrition. You can also get helpful weight loss books from the library, or use a community gym for free.
Somewhat Motivated And Willing – Spend A Little: A lot of people take this route where they spend some money to get fit, usually buying fitness books, or simple exercise aids. Not exceedingly expensive, and a good option if you’re motivated and willing, but don’t want to spend a lot.
Not Motivated And Somewhat Willing – Spend a Lot: More people need that extra push, support and motivation that is provided in a more structured setting. For those people there are groups like Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and other similar weight loss support groups. Also bunched in here might be groups at your local fitness club that guide you in proper nutrition and exercise. Most of these groups will having fees to join, weekly or monthly charges, and extra charges for things like food or supplements. You can really spend a good deal of money to do this.
Not Motivated and Somewhat Willing But Needing Extra Support – Spend A Ton: Many people have tried a lot of different ways to lose weight, but have found that they just can’t do it without added help. Many of them have some real big health problems that need to be addressed. For those people often a monitored hospital based plan is the ticket. These plans will often include visits with a doctor as well as follow up visits -all which cost money. You can end up spending a lot of money over the months that you lose weight, but for some it is the only option.

In the past I’ve always just kind of done my own workout plans, calling upon free workout resources online to help me in the process.

I think the time may have come for me to move it up to another level and actually invest in some books and other resources that may cost a little bit of money. I think I may need that extra boost!

How are you with your workouts? Are you highly motivated and able to do it on your own? Do you benefit from added help you can get from an organized program? Do you need more structure? Tell us what you think in the comments.

Will Exercise Help You To Rev Up Your Metabolism?

By Peter 2 Comments

One thing that I remember hearing from multiple sources when beginning to research options for weight loss plans, was that when you begin working out, you’ll give your metabolism a jump start, and your body will essentially take over and become a fat burning machine. Many believed that your body would burn calories more effectively for up to 24 hours after working out.

A new report published in the journal Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews suggests that our bodies may not work that way, and that you need to rethink your dietary intake so as not to undue your exercising.

The notion that exercise somehow boosts the body’s ability to burn fat for as long as 24 hours after a workout has led to a misperception among the general public that diet doesn’t matter so much as long as one exercises, says Edward Melanson, an exercise physiologist and associate professor of medicine at the University of Colorado in Denver.

People think they have a license to eat whatever they want, and our research shows that is definitely not the case,” he says. “You can easily undo what you set out to do.” In the new report, published in the journal Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews, Melanson and colleagues discuss research to date on the issue of burning fat during and after exercise. The authors conclude that while people do burn more fat when they are exercising than when they are not, they have no greater ability to burn fat over the next 24 hours than on days when they are couch potatoes.

“If you exercise and replace the calories you burn, you’re no better — with regard to how much fat you burn off — than if you didn’t exercise,” says Melanson.

So what does that mean for all of us out here working out, trying to lose weight? Maybe that we need to be more careful about our diet and exercise regimen, and not count on our exercising to allow us to eat whatever we want.

“Bottom line is that we once thought that exercise would burn calories, especially fat calories, for a long period after a bout of exercise,” says exercise physiologist Gerald Endress, fitness director for the Duke University Diet and Fitness Center who was not involved in the research. “This does not seem to be the case.”

But both Melanson and Endress say it can’t be ruled out that longer, harder and possibly different types of exercise performed regularly on consecutive days could lead to a more lasting post-workout fat burn. In Melanson’s research, for instance, participants all cycled for under an hour, burning up to 400 calories.

All this isn’t to say, however, that you should not exercise to help lose weight and keep it off. “It’s not that exercise doesn’t help with weight loss,” says Melanson. “It’s that it’s harder to lose weight with exercise than diet.” That’s not surprising when you consider that it might take an hour to burn 400 calories but just five minutes to consume them.

So there you go. Don’t count on your exercise plan alone to help you lose weight. Make sure you have a good plan of exercise and diet that will help you to lose weight.

What do you think about this study? Does it challenge your beliefs about exercise and metabolism, and how our bodies work? Will you be changing anything because of this?

How Much Exercise Do You Need To Lose Weight?

By Peter 15 Comments

Whenever I’ve looked into information about losing weight, and how much time you should be exercising every day in order to lose weight, I would always hear a quote about how you need to exercise 30 minutes a day 3-5 times a week in order to see any type of sustainable weight loss.

how much exercise to lose weight

Today I was reading an article on MSNBC.com that wants to modify that notion a bit. 30 minutes 5 times a week may not be enough any more!

Greater amounts of physical activity than currently recommended may be necessary to prevent people from gaining weight, and to help them lose weight and keep it off, according to updated guidelines issued by the American College of Sports Medicine.

In a 2001 position paper, the ACSM recommended a minimum of 150 minutes per week (roughly 30 minutes per day 5 times per week) of moderate-intensity physical activity for overweight and obese adults to improve health; however, 200 to 300 minutes per week was recommended for long-term weight loss.

“More recent evidence has supported this recommendation and has indicated that more physical activity may be necessary to prevent weight regain after weight loss,” reads the ACSM’s position paper published in the latest issue of the College’s journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

Specifically, evidence published after 1999 indicates that between 150 and 250 minutes per week of moderate intensity physical activity is effective in preventing weight gain greater than 3% in most adults but will provide “only modest” weight loss.

Greater amounts of weekly physical activity — in the order of 250 minutes or more per week — have been associated with “significant” weight loss, the ACSM notes. Overweight and obese adults will most likely lose more weight and keep it off with at least 250 minutes per week of exercise.

So if you want to lose a significant amount of weight – and keep it off, you should be exercising at least 250 minutes per week, or 50 minutes a day 5 times a week. Ok, that’s doable!

They also suggest including weight training as a part of your regimen, to help increase your fat free body mass.

Once you’ve lost the weight, continue on with your new fit habits to keep the weight off!

How much are you exercising every week? Is it enough? Do you need to be exercising more?

How Much Should You Exercise If…

By Peter 3 Comments

photo credit: mikebaird

The government released some new guidelines for physical activity this past week, telling us how much we need to exercise in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle and fend off problems like heart disease, stroke and diabetes. But what if you have other goals like buffing up, getting ready for a race or just slimming down?

MSNBC talked with fitness experts to get an idea of what kind of activity you’ll need to reach those goals. The first area they touched on – slimming down. So how much exercise do you need to drop a few pounds?

To lose significant weight and keep it off, many people will need more than 300 minutes a week of moderate activity, the guidelines note. Spread out over the course of a week, that amounts to at least an hour of exercise for five days, which is in line with other recommendations for weight control. If you’re sedentary, begin slowly and build up.

So it sounds like losing weight is no easy process, you’re going to have to put the time in and really make a goal and stick to it. 5 hours a week really isn’t that much, but it can be if you haven’t been working out at all. Take it slow and work up to it- and you’ll get there.

What if you want to bulk up like a weightlifter or sport a sculpted bod at the beach? Depending on what your goal is, you can expect to be exercising and doing strength training from 3-5 days a week:

If your goal is to look good in a swimsuit (toned but not overly pumped up), aim to strength train (using any available approach to overload the muscles, including free weights, machines and resistance bands) three to four times a week for 45 minutes to an hour each time, working all major muscle groups, Dawes says. Allow each muscle group to recover for at least 48 hours. You’ll also need to watch your diet and burn calories through cardio. Looking toned requires both boosting muscle and minimizing body fat.

If your goal is to sport a rock-hard bodybuilder bod, you’re in for some serious time in the gym – about five days a week, Dawes says. This can put you at risk for overuse injuries, so it’s a good idea to consult a personal trainer for advice on devising a safe routine that gives your muscles adequate recovery time.

How about if you’re training for a race? What kind of time input can you expect for that?

Not surprisingly, building aerobic endurance for competition in a 10K, marathon or triathlon requires much more effort than exercising to stay healthy.How much more? “It’s a continuum,” says James Pivarnik, president-elect of the American College of Sports Medicine and a professor of kinesiology and epidemiology at Michigan State University in East Lansing.

It all depends on where you start, Pivarnik explains. A hard workout for a mere mortal might actually decondition an elite athlete who’s accustomed to much more advanced training on most days of the week.

“If you want to get fitter today, you have to somehow overload where you are now,” he says, and then build on that program.

Comana recommends that people start off using the “talk test” to gauge how hard to push themselves. This means that you should be able to talk continuously for 30 seconds while exercising, he says. If you can’t, it’s too difficult. Build your program from three days a week to five, he recommends.

Whatever you’re doing, what’s most important is to make a commitment and get started today. The gains you’ll make will happen one day, and one rep at a time. Good luck!

Is Exercise Sometimes Not Worth the Time You Put In?

By Peter 4 Comments

I’ll sometimes talk with people I know about their weight loss plans, and how they expect to lose weight. When I ask them what they’re doing they’ll give me a report of drastically reduced calories, and a workout plan that involves a few situps and walking once or twice a week. In most cases I don’t think that type of a plan is going to be successful, just for the small amount of exercise they’re doing, and because their diet will cause their metabolism to shut down, and harm their prospects for weight loss.

In an article I was reading today people were having a different issue. They were exercising for too long, using a exercise that wasn’t as beneficial as they thought. One reader of the MSNBC site emailed in:

I exercise every weekday morning in my hot tub, doing 2,000 forward bicycles, 2,000 reverse bicycles, 2,000 frog kicks and 2,000 reverse frog kicks. It takes me almost three hours. Am I doing too much exercise? I’m trying to lose weight this way because I have leg problems that keep me from doing any other type of exercise.

doing leg kicks in a hot tub for 3 hours? Are you kidding me? Who does that? I know some people do have some physical limitations that preclude them from performing some normal exercises, but there has got to be something better out there for this person to do. I seriously doubt they are getting much actual impact from their bicycle and frog kicks!

photo credit: Tigerzeye

The fitness expert answers the question:

There’s a lingering misperception in fitness that if 20 repetitions of an exercise are good, then 200 — or 2,000 — must be better. But sometimes — such as when doing 4,000 frog kicks and another 4,000 bicycles consumes your entire morning — exercise may just not be worth that much time and effort. In fact, you may be pleasantly surprised to know you can restructure your program so that you actually work out for less time and get more bang for your buck.

The person writing in probably needs to look at some other options for their workout plan. Some low impact whole body workouts like swimming in a pool, riding a stationary bike, or something along those lines. Even though they’re exercising quite a bit currently, the exercise that they’re getting really isn’t that helpful – especially since it takes so long to complete.

Sometimes we all need to take a look at our workout plans, and decide for ourselves if the work we’re putting in is worth it. Is our plan well thought out? Will it actually have the result we’re looking for? If not, it may be time to sit down and come up with a new plan of action with someone who knows what they’re doing like a personal trainer at a local gym, or a friend who is a fitness guru.

Set goals, make a plan of attack, and carry out the plan in such a way as to attain positive results.

Have you ever had a workout plan that didn’t work? What was the reason for the plan’s failure?

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Joggers Live Longer?

By Peter 5 Comments

Just when I was looking for an excuse not to go running anymore I stumbled on an article in Time Magazine titled “Runner’s High: Joggers Live Longer“. Ugh.. So – what’s this all about?

That runner’s high may translate into a lot of other long-lasting health benefits, a new report from an ongoing study suggests. Researchers have found that regular jogging, or any consistent aerobic exercise, in middle age and late in life may reduce people’s risk of disabilities and help them live longer and healthier.

The study looked at two groups of people, those who run regularly, and those that never do. Other than that indicator the two groups were relatively similar in their makeup.

photo credit: mikebaird

The two groups were looked at over a 20 year period, and here is what they found:

Researchers analyzed the accumulated data at 8 years, 13 years and, most recently in 2005, the 21-year mark. Not surprisingly, the data showed that exercise was a boon to health. Over the years, compared with the never-exercisers, people who exercised regularly — in addition to running, activities included biking, aerobic dance and swimming — showed improved aerobic capacity, better cardiovascular fitness, increased bone mass, fewer inflammatory markers, less physical disability, better response to vaccinations and even improved thinking, learning and memory. They also lived significantly longer.

The article continued:

By year 19 of the study, 15% of the runners had died, compared with 34% of the non-running control group. Not only did fewer runners die of cardiovascular causes, but fewer died of other causes such as neurological and infectious disorders. At 21 years into the study, the authors reported, the running group experienced fewer disabilities in eight basic daily functions, including walking, eating, dressing, grip strength and routine physical activities — reporting, on average, one mild disability out of the eight. Never-runners recorded one to two disabilities on average, and were more likely to have a complete disability in one of those daily functions. Even as participants approach their 90s, the groups’ disability and survival curves continue to diverge.

So, if you’re not already running, biking, dancing or swimming (or other aerobic activity), it’s time to start. It’s never too late! So get moving!

Exercise in a pill?

By Peter 3 Comments

When I read the headline this morning, I did a double take:

Exercise in a pill? Drugs show promise in mice

Say what?

Exercise in a pill, could this be the next big thing that all of us lazy people have been waiting so long for? You just pop a pill and it’s instant exercise? Here’s what the article on MSNBC.com said:

Here’s a couch potato’s dream: What if a drug could help you gain some of the benefits of exercise without working up a sweat?
Scientists reported Thursday that there is such a drug — if you happen to be a mouse.
Sedentary mice that took the drug for four weeks burned more calories and had less fat than untreated mice. And when tested on a treadmill, they could run about 44 percent farther and 23 percent longer than untreated mice.

Ok, take a step back. It’s only been tested in mice so far.

Just how well those results might translate to people is an open question. But someday, researchers say, such a drug might help treat obesity, diabetes and people with medical conditions that keep them from exercising.

Ok, so this hasn’t been proven in people yet, but it could be some day soon.

Can you imagine the harm this could do to the health and fitness industry? No more need for exercise, just pop a pill and you’re physically fit!

Ok, honestly, this will never happen. They’ll find out some horrible side effect like the drug causes you to grow a third leg out of the side of your head, or something along those lines, and we’ll all have to resort to ACTUAL exercise again. The article ends with a cautionary note:

But Eric Hoffman of the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., noted that AICAR mimics only aerobic exercise, not the strength training that might be more useful to bedridden people or the elderly, for example. He also cautioned that it’s not clear whether the new mouse results can be reproduced in people.
Goodyear said exercise has such widespread benefits in the body that she doubts any one pill will ever be able to supply all of them. “For the majority of people,” she said, “it would be better to do exercise than to take a pill.”

Ok, well I guess that means I better go get my exercise clothes on. It was nice while it lasted.