The Power of song

What does music have to do with fitness you ask? Well, as I was sitting here listening to some morning tunes, I was pondering playlists and songs I like to run to. Whether used to motivate or to distract us from the pain, music is a big piece to most peoples workout routines.

Music takes us places mentally. Music can push us beyond our breaking point—so much so that science (Gasp! I am quoting science!) has even researched it. Take a look at THIS! Here are three applications of music that I love.

First and foremost, I love the fact that a certain song can come on, and I will immediately start running or riding faster and harder. It’s just good fun. My training partners know that if I start singing aloud things are about to get interesting. I sometimes stack a playlist back to back to back with uptempo, loud, motivating music. My all time favorites: MUSE’s “Hysteria,” Foo Fighters’ “My Hero” and “Walk,” Smashing Pumpkins’ “Tristessa,” and “Geek USA,” and Eminem’s “Lose Yourself.”

There is a ton of disagreement in the running world these days with regards to tempo and cadence. Many folks, including me, suggest running as close to 90 single foot strikes per minute, regardless of pace. It requires you to develop certain efficiencies and in most cases improves your running form. Next time you run, count foot strikes for a minute during different parts of your run. Take this number (usually somewhere between 75-90) and try and match songs with a faster beat than your running cadence. Now match your stride to those beats. Heck jog.fm even has a list of songs with their BPM (beats per minute) listed. Start there!

HUH? What the heck is a “fartlek” you ask? Simply put, a fartlek is a run workout that employs a great structure for running with an iPod. Swedish for “speed play,” a fartlek run consists of changes in pace that aren’t too structured. Think, sprint to that telephone pole, now recover, or “run hard through this chorus” then recover through the verses. You can even structure a playlist with a fast song, then a slow song and run hard on the fast ones. Don’t over think it. The good news is that it’s already been proven that we naturally do this to some extent anyway. We are naturally geared to fall into the beats of a song with our footfalls.

TRAIN SAFE!