MUSIC: Runners’ secret weapon in the battle of mind over matter
Posted January 9th, 2007 at 11:00 PM by Mickey Katz
Section: Motivation, Music
As most of you already know, exercise is known to be a battle of “mind over matter” (with your mind often wandering while we work on our bodies). Although mind wandering can sometimes lead to your next great idea when you’re at the gym or on your training runs, you need your mind to stay focused and give you a little extra push. This, my friends, is where music comes in!
I am a firm believer in the mental workout being just as necessary as your physical one, and I’d like to help those of you whose minds have wandered. It is true that protein feeds the muscles and provides strength, but if nothing is ‘driving’ you to succeed, then your workout will only be as good as lasts nights steak dinner or for those vegetarians, your buffet of tofu and eggs.
My point is, protein is the fuel; but my friends’ music is the catalyst to ignite your fire. Just as you fix your next meal with a variety of options realize that music can be fixed to provide you the extra push you need to succeed.
When you arrive at the gym and turn on your iPod, mp3 player or favorite mixed tape, on second thought if you are still using a cassette tape I’d imagine you don’t have Internet, so this doesn’t apply to you. A great warm up mix should have low beats per minute (BPM), this will allow you to do your stretching without getting your mind too excited. I suggest a 10-15 minute pre-workout consisting of stretching and a jog or fast walk to get the blood pumping. Again back to the mind vs. body, make sure your music is fueling your fire.
If the song is too weak or not catchy enough your mind will certainly wander, and we don’t want that. Remember the gym is a break from work and your family; it is a treat for you, so as you put together your ultimate play list keep that in mind. If you broke up with your boyfriend/girlfriend, don’t put ‘your song’ on your warm-up mix; we want pools of sweat not tears. When your warm-up mix has completed you should already be underway with your exercise routine.
“Warm-up” – Total Time average 10-15 minutes
1. Dave Mathews Band – Crash into me
2. Dave Mathews Band – Tripping Billies
3. Blues Travelers- All in the Groove
4. Counting Crows- Accidentall In love
5. Counting Crows- Mr. Jones
6. Matt Costa- Yellow Taxi
7. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists- Me and Mia
8. Jack Johnson- Better Together
9. G Love- Let the Music Play
Time to “get in the groove,” I suggest getting started with a strong consistent beat. Believe it or not your body, without realizing it, will find your weight lift repetitions to be easier in keeping with a musical rhythm. Whatever your music of choice, you will surely find a consistent beat to keep with. I suggest reggae-ton, hip-hop, or dance and certainly staying away from songs that have a ‘speaking break,’ or drops in BPM.
“Get in the Groove”
1. DHT – Listen to your heart (hardbounze single edit)
2. DHT – I go crazy (hardbounze single edit)
3. Danzel- Pump it up (extended Mix)
4. Sean Paul- Temperature
5. Sean Paul – We be Burnin
6. Pit Bull- Culo
7. Pit Bull featuring elephant man- Shake Remix
Everyone has a weaker body part, and in turn you probably spend less time on this area in your workout routines. Take myself for example; in the early days of developing my chest my mind would wander and in turn my body would lose the fuel I depended on to push through those workouts. The biggest adjustment that I made was the music I listened to. First of all I made sure to listen to music and second I only listened to songs that I absolutely loved, ones with hard fast beats and ones that would fill my mind with positive thoughts. We all have songs that excite us or give us a feeling of invincibility. If your thinking “I don’t have one,” the next time you’re in the car and a song comes on that gives you goose bumps or you start to tap your fingers or nod your head …That’s it!
These songs will pump you up like a nitro boost and help with those annoying workouts; this is why I call these your Nitro-songs. Next thing you know your going to love to workout those weak points because they won’t be weak anymore. This goes for those days when you are absolutely exhausted and can’t imagine going to the gym. Put on your ‘Nitro-mix,’ your mind will start going through the very same euphoria you felt in the gym and will give you that positive attitude you need to get motivated.
“Nitro-mix”
1. Bob Sinclair- Rock This party (everybody dance now)
2. Jay Z (linkin park) – numb encore
3. Black Better- Ram Jam
4. Jay Z- dirt off your shoulder
5. Sean Paul- Gimme the Light
6. Young Jeezy featuring Akon – Soul Survivor
7. Akon – Bananza Belly Dancer
8. Cnote and Tony Touch – Wepa
Almost as important as your workout is your cool-down or “back to reality mix” You want to make sure you stretch again, get your heart rate back down and prepare for the rest of your day or a good nights sleep. I suggest soft music preferably without words. Try some Classical or Bossanova, elevator style music. Stan Getz has a great compilation of Bossanova tracks.
The reason I suggest music without or minimal lyrics is that now you can allow your mind to wander a bit. You worked out hard for 45 -90 minutes and it’s time to plan today or tomorrow’s day. You will find it easier to think with soft music, especially if the lyrics are not familiar or catchy. Take my advice and try my suggestions, your workouts will certainly pass quicker and you might even start to see some positive results. Just remember music is the fuel that your workout needs to succeed. Feed your mind and the matter simply doesn’t matter.
“Back to Reality”
1. Stan Getz- Corcovado
2. Stan Getz- Girl from Ipanema
3. Nick Drake- Cello Song
4. Emiliana Torrini- Sunny Road
5. Norah Jones- Cold Cold Heart
6. Marc Broussard- Lonely Night in Georgia
***Note: We encourage EVERYONE to see a doctor before altering their diet, taking a supplement and/or performing athletic, fitness or other strenuous physical activity. It is your responsibility to evaluate the accuracy, completeness and usefulness of any information, instruction, opinion or advice contained in the content. Please also see our complete disclaimer.***
Tags: beat, inspiration, ipod, mind of matter, motivation, mp3, music, rhythm, warm up
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The Final Sprint