Music and Athletic Performance
02.28.08 | in Hella Sound | 2 Comments Share
If you're on this site, you know that the right music can propel you through a workout. A good song can put you in the right frame of mind and keep you there for as long as it lasts. That's the entire basis of Hella Sound music. But I'd like to break it down for you a bit so you see where I'm coming from.
In academic-speak, the right music is an ergogenic aid—an external influence that positively affects your physiological performance. Wikipedia’s definition breaks ergogenic aid benefits into 3 facets: performance improvement, minimization of distraction and increased recovery.
This is Hella Sound’s mission: We aim to provide you an ever-growing selection of music specifically designed to keep you psyched up and going for 30 minutes. Because searching for the right running music sucks almost as much as having the wrong music during a run.
I’m gonna focus on the first 2: performance improvement and removal of psychological constraints.
Performance Improvement
As a musician, I’m particularly aware of a song’s rhythmic and harmonic elements and their impact on my workout. Does the song psych me up? Does it drag me down? Are there tempo changes? Does it do the stop-start thing to a fault? Does the singer whine too much? The right BPM is of central importance, but it’s not the only factor.
In popular music terms, many of Tool’s songs (Aenema, Hooker with a Penis) resonate with me if I’m in an aggro/testosterone mood and I want to attack a workout like it stole something from me. But then Rufus Wainwright
Psychological Constraints
You’re tired. You’re a little sore. Your sock is riding sorta weird. You’re breathing loudly (a psychological cue telling you subconsciously that something’s up). All these little distractions can detract from your workout. When you’re running and engrossed in the right song you forget all that. You’re so in the moment and focused that you don’t even notice these things. You keep your pace and you stay motivated.
Conversely…
I’m a strong believer that the wrong music can really blow a good pace. I mentioned three mass-market songs above that I like to run to, but it took a long time to find those songs, and a lot of trial and error. Good running songs from the traditional music industry are few and far between, and finding enough of them back to back can be a real hassle. Also, god forbid you put your iPod on shuffle: no sooner do you find your stride than shuffle throws you into some song that really doesn’t work with your run at all. You frantically start pushing your Next button only to be met with a string of songs that don’t work, either. Major distraction. Before you know it, you’re frustrated, you’re no longer on pace, and you’ve wasted energy on something that should be automatic and seamless.
This is how most music can be a detriment to your run.
“Music provides a timing cue,” said Professor Gfeller, who after taking an aerobics class several years ago where the teacher picked music whose tempo didn’t match the moves, was inspired to study the components of music most important to a gainful workout. “It helps you to move more efficiently, which, in turn, can help you with endurance.” —NYTimes.com
Additional Resources
- The New York Times published this relevant article: “They’re Playing My Song. Time to Work Out”
- The Effects of Music on Exercise? by Len Kravitz, Ph.D. of the University of New Mexico
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Comments
Jason,
thanks for the response! Congrats on your growth in running, and hopefully we can get you some more stuff to put on your iPod!
John | August 12, 2008
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John
I should have commented earlier…The iPod has made a huge difference in my efforts to be an active runner. Having “all” of my songs at my disposal means I can find the right groove to run to.
Back when you commented on my blog, I was taking a “strategic” 5-minute or so walking pause. Just after doing that post, I found the guts to keep running and I now go for 30 minutes straight. I often use the songs in the playlist as pace setters. For example, by the time the first two songs are done, I should be in a certain area, but the end of the third song, I should be here…etc.
There are many songs that work for me on the run; some stand out more than others and some less energetic songs work surprisingly well. The live masculine rock of Zeppelin works almost always (I have 5 days worth of it), and Rush has stuff that gets the blood pumping (Dreamline, Force Ten). But with nearly 4,000 songs on the iPod, I shouldn’t have to worry about finding something.
Jason Russell | August 11, 2008