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4 surprising ways music could improve your workout

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It’s World Music Day and we’ve found four surprising ways to help you work out harder, faster, more efficiently simply by tuning into some uplifting tunes

Workout booster 1 – Stay the distance

If you’ve set your sights on becoming the next record-breaking Denise Mueller, but don’t quite have the pedal power – music could help your staying power.

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A controlled study performed on 12 students published on the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, showed that when using stationary cycles and listening to music with a faster tempo, not only did the students cover longer distances but they also enjoyed the workout more. They were also more likely to turn stationary cycling into a permanent habit.

Workout booster 2 – Run faster and enjoy it more

To all aspiring Usain Bolts out there, if you want to maximize your pace, pump-up the volume of your favourite workout track, get ready, set and GO.

A study in the American Physiology Society’s Journal of Applied Physiology, showed that music can help runners run faster, improve their endurance and boost motivation.

Workout booster 3 – Improve your endurance

Are you planning on running the next marathon but worried you won’t be able to cross the finish line? The right play list could be the answer.

Research shows that by listening to music, runners can boost endurance partly by the power of distraction and partly by unconsciously synchronizing their running pace to the music.

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So the key is to choose a workout track with a faster tempo to go the extra mile without even noticing.

Workout booster 4 – Recover faster

According to a study by the Department of Physiology, Narayana Medical College, listening to your favourite music after you exercise can improve post-workout recovery times.

What’s more, it turns out any genre of music will help. The study also showed that the music genre volunteers chose made no difference to the recovery rates.

So, whether you are a rock n’ roll, country or classic music lover, just choose your favourite CD, vinyl or MP3 playlist and get your groove on pronto.

More Healthista Content:

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How music affects mood – 7 ways to get focused, calm or motivated with sound

12 motivational songs to lift your mood

7 running songs for your summer playlist

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