Motivation Through Music

"Great workout music is like a caffeine rush but without the crash"

So what motivates you at the gym? For me it always has been and continues to be music. I honestly cannot get a good workout in without it (not sure if that is a bad thing, who knows what would happen if I happened to forget my headphones!). Anyways I found some interesting facts on why music is a major motivator at the gym.

Studies have been done on bicyclists where researchers adjusted the tempo of music while a person rode and it showed that when they sped up the music the participants increased how fast they pedaled and how far they rode, slowing down the music showed to have the opposite effect. I can confirm that this does in fact happen to me as well! Give me some great beats and my workout is much more effective. Music has the ability to distract your attention and to increase your heart rate and breathing making your workouts more productive. So why not work out harder while it seems easier?

A great gadget they  have out to simulate this effect is the MOTOACTV. It tracks your running, walking and cycling and learns what songs motivate you at the same time.  This versatile piece of workout equipment can be clipped into a wrist band, handlebar grip, or arm strap depending upon your workout.  It comes with built-in GPS, an accelerometer and contains running, cycling, walking, elliptical, and step machine options. After picking your activity you decide whether you are training indoors or outdoors. If indoors the accelerometer attempts to calibrate to understand how you walk or run. If you choose outdoors then the GPS automatically turns on. The bluetooth connectivity also allows  it to pair with phones, so as long as you have your headphones hooked up to it you can receive phone calls and speak with people as well. Pretty awesome right? I think I need to get myself one of these (it will be added to my wishlist).