As a youth, I enjoyed music as well as long distance running. When running, I usually had a song or a rhythm in my mind, and I might match my running and respiring to the speed I was imagining. The effect was wonderful and helped me sustain challenging paces over long distances. I've since learned that top-notch sportsmen also occasionally employ music as a pacing tool, and experience training benefits. In addition, university research recommends a real need for services to help individuals optimize their exercise performance using music.
In their current book, Inside Sport Psychology (p. 201), writers Costas Karageorghis and Peter Terry highlight how Jona Nyachae, a prime runner in Europe, employed music tempos to help her when training. They explain that Jona figured out how many steps she took when running an one-minute quarter-mile interval, identified well-liked songs with matching tempos, and sometimes synchronized her footsteps to the tracks while exercising. This practice helped distract her from the issues of highly difficult running. Jona's experience coupled with Karageorghis and Terry's related research both suggest that there may be benefits to exercising in sync with the tempo of music.
Considering the growth of health issues linked with excess weight and obesity in the United States, there seems to be a requirement for services that provide music and running songs to help people improve their health and optimize their exercise performance.
As it is linked to music for exercise pacing, the challenge is simplifying music discovery. It is at present tricky for individuals to determine what music is best for their exercise pace. For example, consider running or walking. How would you work out the correct song speed in beats per minute (BPM) matching their tempo or pace when running or walking? Most people don't count their steps per minute like Jona did. Similarly, it is difficult to find out the tempos of songs that match one's walking rate without figuring out the timing while listening to a song, a dreary process.
Obstacles to making relevant workout music available to the mass market are steadily to come down. Conventional media is beginning to highlight the power of music to optimise exercise performance. As an example, recent coverage by National Public Radio and the New York Times highlights Dr Karageorghis's research. In addition, many online music services make music discovery much more convenient. Additionally mobile software applications that provide exercise music mixes arranged by speed are multiplying.
Given these trends, consumers will most likely continue discovering new releases, applications, and services that supply accessibility to music to improve their exercise performance. With these tools, individuals will become more equipped to use music to attain their fitness targets.
About the Author:
William Turner is CEO of Pacing Technologies, which designed PaceDJ, an app for iPhone and Android which helps users find the best workout songs for their mobile gadget. Visit http://www.pacedj.com, where you can find and select the right running songs to match the tempo of your exercise routine.
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