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Bod, Sweat, Cheers: Exercisers looking for motivation put variety of content on digital players
Journal Photo Illustration by Lauren Carroll
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Published: October 31, 2009
They're huffing and puffing-- but not before they put those headphones on.
And they probably wouldn't pump iron without listening to something on their digital music players.
That much is clear. But the rest is a mystery:
Why do people listen while they work out? What music is on their playlists, and how does it affect exercising? And why might somebody prefer a spoken-word podcast over a string of tunes?
I attempted to find out, invading the private worlds of many a listener-exerciser.
When Shirese Moore, 46, a firefighter, connects to her iPod during workouts at the Winston Lake Family YMCA, she hears the positive messages of such gospel artists as Yolanda Adams and CeCe Winans. By listening to music, she avoids the kind of socializing that would cut into her exercising.
"It sends off a message that you don't want to be bothered," she said.
Lisa Westbrook, a doctor, works out at Fitness 2000 in Clemmons. She counts Biggie, Jay-Z and Alicia Keys among her musical companions.
"I go longer when I have music on," she said. "I work harder. It's kind of a distraction from the pain."
Sarah Aspinwall, a senior at Wake Forest University, said in an e-mail that music can help "push your body a bit further than it may like at times."
"(Your) brain might try to tell your muscles to stop contracting as a protective mechanism, but listening to motivational music, cheering and other forms of encouragement sometimes will help override the part of the brain that is attempting to protect the body," she said, alluding to what she has learned in an exercise-physiology class.
Chris Albright, 29, works out at the Fulton Family YMCA. He said that podcasts of magazine articles from The Economist and of Mark Levin's talk-radio shows help take his mind off what he's doing at the gym. He said he prefers such fare over music because it is "definitely more engaging than listening to the same old songs I listen to a hundred times."
Aspinwall said she doesn't listen to music all the time when she works out. What she listens to, she said, "depends on the type of workout and the type of mood I'm in.
"For my really long treadmill workout, I listen to podcasts of NPR's Wait Wait…Don't Tell Me," she said. "If I'm strength training, it's generally your typical pop-y radio music."
If the experiences of WFU students are any indication, what people listen to when they exercise affects how a workout will go.
"Hip-hop is high energy and easy to sing along with in my head," sophomore Elizabeth Farr said by e-mail. "Alternative is good for keeping a constant pace. It is also good if (you're) going on a more relaxed run."
For junior Hailey Robbins, everything she hears has to be "really upbeat" pop music or dance music.
"Sometimes I throw in rap or hip-hop, but whatever it is has a fast beat, so when I am running, I run faster to try and keep up with the beat of the music," she said by e-mail. "It's almost comical because I definitely find myself running faster or slower based on how fast or slow the beat of the music is."
kkeuffel@wsjournal.com | 727-7337
What's on their iPods?
The people interviewed for this article mentioned the following songs:
"Disturbria," Rihanna
"Boom Boom Pow," Black Eyed Peas
"Watchya Say," Jason Derulo
"3," Britney Spears
"Calle Ocho," Pitbull
"Bad Girl," Danity Kane
Podcasts of The Mark Levin Show
"Sex on Fire," Kings of Leon
"Your Body is a Wonderland," John Mayer
"Jesus, You're Beautiful," CeCe Winans
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