A few weeks back, we published an article about why you should unplug your music. Here is a response to that article promoting the positives to plugging in.
Are you losing motivation with the change of season? Many athletes are in a period of transition. After a return from a break, training brings with it colder temperatures and dwindling daylight. It’s all to easy to slip into a funk. Looking for ways to reclaim that get up and go? Now is the time to plug back in and find your training mojo. Here are 7 reasons why:
Stay Sharp
For many athletes, fall means base season – long hours of endurance-based sessions. Those types of workouts have the tendency to let your mind really slip. Change that and fire up a podcast. Listen to comedy. Listen to something educational. Listen to a book on tape. Keep your brain firing when you train and it’ll fire better all the time.
Interval Motivation
Studies1 prove the ergogenic effects of music on performance. Sure, you can’t plug in during a race, but you might as well get locked into your favorite track before you go smash some intervals. You might surprise your coach, and yourself, with what you can do if you can time the hook of your favorite song at the start of an interval.
Indoor Training
We’ve all been there. You log in to see what you have to do today and you look out the window and think you may have woken up in the arctic. You can’t think of anything worse than hopping on a trainer or treadmill for an hour so you consider skipping. Don’t. Grab your tunes and hop on for 10 minutes. Before you know it, you’ll be done.
Endure
That said, sometimes you’ve had it. Mentally, you can’t do one more indoor session. Wind, cold, rain- the fall season throws it all at you. Get your jams ready. With the right music, you’ll forget you’re freezing and exhilarate in your defiance of the elements.
Meditation
You don’t have to smash electronic dance music whenever you load up your music. If you’ve ever been to a yoga class you’ll notice they often play meditative music in the background to foster a meditative state. Use that to your advantage. Set up a soothing playlist and lets the stress of the day dissolve.
You Time
We all have our musical tastes that others frown upon. Maybe it’s country. Maybe it’s the oldies. Maybe you really dig gangster hip-hop or hard metal. Throw it on. No one’s going to judge you. This is your time. Just don’t blare it too loud.
Remember More
Music is one of the best anchors of memory. Throw on your best track during a training session and watch your memory snap into focus. You’ll remember the rich texture of falls landscape whenever that track plays.
Ready to Plug in? Let your playlist work for you this fall and get rejuvenated for all of the training ahead. It may just be the tool you need to persevere through the fall and winter months.
References
Terry, P.C. & Karageorghis, C.I. (2011, January). Music in sport and exercise. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235925570_Music_in_sport_and_exercise
