What you should REALLY listen to when you exercise

Everyone knows that music makes workouts more productive. But do different types of music yield different results? Which genre should you be pumping through your speakers? 

If you've ever wondered about that, today's your lucky day! I voluntarily subjected myself to different genres of music while exercising to see which ones are the best tunes to workout to. You can thank me later. 

Here's my hypothesis! 

The genre of music that boosts performance the most is the subject's most favourite genre. 

In my case, that genre would be alternative/metal. I think it sounds like a perfectly plausible outcome, so let me get into the method of the experiment. 

The fitness challenge is to exercise on the stationary bike for 16 minutes on the Fat Burner mode set at Level 10. The exercise is to be done first thing in the morning after waking up at 7.30am, before breakfast, to a 20-minute playlist of a chosen musical style, and to a control of exercising without music. 

Before much ado, here are 

Now that you've mocked/admired my musical selection, let's get into the nitty gritty. Despite my favourite genre being alternative/metal, all the songs in the playlist are songs that I enjoy, and of fairly upbeat tempo.

Results were measured based on the number of calories burnt, distance cycled (km), and how motivated I felt during the workout. I've also picked out songs from each genre that got me really pumped (Power Songs).

Here's what I discovered:

Genre	Distance	Calories	Power Song	Motivation
Orchestral	7.62	132	Surprisingly everything (Explanation below)
Hip Hop	7.62	131.5	Pump It Black Skinhead Real Life
Pop/Indie	7.51	126	Sacrilege
Electronica	7.46	126	Party Rock Anthem Scare Me
Alternative/Metal	7.41	123	The Infected
No Music (Control)	6.71	106

The results are pretty close, but in general, the more Power Songs there were, the better the performance and the better the mood. While the Power Songs were in different genres, they shared similar characteristics:

• A strong bass ~ This activates a primitive part of our brain that then stimulates the adrenal glands. 
• Anthemic ~ It's like being a superhero with a theme song!
• Speed ~ It needs at least 120 beats per minute 
• Something you enjoy ~ It doesn't have to be your favourite song, but it shouldn't put you off either. 

I'm disappointed alt/metal ranked last, but the playlist I chose definitely lacked Power Songs. Sadface.

Why did Orchestral music score so high? 

Bear in mind, I'm a Classical musician, so these results reflect that. The Orchestral pieces were anthemic, evocative, rhythmically-driven pieces, but had the added advantage of creating a strong emotional response. My mood was euphoric, the music was accompanied by strong imagery in my mind, and I felt like I was soaring.

Be warned, it won't work for everyone, so don't jump on the Mozart bandwagon just yet.

Can you identify with my experience? What's your Power Song? 

What moves you?

I love listening to music as I do my cardio (not so much for yoga, I prefer peace and tranquillity and focussing on my breath). Music provides a great distraction, keeps me going right through my goal time, and can help me keep my energy levels up.

Just wanted to share my current Top 10 tracks for the gym. And no, there's no Oppa Gangnam Style :P

#10. David Guetta ft Akon - Sexy b!tc# 

#9. Pendulum - Mutiny 

#8 Foster the People - Color on the Wall (Don't Stop)

#7 Architecture in Helsinki - That Beep

#6 AWOLNATION - Sail 

#5 Battles - Atlas

#4 Jim Jones Revue - Rock and Roll Psychosis

#3 Hadouken! - Get Smashed, Gate Crash 

#2 Karnivool - Set Fire to the Hive 

#1 Matt and Kim - Daylight

It was hard trying to decide who would get to #1 once I got to my Top 5. Hope you enjoyed my top 10, and hopefully some of the songs will make it onto your playlist too.

What do you enjoy moving to?

Music and the Savage Beast

I'm a Classically trained violinist and pianist. I teach Classical piano and violin for a living. Normally, people I meet assume that my favourite genre of music is Classical (which is sort of true... I enjoy Contemporary Classical). The truth is, I listen to whatever my mood takes me toward. Currently, I listen to a lot of alternative, alt metal, indie, and metalcore.

Classical doesn't really fit into the picture right now, so it made me wonder... is that why my life is topsy turvy? I've always been concerned that listening to metalcore has been slowly damaging my brain cells, or has been raising my blood pressure, or (insert any damage you can think of). 

So I did some research and the results proved to be .... surprisingly quite in my favour! 

This wonderful 2007 article in the Telegraph actually describes it as being a "comfort for the bright child". The angst and themes of alienation actually help highly intelligent children who have been fringed by their peers to deal with pressure. It reminds me of the release I feel every time I listen to blessthefall or Alesana. Instead of stressing me out more, my metalcore is actually helping me to destress! 

More research by a couple of folks from New Orleans did some study on the effects of hard rock, Classical and no music on people and discovered nothing conclusive. Ok, so it's not quite in my favour, but it's not against! And think of all those times you've been told that loud, angry music is bad for you. 

Wait...you mean to say... all the authority figures in my life have been wrong and metal HASN'T been ruining my life? 

One of my earliest memories of rock and society came down to the Columbine High shooting of 1999. I was a teenager then, a hardcore fan of Linkin Park (don't judge!), and I felt really strongly when experts tried to pin the cause of the massacre onto metal bands like Rammstein. I felt so strongly that I wrote a short story of a parallel fictional incident, which highlighted all the socioeconomic disadvantages the students had, and isolation and social problems they faced. Their only salvation was their music, and it kept them alive for those 18 years. (And I knew this all at the age of... 13... shame on those experts!) 

So I'm going to keep listening to my metalcore and alt metal. I once meditated to the sweet sounds of Chevelle, and it was amazing. It was so moving that I was in tears by the end of the session. And I would do it again too.