Did you ever wonder why every gym has music blasting throughout the day or why more and more people wear headphones during their sports session? or have you ever felt an unexplainable rush of excitement when a certain music comes on while you’re working out, much like the thrill you get when playing games available at LottoGo.

Ever since the dawn of humanity, people have used rhythmic songs to coordinate their work. When you come to think of it it’s not that different with working out. But what’s the best music to listen to while working out?

A personal touch

According to research, the music you work out to has to influence you in a personal way. it can be a song you tie positive associations with, like a summer trip where you had a blast or a really cool party with your friends. If there was a time when you have outdone yourself while working out, you should probably stick to the same music when trying to do a really strong workout. According to experts, listen to music that reminds you of your adolescence or teenage period because those tunes will make you feel youthful and fit again.

What genre?

Research performed by Dr Costas Karageorghis, Spotify, and the Music in Exercise and Sport Group at Brunel University, London found that rap music provides you with a beat that facilitates stretching and running, while pop songs provide a steady rhythm for the main part of your session. Dr Karageorghis’ team analysed more than 6.5 million playlists that have the term “workout” in their title, comparing the beats per minute (bpm) a typical song has.

Since a typical person’s stride rate during running is about 150–190 per minute, halving these figures should give you the number of bpm that good workout music should contain (75–95 bpm), which is mostly urban music like hip-hop. Whilst pop is more attuned to more repetitive and slower tasks, like warming up or cooling down for your aerobics session, dance music is best when you’re weight-lifting due to a lot of base and percussive rhythm, and a fast rate. Finally, rock music should be avoided for cardio and other high-intensity sessions because its tempo changes can alter the rhythm you established.

Some other neat tips

The way you start out is really important. The first song that you listen to is going to set the tone for your entire workout so you need to plan ahead. If you’re doing a training session with different aspects, mix up your playlist as well. So play hip-hop while you’re working out, pop when you’re doing aerobics exercises, and blast some dance music for your strength training.

You can choose songs from your favourite sports and action movies to get into the vibe (Eye of the Tiger anyone?). Also, use the lyrics to your advantage by listening to songs that are positively reassuring. if you really like a chorus of a song, use this period for supersets in your strength training or for the intense part of your high-intensity interval training (HIIT).

These are just some of the tips you can use to your advantage to maximize your training performance. However, be sure to listen to your body and mind – if you feel that something is good for you and works for your workout, just stick with it.