Posted on June 11, 2018 by Jenny Cromack

Ieuan’s Training Music Playlist

Most people spend their gym lives moving to the beat of their chosen playlist and the effects of music on exercise have been researched for many decades. Many researchers have argued that listening to music while we engage in our exercises helps increase our training durations, energy efficiency, and work output, whilst also reducing ratings of perceived exertion. The type of music may be based on preference, but commonly reported types of workout music (as sampled from college aged students) were hip-hop, rock, and pop. Within the research there tends to be more of a focus on the temp rather than the style. Ranges of 145-180 bpm appear to be argued, but recent research suggests 145bpm is an optimal tempo for the desired positive effects of music. So does your music match these tempos? Have you tried training with and without music? Does it have the reported effects?

Training Playlist

Ieuan’s Playlist

Those who know me will be aware of my eclectic taste in music and my training playlist reflects this. I do not subscribe to one style or genre of music to workout to. In fact, the type of song or music depends heavily on what exercise I am doing. If I am lifting heavy and working on strength or power my music needs to be aggressive and have heavy beat, something like hip-hop or rock music.

If I am working on some steady state cardio, such as running, I need something a little lighter on the beat that has a fluid and consistent tempo. This could be a range of genres and on my playlist does vary from some lighter rock to rap or house music. I like to try match the beat to my running pace, I have recently been running at 7mph and found that Linkin Park’s Somewhere I belong fits this perfectly.

What is on my playlist I hear you ask? Well here it is, broken into types of exercise:

Strength or Power:

  • Freak on a Leash – Korn
  • Fast Lane – Bad Meets Evil
  • Show Me The Money – Petey Pablo
  • Soldier – Eminem
  • Hypest Hype – Chase & Status
  • Machine Gun – Chase & Status

Cardio:

  • No Problem – Chase & Status
  • Somewhere I Belong – Linkin Park
  • Breaking The Habit – Linkin Park
  • The Regulator – Clutch
  • Guess Again – Plan B
  • More Ratatatin – Chase & Status
  • Look At Me Now – Chris Brown

Here is a little insight into my training playlist. This gets updated and altered on a weekly basis but the majority remain stalwarts of my exercise music relationship. Music is so versatile and diverse you can have a playlist for any aspect of physical activity. I would also have a training and match day rugby playlist that varied depending on the team we would play and the type of game I wanted to play.

Why not try set your life and training to a playlist? it does help your focus and performance in my opinion?