What’s More Than Just A Good Beat To Groove To? It’s Workout Music

It’s been one of those days—you know, the hard long kind. You just make it to your front door, turn the key in the lock, kick the door open, drop your bag on the ground, heave the door shut, and heave a sigh of relief. You just made it through another twenty-four hours in the jungle!

And yet, since you’re so strapping, healthy and just oozing with evening steam that you can hardly contain your keenness, you jump into your trackies, fish your sneakers out from under the couch and head out for a brisk 5 mile jog, despite the 35 degree heat, most likely humming as you go.

If you snorted, laughed, or twitched with scorn at that last paragraph, then please, read on. If you read that last paragraph, nodded happily and thought “What a jolly good idea!” please stop reading RIGHT NOW. Go sit in a corner, and eat a litre of ice cream and a few slices of pizza until you become at least remotely human again and feel as lazy, tired, bloated and completely unenthusiastic as a normal person.

Despite the best of intentions—and often, regardless of our level of fitness—exercise tends to be the first thing to fall by the wayside when we get busy. It can be pretty hard to work up the enthusiasm to work out after dealing with all the stresses of the day, even if we do know we'll feel better afterwards.

Endorphins make us feel happy, and exercise increases endorphin levels. But since we don’t tend to exercise when we’re stressed or low on endorphins, it’s a bit of a catch 22. If only we could raise those endorphin levels a little before exercise time we might feel more inclined to get active.

One of the simplest – and strongest – ways of enhancing our moods and energy levels is music. We’ve all had the wonderful experience of enjoying a track with a great rhythm that gets our feet tapping and has us hopping around the house singing along. In the same way, a good workout music cd can get us up and active when we’re feeling a bit lethargic and unmotivated.

And in addition to the emotional benefits you get from listening to music, you also get some very real physical effects. Certain flavours of music, like drumming mixes and rhythmic beats are believed to help increase respiration and heart rate during aerobic exercise. Music also serves as a distraction from discomfort and from that strong desire to jog only as far as the fridge and have a beer instead.

The right playlist can get you up, keep you moving, and then act as a relaxant when it’s time for the cool-down. Everybody’s taste in music is unique and so most people prefer a compilation of a range of artists and songs in a nice mix that builds up to a good pace and then, when it’s time to wind up, helps you simmer down. Producers like Music Mosaic make at least that part of your workout easy, by creating a high energy workout music mix cd with enough variety to guarantee you don’t get bored with your playlists.

If dancing around the house with a mop is your preferred form of exercise and music appreciation then you’ll also find some great dance mixes that will have you gliding with the vacuum cleaner. Fair warning though, your neighbours may decide that there is a dance party happening and want to join you.

Hearing the same old songs that are milked by local radio stations every day can be almost as tiring as the actual workout. That’s where smaller, alternative CD labels can be your saving grace.

Music Mosaic, for example, produces a trance dance workout music cd that’s much more than just a beat to bounce along to; every song in the compilation is a musical work of art utilising multi-cultural ensembles, world-beat and world fusion to create a truly unique sound. The music isn’t there just to be a blare in the background but is entertaining and enjoyable in its own way.

Whether you’re working out, hanging out with friends or just listening to music for the sheer fun of it, smaller labels that demonstrate a vision appropriate for our time can truly improve and enliven your experience.

In this era of lifestyle illnesses, such as diabetes and obesity, fattening food, and of course, desk jobs, exercise of all sorts is a lot more important than ever before. It doesn’t have to be boring. Grab your mp3 player or portable CD player, fill it with songs that get your feet moving, and break loose!

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