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Soundcheck / September 25, 2008 / Music in the health club

Music in the health club

Thursday, September 25, 2008

It’s long been known that fitness clubs use music to motivate their customers. But increasingly gyms are piping one format into the cardio room, and another into the weight area or spinning class. We look at the art and science of getting gym customers pumped up through music.

Soundcheck blog: John Schaefer asks if music can motivate you at the gym.


Comments

  • [1] grad student from IN September 25, 2008 - 02:20PM

    Although I always listen to my own music while working out, music is a big motivating factor for me in working out. (Almost like with dancing.) But music with a continuous beat wouldn't work--; having songs with a buildup to some kind of climax is crucial.

    (But then, I don't really understand how people dance to techno, either.)


  • [2] Katharine Flanders Mukherji from Boerum Hill, Brooklyn September 25, 2008 - 02:26PM

    The only thing about the music played in my gym that gets my heart beat up is anger at how intrusive and ugly it is. If I am wearing earphones I don't want to have to set the sound level high enough to compete with anything piped into the gym while I am doing cardio training. And I have never heard anything piped in that I like, in any case. I find that unremitting beat in much contemporary pop music to be just so much infuriating noise. And yes, I'm over fifty and a classical musician. But I wouldn't impose the music I love on everyone around me or expect them to want to hear it,especially if they are all listening to sounds of their own choosing through earphones. Silence in the gym would be my first choice.
  • [3] Kaye from Manhattan September 25, 2008 - 02:31PM

    It's funny that the guest mentioned that weight rooms usually have hard rock because they cater to male cliente.

    As a woman, I actually PREFER hard rock to the palpy techno/pop music remix stuff. I can't imagine better motivation to really exert yourself than a hard driving song with lyrics like: "Let the bodies hit the ground".

    Can't you just hear yourself make that

    "Hua" sound like a tough athelete as you workout extra hard to a rock song?


  • [4] galvo from turnip country September 25, 2008 - 11:49PM

    i used to spend a hour on a canoe erg.

    very hard to stay motivated and boring, but important work out.

    the only way i could do the workout was with music and this was the pre ipod days. I used

    Jock jams cd's to get me through it. I wouldn’t have done it without the music.

    i also find that nowadays i need an ipod to workout if i am in a gym that is low on the social interaction scale.

    In a gym that there is a good possibility of striking up a conversation i leave the ipod in my bag. Nothing says i don’t want to engage in interaction or conversation then earphones.

    There are waterproof cases for iPods and waterproof earphones. I had one for a mini, and then got one for the shuffle.

    i have found the earphone ipod music helps me stay in the pool and keeps me motivated. I used to be able to do a steady 2500 yards a couple days week, Now I get bored after 10 laps and want to get out. i found that using the ipod while swimming laps made a huge difference as it did on the erg,


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