Music Can Make You a Better Athlete

Now there is good reason to combine two of life's pleasures -- boxing and music.  The music you listen to while you train and before a boxing match can have a huge effect on your performance in the ring.  I've always known that music is a definite must for keeping interested in workouts, and the research suggests that those who listen to music will stick to their routines a lot longer and exert more effort during that workout. 

Anyone who has ever embarked on a workout routine quickly understands why it is called a  "routine".  Without variation and imagination, workouts eventually get boring and boxing workouts are no exception.  The amount of motivation a person can muster up during a workout directly affects the energy and effort they put into that workout which will ultimately affect performance. Top athletes know this.  Recently, snowboarder Hanah Teter made news for listening to her Ipod during her gold medal halfpipe routine.   Haile Gebreselassie set a world record for the indoor 2000m while his favorite song was playing in the background and he attributed the beat of the song to his performance.

But won't listening to music be a distraction?  Don't we want to achieve 100% focus on every workout?  100% effort is the focus and music can help us achieve that.  Lee Crust did some research into the effects of music on performance and what he found is good news.  To summarize his findings:

1. Music provides athletes with an appropriate focus, decreases boredom, and gives them a decreased sense of effort.  This is important because our bodies have a limited ability to deal with pain.  Some people are better at it than others, obviously.  Music moves the focus away from the regular pains of exercise and puts it somewhere more enjoyable - the music.  Asking people who workout at a certain level of intensity while listening to music, they report a decreased sense of effort when in fact performance increased 5-7%.  Music has the ability of temporarily distracting us from feeling pain.


2. Music affects arousal levels and some researchers believe it puts us into an altered state of consciousness -- or flow.  Using music before a boxing match to get pumped up or afterwards to relax are two ways music can be used to put us in our optimal state for the given circumstance.


3. Music can trigger a positive work and learning environment and the beat of the music can act as a motivator to increased effort.  Thus selecting appropriate music for boxing workouts can help you achieve the most from them.  Music has a positive impact on mood states both before, during, and after a workout session.
   

To achieve the benefits music can provide, it is important to pick the right music and it is important to vary your choices.  Your body adapts to pretty much everything which is how conditioning eventually works.  It also means it will adapt to the music you are listening to and after listening to the same AC/DC track a million times, that music may not be as effective anymore.  This is called sensory adaptation and you have to take steps to avoid it.  All that means is that you need to vary your music choices which in itself is a good thing.  It exposes you to new artists, new music, and new likes/dislikes.

What kind of music is good for boxing?

Believe it or not, some research has been done in this area, focusing mainly on bpm (beats per minute), but there is also the motivational factor involving the lyrics of the song.  Songs with lyrics such as "move your body" or "smash something" and so on... have been shown to be more effective motivators.  The lyrics add to the little voice in your head telling you to perform, which is why a number of Olympic athletes this year have used an Ipod or Ipod enabled helmets, jackets and other accessories to train and compete to their favorite tunes.

Boxing, like weightlifing, requires maximal effort so music needs to get you pumped up and ready to go.  You need to be agitated and ready to pound the snot out of someone, so the latest rendition of the Little Mermaid theme song is probably not the best choice.  Following are some choices based on BPM and lyrics that will work for you and your tastes.  So, head on over to napster.com and start burning your boxing workout music.  The higher the BPM, the more intense the workout will be and be sure to pick music that interests you:

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