Let the Rhythm Move You

In a recent study conducted at The Ohio State University, researchers concluded that listening to music helped people with severe respiratory disease increase their fitness levels. Subjects with serious lung disease who listened to music while walking covered an average of 19 total miles over the course of an eight-week exercise intervention study. In comparison, the group that didn’t listen to music only walked an average of 15 total miles – 21 percent less by the end of the study. At several points during the study, participants were timed to see how much distance they could walk in six minutes. By the end of the study, the subjects who listened to music while walking for exercise increased the distance they covered per walk by 445 feet (136 meters), while the average distance covered by the non-music group decreased by 169 feet (51 meters) per walk.

This study is among many others that suggest music is a major asset to adhering and or enhancing an exercise program. In efforts to improve your cardiovascular fitness, the rule of thumb is to find music that carries the same beats per minute (bpm’s) as your pace, or even ideally a few beats higher to motivate you, thus allowing the music to reinforce a challenging pace!

To figure out how many beats per minute (bpm’s) your workout tunes should be, count how many times your feet hit the ground during a one-minute run or “purposeful” walk for those walkers out there. If you are walking take an estimated minute and a half count. This will be your beats per minute pace. 

Here are some suggestions on where to find great hits (bpm’s) to work-out to:

Order/download from iTunes

• Search keywords: Fitness, Workout, Aerobic, Cardio, Power Music


• Order whole cds or individual songs from the library

Websites to check out…

• www.aerobicsmusic.com


• www.powermusic.com


• www.workoutmusic.com


• www.dynamixmusic.com


• www.32mixesshop.com


• www.clickmix.com


• www.fusionmusicshop.com