If you gave up your gym membership in the first few months of this year, don’t be too hard on yourself, maintaining a fitness routine can be really tough. However, if you want to enjoy these nice spring days for outdoor sports, you could use a few tricks, including what you listen to.
Music can help you activate your body, set your own pace and make the time go by faster. A good upbeat tempo can help you perform better, a study from Liverpool John Moores University shows that people who listen to speedier music work harder when they train.
Because of this, music is essential for good results because the rhythm motivates you. Therefore, if you slump when you think about running, you may just need to change your routine by adding good beats. Music can improve your mood, make you happier, keep you focused and lengthen your workouts.
Great athletes use music tracks for their training on a daily basis to get to that place of energy that allows them to increase their endurance and performance. Depending on the type of sport, some athletes find it important to have tracks that allow them to concentrate, while others seek to maximize energy, particularly those with long workouts or those that require more effort.
For example, Apple released the music that Lionel Messi listens to before each match. The list includes 60 songs by artists such as Maluma, Bad Bunny, Karol G, Coldplay, Luis Fonsi, Bizarrap, Rihanna, AC/DC, Juanes, among others. This shows that the soccer star prefers upbeat rhythms.
From landmark Latin pop to reggae, Lionel Messi shares the music that moves him on match day.
Listen to Messi: The Warm-Up playlist, only on Apple Music. And watch Messi all season long with #MLSSeasonPass on @AppleTV. https://t.co/hH0aroOGEC pic.twitter.com/i8S0Ke19iS
— Apple Music (@AppleMusic) February 20, 2024
Messi is one of the greatest athletes of all time, so he must know something about how to stay motivated when training or before every match. Messi: The Warm-Up accompanies him daily, according to Apple’s music app.
The Argentine player includes a lot of music from Latin America and this could have a special meaning to him. Science has shown that the songs you enjoy the most and the ones you are familiar with have a better effect, especially when you need to concentrate. This may mean that there is no perfect genre of music for everyone. You could easily listen to hip-hop, salsa, rock, rap, country, jazz, reggaeton, pop, folk, classical or film soundtracks. What these rhythms evoke in you and the emotional state they transport you to are key.
What activates you to synchronize with music is closely related to your tastes and the culture to which you belong, so it is important that you make your own playlist, but remember that during physical training the most fast-paced music will help you more.
Research from Sheffield Hallam University found that exercise is more efficient when done in sync with music, requiring less oxygen consumption. Thus, if you’re preparing for a competition like a marathon in your community, a good beat will make a difference in what you achieve.
You can also relate music to the best workouts in movies. It’s impossible to listen to ‘Gonna Fly Now’ or ‘Eye of the Tiger’ from the movie Rocky and not think of Balboa training in the boxing ring or climbing the iconic steps at the entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. These songs are part of the world’s popular culture and represent self-improvement through sport.
The best 30 songs for training
Although everyone has their own tastes, certain songs are known worldwide and appeal to almost everyone, especially when it comes to activating the core.
Here are some of the songs you can add to your workout playlist to raise the bar and not throw in the towel before you start.
- Believer, Imagine Dragons
- Wake Me Up, Avicii
- Texas Hold ’em, Beyoncé
- Till I Collapse, Eminem
- Bad Guy, Billie Eilish
- Paint It Black, Rolling Stones
- Viva la Vida, Coldplay
- Sweatpants, Childish Gambino ft. Problem
- Feel This Moment, Christina Aguilera ft. Pitbull
- Flowers, Miley Cyrus
- Another One Bites the Dust, Queen
- Lay Low, Tiësto
- Despacito, Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee
- Giant, Calvin Harris ft. Rag’n’Bone Man
- Vertigo, U2
- Dance Monkey, Tones and I
- Highway to Hell, AC/DC
- Uptown Funk, Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars
- Work B-tch, Britney Spears
- Buttons, The Pussycat Dolls
- I Don’t Care, Ed Sheeran ft. Justin Bieber
- Ready For It?, Taylor Swift
- Mi Gente, J Balvin ft. Beyoncé
- Don’t Stop the Music, Rihanna
- Pump It, The Black Eyed Peas
- Roar, Katy Perry
- Canned Heat, Jamiroquai
- Cold Heart, Elton John ft. Dua Lipa
- Raise Your Glass, Pink
- Barbie Girl, Aqua
Image: Vevo