AURAL STIMULATION

What moves you?
What motivates you to run longer, lift heavier, or paddle/row faster?

Other than the obvious rewards of regular exercise (fitting in your favorite jeans, race performance, strong heart, sound mind, lifting a VW, etc.), what gets you going on those days when you just don't want to hit the gym/trail/pool?

For me, it's MUSIC. Music is a performance enhancing "drug." Yes, I've been using this performance-enhancer for over 20 years. It is perfectly legal and has zero negative side-effects (unless you play it too loud or never clean your headphones).

For many of us, just getting into a regular fitness routine is a challenge. Those first couple of gym visits after a long layoff requires some intestinal fortitude. It's really no different than getting back into church, regular dental check-ups, or for some, bathing.

So when you finally set foot back in the gym, make it a little less painless with some music you enjoy. After re-establishing your fitness baseline in a few days/weeks (this number varies on YOUR abilities), it is then time to switch up that play list and do some performance-enhancing. (NOTE: If you are the type of person that goes into the gym and does the same thing 3 days a week and doesn't want to improve on what you have, then save your time and move on to another blog.) If you want to read about this topic with a more scientific viewpoint, check out this American Council on Exercise article.

I will explain what works well for me; what works for you will no doubt be a little different. The point of this post is to get you thinking about it. MAKE yourself a play list. If you already have one, think about changing it up.

At any given time, I have 3-5 play lists depending on my type/mode of workout. Play list 1 is for strength training. Play list 2 is for short runs of 4 miles or less and Play list 3 is for longer runs. I like to change at least one play list per month. Keep the music fresh. You probably have some songs that fire you up no matter what mode/intensity of exercise you're engaging in. By all means, include them! But be sure to change them out occasionally; don't wear out a good thing. Below are some tunes that are often scattered in ALL of my lists:

Theme From Superman by John Williams
Cinderella Man by Eminem
Radioactive by Imagine Dragons
The Touch by Stan Bush
Going the Distance by Bill Conti
Mindfields by The Prodigy
How Ya Like Me Now? by Kool Moe Dee
This Means War by Nickelback
The Outsiders by Eric Church
'Till I Collapse by Eminem
Hot Blooded by Foreigner
Rusty Cage by Johnny Cash
Right Place by Petra
Eye of the Tiger by Survivor

Soundtrack music, in particular, has a special place in my heart. How many of us have pounded the heavy bag to the "Rocky" or "Bloodsport" soundtracks? In addition to creating a link between the music and your physical performance, you also have the mental imagery of the training scenes in those movies. Use them to your advantage!

I recently experimented with something a little different. Instead of listening strictly to music, I put together some motivating speeches from various movies. I found this to be a fresh change from music. While running, I envisioned myself IN that locker room or ON that battlefield listening to the words. Almost instinctively, I corrected my form (I was running) and picked up the pace a little. Most of the time (and by "most," I mean 99% of the time), I exercise without a workout buddy. As corny as it may sound, having King Leonidas or Coach Carter yelling in my ear DID help me shave a minute off my 5k run time AND get a couple extra reps on the bench press.

After all, who wouldn't want King Leonidas as your workout partner? I might ask him to wear regular shorts, though; I don't think the YMCA would let him in the door dressed like this.