When it comes to interval workouts, music can act as the perfect motivation tool. One academic study, published in the Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise journal, confirmed this – researchers had a group of 20 pretty active people between 18-26 years old ride an exercise bike. They all did sprint intervals, with one group listening to their own personalized playlist of tunes. For the other group… silence.
Surprise! Of those in the group that exercised to their playlists, they all enjoyed their workouts. And, those who worked out in silence? They just didn’t enjoy exercising as much as the other group. Those who jammed as they rode also had a higher average output of power than those who worked out music-free.
What Does BPM Have to Do with Interval Workouts?
When it comes to interval workouts, the pace of your workout plays a big part in the effectiveness of the routine. And the BPM (beats per minute) of the music you listen to during your workout can help you push your pace. The more BPMs in a song, the faster the song… and, the faster the pace of your workout.
Choosing a Playlist with the Right BPM Intervals
When you workout by yourself, music tends to act as a personal trainer or coach. This is especially true when you’ve set a workout goal that includes a quick, but serious calorie-burning routine. To maximize your workout’s effectiveness, you can vary your playlist’s BPM.
Below we have put together an interval workout playlist in which the songs alternate between 80 BPM and 120 BPM. Want to speed up your workout? Simply double step, or double your pace, with each beat of a track.
- Chasing Pavements by Adele – 80 BPM
- Tik Tok by Ke$ha – 120 BPM
- Halo by Beyonce – 80 BPM
- Alors on Danse by Stromae, Kanye West & Wilbere Forte – 120 BPM
- The Weekend by Allstar Weekend – 80 BPM
- DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love by Usher – 120 BPM
- Come & Get It by Selena Gomez – 80 BPM
- As We Enter by Damian Marley & Nas – 120 BPM
- Champagne Supernova by Oasis – 80 BPM
- Love Lockdown by Kanye West – 120 BPM
So next time you set up your interval workout, be it running on your treadmill or lifting weights in the gym, pump up the volume and see the difference a good beat makes!