It’s a gusty Thursday afternoon. I’m tired and a little tender. I don’t feel like training. The usual suspects are here pumping out quarter squats, and taking long menacing stares at themselves in the mirror between sets. It’s all terribly un-motivating.
I place my things down on a vacant bench and consult my training program. It looks hard; some high volume overhead pressing followed by a heap of shoulder exercises which will probably render my upper body useless for the rest of the day. This style of training demands intensity and I don’t know if I have it in me today.
Sitting on the bench are my headphones. Usually I’ll throw on a podcast while I train but today I opt for music. The gritty nu-metal sound of Linkin Park starts to crunch away into my ears, and with the synthetic guitar loops, edgy lyrics and punchy percussion, something starts to shift within me…
Before long I’m totally immersed in my workout. I’m head banging and miming the lyrics to “Fighting Myself” completely re-energised and motivated. The rest of my session is like one big rock concert and
I leave the gym some 45 minutes later feeling invigorated and accomplished.
Now I’ll admit it: I’m not usually very interested in academic studies. But one set of data that consistently perked my curiosity was that of how music influences athletic performance.
It is no shocker to learn that the science here supports what most of us have intuitively and anecdotally discovered for ourselves: music works. Whether it is – as some studies cite – an elevation in mood; or
enhanced levels of motivation; or the fact that up-tempo tracks improve one’s running cadence, music is unanimously shown to improve athletic performance.
While there are some exceptions – studies tend not to support heavy metal music during a golf putt – most of us can leverage music to give us that lift we need to get through a tough workout. But it’s not
just the gym where we can apply this. It’s on the way to work to endure a long, lonesome commute. It’s prior to that big presentation you need to be “on” and ready for.
Music is a tool we can use to excite, and it’s a tool we can use if we want to relax. It’s a tool we can use to help us do what needs to get done. So start tuning in to the tunes. And let the music take you.
This article was originally published in the October Edition of The Sydney Observer‘s Health and Longevity Section of the Magazine
https://sydneyobserver.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Observer1125.pdf
CHANGE IS THE POINT 