When it comes to weight loss diet plans, we have seen them all. One common thing in all diets is instead of focusing on accelerating the metabolism, they emphasize reducing food.
On the contrary, exercising in the gym with recumbent elliptical cross trainers, treadmills, or lifting weights will increase the ability to burn calories.
Let us try concentrating on making the most of the time we spend exercising and organically increasing our basal (resting) metabolism. Music is one of the lesser-known methods for accomplishing this. Listening to music signals your body and mind to “wake up”, just like a caffeine jolt would. Read on to learn how.
How does music motivate you?
According to English playwright and poet William Congreve, music possesses charms that can calm the wild beast. Like calming music in a doctor’s or dentist’s office helps soothe anxious patients, the correct music can motivate in several ways for weight loss.
Increases your metabolism
As per research, those who exercise to fast-paced music burn more calories than those who exercise to slow music. This is because music activates the area of your brain that controls movement. Thus repetitive movements are carried out by your body more effectively. These repetitive movements enhance your heart rate, body temperature, and respiratory rates helping you burn extra calories.
Improves your mood
The relationship between arousal and a happy mood is greatly influenced by music. Researchers say music can make you feel happy by stimulating the secretion of endorphins. Endorphins, also known as the “feel good hormone”, is released during singing, dancing, laughing, and excitement. These endorphins have been demonstrated to lower appetite and burn fat significantly.
Helps your muscles relax
Music helps muscles relax by relieving muscle tension. Listening to positive music may make you feel more optimistic about life. A slower tempo helps calm your thoughts, de-stress your muscles, soothe you, and let go of muscular tension.
Reduces fatigue
Listening to music while working out helps you push harder, feel better, and continue longer. Listening to music has also shown to improve grip strength and reduce body exhaustion. So, experience the joy of listening to music while exercising to increase your ability to push yourself harder and reduce your fatigue.
Looking to exercise on your favorite elliptical with a 20-inch stride without feeling bored? Put on some music and enjoy your exercise routine!
Helps you stay focused
Whether it’s study, work, or exercise, you can only reach goals with the utmost focus. Music can stimulate your brain in such a way that it trains your brain to focus more on events and forecast what might happen. When you listen to music, both the left and right hemispheres of your brain are simultaneously stimulated, and this dual stimulation can boost learning and concentration.
Reduces your stress
Stress is known to affect your gut health, appetite, and cortisol levels, which can lead to obesity. Music has a special connection with your emotions and can be a powerful stress-reduction tool. Listening to music has a calming effect on your mind thereby lowering cortisol levels. This helps relieve stress and aids in weight loss.
5 tips to find the right music for you
Here are 5 tips to get your groove on while exercising.
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Find the right genre
Although you use music as background noise, your body will try to keep up with the beat. Thus, the genre of your music should ideally reflect the speed at which you are moving your body.
Making the ideal exercise playlist is easy. Just concentrate on the tempo, rhythm, and type of exercise. The rhythm and tempo should be more upbeat when the physical exercise is more strenuous.
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Make a motivation playlist
The emotional content in the music mostly keeps you going while exercising. Look for songs you feel connected to, and you are ready to go.
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Listen at the right time
Although listening to music adds a little variety, and energy to your workout sessions, you must know when to listen. You might think about listening to music during some workouts but not all; for example, while doing cardio, and strength training, but not while walking or jogging on the road. This is because you may not hear the honking of the cars while walking.
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Don’t abuse it
This is not a recommendation for picking music, but it serves as a warning. Turning up your headphones’ level to the point where you can not hear those around you can harm your hearing in the long run.
Conclusion
Music is inspiring, entertaining, and has strong psychological impacts that can enhance well-being. Consider incorporating music into your exercise routine rather than viewing it as entertainment. Exercise and a balanced diet are the best course of action for weight loss. However, you can include music in your toolbox to help you with anxiety and sleep, balance hormones, burn extra fat, and discover your happier self.
Author Info: By healthyandkhush.com
Summary:
Healthy and Khush is a blog dedicated to sharing science-based tips and hacks that will help you lose weight and keep it off.
