| SolveYourProblem
eLearning Series:
I'm an Active Senior
Who Wants To Stay Healthy
( 50 aticles in this series )
Play
Music While Exercising
To Increase Motivation
Are you looking for a way to increase the
positive effects of your commitment to exercise? According
to doctors and researchers, you can increase your motivation
and concentration and decrease your conscious effort when you
exercise by making one simple change – the music that’s playing
while you work out.
People
have known for decades that music makes work seem easier – but now researchers have proved that music is one of the
strongest personal motivators known. According to studies headed
by Dr. Jimmy Smith, a sports psychologist who practices in
Texas, the right music can make you exercise harder and burn
calories faster. Because exercisers are focusing on the music
instead of on their bodies, he believes, they don’t feel the
strain as much, so they work harder and longer. One of the
most interesting findings of his research is that the best
music isn’t high-energy, fast-paced dance music, as many workout
trainers have assumed.
Instead, Dr. Smith found, the
‘best’ music for working out depends on the tastes of the
exerciser. In one study, he had
15 students each do four workouts on exercise bikes. The first
one was done with no music, the second to slow music, the third
to fast music, and the last to music that they picked out themselves.
In every single case, the students worked harder, longer and
faster when they were listening to their favorite music. The
results on all the other tracks were mixed, but when students
were listening to their own choice of music, they pedaled faster
and harder, and worked out longer than with any of the other
three selections of music.
What
does this mean for your workouts? Pop in your favorite
music, say the experts, and let the good times roll! For many
seniors, that means pumping up the volume on the Golden Oldies
while they pump up the meter on their hearts and lungs. Working
out to the Oldies is one of the most popular aerobics exercise
classes at many senior citizen centers. Others get into the
swing of exercising with the Big Band sounds of the Forties,
or the Fabulous Fifties. And for an increasing number of fit
and active seniors, exercising to music means square dancing
and line dancing.
According to the Central Puget Sound Square Dancing Council,
square dancing is the perfect low impact aerobics workout for
seniors. They quote Dr. Arron Blackburn, who conducted a study
of square dancers as old as 80 and concluded that they were
as healthy and fit as adults ten years younger. According to
Dr. Blackburn, “It’s clear that square dancing is the perfect
physical exercise. It combines all the positive aspects of
intense physical exercise with none of the negative elements.”
What Dr. Blackburn says about square dancing can be said of
nearly any kind of dance. Rhythmic movement to music
is more than just great exercise. It also challenges the mind, involves
the whole body and includes social aspects that are hard to
find anywhere else. Dancing is “the ultimate togetherness workout”
says Phil Martin, an instructor at California State University
at Long Beach. According to Martin, steps like the Samba, the
Cha-Cha, the East Coast Swing, the Foxtrot and the Viennese
Waltz can raise your heart function to the levels required
for aerobic benefit without the strain of a more boring workout.
You just don’t notice the effort because you’re having too
much fun.
And having fun is another part of the benefit of working out
to your favorite golden oldies. Studies show that seniors who
have a regular social outlet are less likely to be depressed
and are healthier than those who are solitary and alone. Part
of the reason may be the fun factor, says Martin. It’s a lot
harder to keep up a regular three times a week workout than
it is to go dancing every Saturday night.
Whether your favorite workout is the Lindy, the Charleston,
a break-dance or a polka, the music you choose can be the key
to keeping yourself in shape, and having fun while you’re doing
it. You can find local dance socials by checking with your
senior citizen center, or in the Events section of your local
newspaper. Click here to discover my current SolveYourProblem recommendation and choice pick for the fastest, easiest and best exercise / fitness solution you'll find anywhere. Get it and reward yourself with more more energy and a healthier life.
# # # # #
by SolveYourProblem.com
: 2006
> Home > Healthy
Seniors Articles : Main Page
|
