For A Good Workout, Great Music is Necessary

Great Music = Good Workout!
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I don’t know about you, but for me great music can be the difference between a good and a bad workout. Going for a run is nice and all that, but with music it feels inspiring. Lifting weights (for me) is incredibly boring, but add in some intense music and I feel way more powerful.

I recently joined a yoga studio, and one of the deciding factors was that this yoga studio in particular plays great music at a healthy volume.  I’m not talking about your normal flowy yoga music. I’m talking about Radiohead, Daft Punk, and a multitude of other music. It makes me feel strong, inspired, and ready to push myself. Sit me in a hot yoga studio without music, and I’m far less excited.

Running to a great song makes me feel inspired.
Image: Shutterstock

For me, the best music to work out to falls in one of two categories: current musical obsessions (Ellie Goulding, Robyn, Lindsey Stirling) and music from my teenage years (Blink-182, Foo Fighters, Third Eye Blind). Sometimes the two categories cross over, if I still listen to the same band from back then (Radiohead, Daft Punk, Muse). And sometimes I just like some random song—this often happens with electronic music, since I don’t generally listen to that genre as a whole (I’m very picky when it comes to liking techno).

What kind of music gets you up and moving? Is it heavy metal? Hard rock? Pop? Techno? Dubstep? 90s? We all have our different musical tastes and preferences, but I’m always looking to add new tunes to my repertoire. Share your favorite tunes and artists in the comments!

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To Barefoot or Not To Barefoot?

Minimalist and barefoot shoes have been all the rage the past few years, but recent reports show that sales are rapidly dropping. Advocates of the tiny style of shoes say that they promote better running form and help reduce pressure on the heel and knee. Not everyone is convinced, however, and some have even experienced more injuries after switching to barefoot shoes.

Barefoot shoes may not be for everyone.
Image: Harri Haataja via Flickr

Essentially, the lack of padding helps simulate running barefoot, as our ancestors would have done. Running on the heel is more uncomfortable than running on the toe, moving the stress from the back of the foot up, and therefore helping to relieve stress on the knee. But while moving the main pressure point up can initially help reduce knee pain, it also demands more of the ankle, Achilles, and calf muscles.

Unfortunately, if runners have a stiffer ankle or foot, this change in pressure can result in lower leg and foot stress fractures. Plus, the increased demand on calf muscles results in earlier fatigue for beginning runners, causing them to revert to a heel-to-toe stride and increasing pressure on the knees once more.

Minimalist shoes can have many benefits, and over time can greatly strengthen calves, ankles, foot, and toe muscles—but they are not for everyone and should be transitioned to gradually.

According to Runner’s World, people with a history of certain injuries might be better off with traditional running shoes:

• Achilles Tendinitis
• Plantar Fasciitis (pain in the sole of the foot)
• Tibialis Posterior Tendinopathy (pain in the main tendon that attaches calves to foot bones)
• Calf strains
• Overpronation (inward rolling of foot)
• Oversupination (outward rolling)

Those who would potentially benefit the most from using minimalist or barefoot shoes include those who want to reduce knee pressure, including those suffering from the following:

• Early onset osteoarthritis
• Previous meniscal (inner knee) tears
• Patellofemoral (top of knee) pain

As for the transition, it’s not a good idea to completely switch over immediately. Even if you are a seasoned runner, switching directly over to barefoot shoes for your three-mile daily run will likely wreak havoc on your legs. A great example I have of this is when a friend of mine began joining me on runs. He hadn’t run for quite some time, but has generally good endurance. He wore his Vibram toe-shoes for our two-mile run. Later that night, his normally tight calf muscles tensed up so much that it made him feel physically ill. He could barely walk for the next three days, and even missed a day of work because it was too painful to walk there. Not fun!

Transition gradually and carefully to avoid injuries like this. Start with walking—wear your barefoot shoes for a few short walks to acclimate your foot and begin building your arch and calf muscles. After you are comfortable with this, transition to warm up exercises and drills.

Out of the shoes, make sure to stretch your calves, Achilles, and plantar fascia (sole of your foot) every day to strengthen and loosen them up. Practice calf raises and backwards walking to further strengthen and stretch. Run shorter distances than you are used to at first, and possibly switching back and forth between barefoot and regular until your legs get the hang of things.

Most importantly, if your barefoot shoes are not working out for you—if they hurt or make you feel too uncomfortable—it’s perfectly fine to ditch them! You might just need more support or motion control. 

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Fitness Apps to Test Run

Use technology to stay active with these exercise apps.
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It seems that everywhere you look, people have smartphones. From professionals to teenagers, many of us are “plugged in” to technology more often than not. And while this can sometimes be detrimental to staying active and fit, there are also some great apps that are actually meant to help keep you exercising on a regular basis. If you’re looking for a source of motivation and have a smartphone, check out these apps:

MapMyRundoes exactly what the title denotes: it maps your run using GPS. Not only that, but it also tells you your speed, total distance, time, elevation change, and overall calories burned. All your runs are saved, so you can look back at anytime to track your progress. The creators of this app have also created other apps for cycling, hiking, walking, dog walking, and more. Best of all: it’s free!

Nike Training Cluboffers a variety of training activities, from cardio to weight lifting. It has over 90 custom and comprehensive workouts and allows you to set goals like “Get Lean,” “Get Strong” or “Get Toned.” After that, you just select your fitness level and the app will create several workouts from 30-45 minutes long. Each exercise comes with photos, step-by-step instructions, or a video. You can even play music from your phone at the same time as you are completing your circuit training workouts. Oh, and this one is free, too. What’s not to like?

Need motivation? Try "Zombies, Run!"
Image: Wired

Zombies, Run!might just be the best idea for a running app. Ever. Seriously, who wouldn’t be motivated to run faster and farther when threatened with zombies? The clever integration of a game-like concept (zombies attack, you must save humanity) into a fitness app makes working out more exciting and fun, and I can’t help but love it. For beginners, the app costs $1.99 and for the deluxe edition, it costs $3.99.

Fitness Buddyis for those who want to build muscle and strength. The paid version, which costs $0.99 includes more than 1,700 exercises, 1,000 HD photos, and more than 45 full-length workouts. The free version offers 300 exercises and dozens of workouts to explore before deciding whether or not to purchase the app. The workouts featured utilize several types of gym equipment such as kettlebells and resistance bands, making it the perfect gym companion. Like MapMyRun, Fitness Buddy allows you to track your progress over time, making it even more valuable.

Which fitness apps have you tried at home? I have RunKeeper on my phone at home, but I haven’t decided how I feel about it yet. I enjoy being able to track how far I’ve run, what my pace is, calories I’ve burned and everything else. It feels a little like a prize at the end of a long workout—something I can hold up and say, “Look what I accomplished!” Certainly, fitness apps are not for everyone, but for those who have a hard time getting motivated or coming up with workouts, they could be incredibly helpful.

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Sore Muscles? Exercise More!

Sore muscles are caused by microdamage to muscles.
Image from washingtonian.com

It might seem like strange advice, but if your muscles are sore from exercise, exercising more can help relieve them. Sore muscles are caused by tiny injuries to muscle fibers and connective tissue—this “microdamage” is common after exercising harder or longer than usual and happens because our muscles are not used to working in that way. We all know the feeling of waking up the next day (or even the day after that) sore.

But don’t worry; a little microdamage is normal when we first start exercising or try new exercises. That’s why normally, after a few times doing that same activity you’ll no longer get sore. Your muscles will repair themselves, become stronger, and adapt to the new set of activities.

It’s all good and well talking about muscle soreness when it’s not around; but when it is, it can be brutal. Luckily, there are some things you can do about it. The first is to be sure that you always stretch before and after exercise, as well as on the days you feel sore. The second is to treat the soreness in some way.

Light exercise and stretching can help relieve soreness.
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Traditionally, people use hot and cold treatments to lessen soreness. Cold treatments should be used first to stop inflammation and swelling, especially after an injury or particularly strenuous exercise. Heat can be used later to help loosen and relax muscles. Both can help combat soreness. Just remember: cold first, heat later!

Massage is another common treatment for soreness, as it helps with blood flow and relaxes tightened muscles. Some also swear by acupuncture for helping to relieve sore muscles—though I haven’t tried that one yet.

But my favorite—and perhaps the most surprising to some—is treating soreness with more exercise. I’m not talking about going out and running a marathon; I’m talking about doing some light exercise similar to what made you sore. Exercise has been shown to be just as effective as massage at relieving sore muscles,as it also gets blood flowing and stretches muscles out once more. Through increased blood flow, muscles receive more oxygen and can heal faster. 

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Afternoon Exercise May Be The Best

It turns out that the best time to exercise might be in the afternoon, according to a new study published by the LA Brain Research Institute in the Journal of Physiology. Our bodies have an endogenous circadian rhythm, an internal clock, which controls everything from our hearts to our brains. Sometimes that clock gets out of whack, and researchers say that exercise can help put it back on the right track.

The preliminary results, based on results on mice, suggest that midday is the time when exercise most affects our circadian rhythm in a positive way. We have cells within our brains that help us tell what time of day it is, which influences when we naturally sleep and wake, among other things.

Signals from light and darkness cause genes within these cells to produce proteins and release them into the body. From there, they move to all our vital organs and keep them synchronized.

The problem is, sometimes our internal clocks don’t function like they ought to. They get confused and off because of things like artificial light in the evening; even aging makes the internal clock less functional. When this happens, we have a harder time falling asleep, sleeping through the night, and staying awake during the day. More severe consequences are a higher risk for diabetes, obesity, some types of cancer, memory loss, and mood disorders.

But Dr. Christopher Colwell and his colleagues believe that exercising may be the key to getting our circadian rhythms back to normal. After several weeks of letting healthy mice run on a regular basis, they found that their circadian protein production was up, meaning their internal clocks were being regulated effectively.

Some mice had malfunctioning internal clocks, so the researchers had these mice exercise at different times of the day to see if running would also help “fix” them. As it turned out, these mice also started producing more of the proteins, especially those who ran during the equivalent to our “afternoon.” Their internal clocks were functioning better than they had been before.

What this study tells us is that exercising in the morning and afternoon does help our internal clocks regulate. Colwell says that some evidence he’s gathered suggests that late-night exercise might actually be harmful to our sleep rhythms, though. More research will need to be done before the specifics can be nailed down. But one thing’s (still) for certain: exercise is good for us!

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