Running with music

Everyone knows that going for a run is good for you, but most of us do not run for various reasons. The most common reason for people not running is that they find it boring. After the first 15 minutes of an hour long run, boredom really starts to set in and you wonder why you are making yourself do this.

Overcoming boredom

If you get bored running, you really should try running with music. One runner I met raved about how great it was to be able to listen to music and that he would not be out running if he had no music. On his website he stated:

Benefits of running with music

It is becoming very common to see runners using iPods and other music players to play music while they run. 90% of runners find that running with music not only helps prevent boredom, but also help them keep up the pace. 

There are many benefits for running with music:

• Help overcome boredom
• The beat of the music can help set the pace of your run
• Music can be inspirational to you
• Takes your mind off running
• Help people get away from reality and calm themselves as they run
• Calm down after a stressful day.

In saying that there are a few disadvantages to running with music:

• Some people like to run and listen to the sounds around them more than music.
• Loud music can make you oblivious to another runner coming up behind you.
• It has also been determined that criminals look for people who aren't paying attention to their surroundings, for example people talking on cellphones or people listening to music.

MP3 player revolution

Until recently, personal music players like the CD player have been to big and heavy to carry on a run. When the small, light weight MP3 player were released, they could be strapped out of the way on your arm and do not move around when you run.

Beats per minute

When it comes to recommending music for running or the best number of beats per minute (BPM), it varies from person to person. As some of us run faster than others and some have a shorter stride, different music tempos suit us.

One person recommended music that was around 170 BPM to 180 BPM, or music that was 85 BPM to 95 BPM. The difference is that you can take one step on each beat of the faster music, where as you can take 2 steps for each beat of the slower music.

Recommended music

One of the most common songs to run to is Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger", which was a theme from the Rocky series. In saying this, everyone has different music tastes. Below are recommendations from different users that might give you some ideas:

Rob

• Temptations - 2Pac
• Easy Tonight - Five For Fighting
• Joyride - Rooster
• Break of Day - Tina Dico
• Lose Yourself - Eminem
• True Nature - Janes Addiction
• Ordinary - Train
• Something About You - Five For Fighting
• Boulevard Of Broken Dreams - Green Day
• Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin
• Woke Up This Morning - Nickelback

Fred

• Almost - Bowling for Soup
• Move Along - All American Rejects
• Steady as she goes - The Raconteurs
• I write sins not tragedies - Panic! at the Disco
• Dirty Little Secret - All American Rejects
• Mardy Bum - Artic Monkeys
• No Matter What - Def Leppard
• Whiskey In the Jar - Metallica

Hux

• Brimful of Asha (Fatboy Slim Remix) - Cornershop
• Smooth Criminal - Alien Antfarm
• No One Knows - Queens of the Stone Age
• Disintegrator - DJ Swamp
• Walkie Talkie - DJ Shadow
• Doesn't Remind Me - AudioSlave
• Superman - Stereophonics

Sam

• Best of you - Foo Fighters
• Stone Cold Crazy - Metalica
• The One - Foo Fighters
• A Secret Place - Megadeth
• Pump It - Black Eyed Peas
• Modern Love - David Bowie
• You Might Think - The Cars
• Power Song: Idiot - Lisa Marie Presley

Unknown

• BecK - Loser
• Berlin - the Metro
• Tom Petty - Last Dance with Mary Jane
• Everlast - What it's Like
• The Cure - Pictures of You
• Chili Peppers - Scar Tissue
• Nelly - Shake your Tailfeather
• Shawn Colvin - Sonny Came Home
• Everlast - Ends
• Nickelback - How you remind me

Tags: Exercise, Running

Related Items:

• Sony NWS200 Series MP3 Walkman
• Index of Running Music
• Music with exercise boosts brain power

Comments / Replies

• 

  Jago Holmes Says:
  17 February, 2010 at 2:04 am

  I think running without music can be very dull at times. Some good uplifting music can really help you when you need a bit of extra motivation to run faster or further. I think the music has to be specially selected with running in mind, so you have some very upbeat tunes to listen to - Jago

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