Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without – Confucius
Dre Dre Beats Tour is my weapon of choice, a birthday gift from my amazing wife, but a gift that keeps on giving. This is my second pair of beats headphones, my inaugural pair, the pair that you baulk at the price tag but converts you after you listen to the quality ended in, well, pieces.
What a great feeling, to get your Gym gear on, headphones in, favourite playlist queued and your choice of fitness, lose yourself in the power of music, let your body get carried along with the euphoria of whatever you feed your ears. It may surprise you but my preference is dance music, and in particular Radio 1’s very own Annie Mac’s Friday night. Much of the new music that Annie plays which moved me would be shazamed and tweeted to International DJ and former employee DJ Oli Leslie to play out to his adoring fans in the Club and on his Southstar Radio show 6-8pm Wednesday evenings. Not only was i energising my workout with new and exciting music, i was passing on my emotion so that others could enjoy it too – of course they would eventually hear it anyway but it certainly gave me a small bit of satisfaction.
But this is just my workout preference and having worked in Bluecoats for nearly 15 years I have seen the effects that music has had on a huge amount of people. I can picture a few highlights, those times that make your hair stand on end, the times when people get lost in the moment and the music lifts them and carries then through.
Body Combat 43 – The Black Pearl. Swashbuckling, high intensity euphoria straight from Pirates of the Caribbean.
Body Pump 78 – Sweet Child O’ Mine – power from deep within, and a killer chorus from the instructors (Elaine Boys)!
Mark Newcombe Indoor Cycling 2012 – Nickelback, Rockstar, watching the pain and anguish of 10 Surrey County Cricket Club players pre-season training yet still managing to sing through the struggle
There are so many more to mention and you will have you personal moments. But one thing is for sure, what would we do without music? Would we still maintain the enthusiasm to train? Certainly group exercise would become less varied and with a varied soundtrack attendees can gauge the enthusiasm required, learn the rest tracks and know when more or less is expected. Pounding the streets without music would open you up to the sounds around you, not allowing you to escape, lessening your enjoyment…
Nowadays, with so much choice, Spotify, Itunes, Iplayer, there are so many ways to listen, direct to your phone, mp3 players and exercise machine you never have to train alone. Yes, our Technogym equipment have TV’s and internet so you can stay connected on Facebook the whole time but these don’t drive you that extra minute, that 5 more reps, or that steeper incline that comes from the individual knowing that they have the power within and for me this comes from my enjoyment of the music that i listen to…
