By Saurabh Dey, CMO of Zebion, makers of Limitless Sound Systems
Whether you are a budding sportsperson, or a middle aged executive trying to get back in shape, you may find exercise to be tedious and impossible to bear, once the first burst of adrenaline wears off. Let’s face it, very few of us have the optimum physique we dream of, although virtually everyone knows how fitness can be acquired. After delving into a three year long research journey, involving a number of consultants and industrial designers, we have found the solution to be evidently simple. In fact ridiculously simple ¬–‘Music’. |
|
Former Wimbledon Champion and World Number 1, John McEnroe once said, “Music is about the only thing that makes practice bearable’’. In his trademark haughty style, Mac emphasized how dreary and bleak a six hour Azarenka_Serenapractice session could be. The dire need for some form of stimulation is something hundreds of other players have also expressed, including John’s main adversary on and off the court, Ivan Lendl. In a coaching video, Lendl said “I have speakers in the trees around my private tennis court, and I seem to play my very best when my favorite song sticks in my head”. If McEnroe and Lendl believed in the merits of practicing to music in the early 80’s, today’s generation of tennis players have taken it to a new level. Who can forget scenes of young Victoria Azarenka putting on her favourite headphone, and visibly on camera, trying to bring herself to a psychosomatic peak, moments before a Grand Slam final.
Music gives sportsperson and fitness enthusiasts rhythm, cadence and impetus, while it motivates people to play their best. At Zebion, when our team began designing the Limitless range of sports headphones and speakers, we took a deep dive into the effect of music on everyday people, as they exercise or play sports. To our surprize we found that a good amount of empirical research existed on the topic of music instigating action. The work of famed Neurologist, Oliver Sacks, particularly gave us useful insights. Based on all that we have learned I am able to give you some seriously compelling reasons, as to why you should always have music around you while doing workouts or training. |
|
1) Detract yourself from bodily awareness: In an exemplary study conducted by Liverpool’s John Moores University in 2009, it was clearly apparent that music shifts your mind from the pain, agony and discomfort that is bound to emanate from exercise. Inspired by their efforts, we conducted a similar home-spun experiment within our own contrived lab environment. Our researchers asked volunteers to ride stationery bicycles at a pace they could maintain for 25 minutes. |
|
2) Music puts you ‘in the Zone’: Almost always, an enjoyable track or album is connected with a mental image planted deep in memory. The mental image is usually related to some context when the song was first heard, like for instance in the soundtrack of a movie. The song conjures up memories and thoughts, putting you in a trance like state which dissipates stress and lowers anxiety levels. When in the “zone” athletes are capable of reaching peak performance without feeling the pain. |
|
3) Music helps change your mood; elevate positivity, suppress negativity and escape fear: A Thomas Schafer led research team studying the psychological functions of music, found that it gives you a means to escape from the present and find “movements of stark self-awareness”. The research report remarked that the impact on subject’s ‘mood’ was indeed ‘significant’. Schafer’s research also found that music helps to escape negativity. Our study on the subject with a sample set of 75 people showed that considerable negativity and cynicism exists in society, when it comes to fitness and weightloss regimes. Most people who joined health clubs revealed they only workout seriously in the first few days of their membership. We discovered significant pessimism and lack of conviction among people about their ability to lose weight or get in good physical shape. With the aid of high quality sound system, such as a sports headphone many could overcome such negativity and stop dreading workouts. For those athletes suffering from pre-competition anxiety, music can be used to boost mood, self-esteem and confidence. |
|
4) Music boosts your effort level and brings you to a crescendo: Experts say that the trick is to try and embed the power of music within your subconscious mind and have the song constantly ring in your ears. The greatest power of motivational music is the ability to bring the subject (or athlete) to a peak state. This is nicely captured in the Rocky movies where powerful musical themes are used and the audience witnesses the underdog fighter transform himself and reach a crest with the simultaneous rise in tempo and pitch of the music. The imagination of the screen writer is actually not too far from reality. |
|
5) Leverage the power of ‘Synchronous Music’: So, can music improve athletic performance? My answer is an unflinching yes. However the best means is by using the power of synchronous music. The latter refers to uptempo songs, with a strong beat that coincides with the repetitive movements of your chosen sport. It’s this kind of music that produces dramatically improved performance particularly in sports that demand endurance and repetitive movements – such as cross country running, skiing or roller skating. |