Music and Running with #CurrysMonsterMashUp

The use of music in sport has become a common occurrence, both in gyms around the world and in the warm-up zones of Olympic competition.

After a fascinating talk by Dr Costas Karageorghis at the #CurrysMonsterMashUp event (a collaboration between Currys and Monster Headphones organised by Joe Blogs Network) a few weeks ago, I thought I'd share some of the ways music can take your running to the next level.

Music can divert your attention from the feelings of effort and fatigue, which reduces your perceptions of how hard you're working. The distraction provided by music can make you feel better, and improve your mood. However, this only works on low-moderate intensity workouts such as a long run, rather than during sprint intervals when the effort level is too high, and overpowers the effects of the music.

Music can be used as a stimulant or sedative, and we often see it in this capacity as part of a pre-task routine to "psych" up an athlete.  Usually the music used has a tempo, rhythm and speed that will generate arousal, but often it is the lyrics and associations which can have a powerful effect too- think of Chariots of Fire - it's not fast or has a strong beat, but has a powerful emotional association.

With repetitive sports such as rowing, cycling, running there is strong evidence that synchronisation of music with movement leads to greater endurance and efficiency. This also appears in exercise classes to music - who doesn't feel that a strong beat in Spinning helps them to go longer?! This rhythm response is what makes us unconsciously tap our feet to a beat and is an actual scientific response in our brains.

Interestingly Adidas and Spotify have just teamed up to offer "Adidas Go" which uses the accelerometer in your phone to determine stride rate and select music with a matching tempo. Unfortunately it's only currently available on iPhone, but it's another indication of how music and sport are becoming even more closely linked in everyday running.

As part of the event Monster Headphones showcased their selection of products, and I'll be posting a review of the iSport Superslim Wireless headphones soon, once I've had a chance to try them on a few different runs.