It’s been one of those days—you know, the tough long kind. Having just just made it to the door, unlocked it and heaved it open, you get in, heave it shut, let your bag collapse to the floor, and, finally, release a sigh of relief. You just got through another day in the jungle!
However, since you’re so able-bodied, healthy and just vibrating with after-5 energy that you can barely contain your vivacity, you jump into your tracksuit, fish your runners out from under the couch and head out for a brisk 5 mile run, despite the 35 degree heat, in all likelihood singing as you go.
If you read that last paragraph and snorted or broke out into hysterical laughter, then please, read on. If you read that last paragraph, nodded happily and thought “What a jolly good idea!” please stop reading RIGHT NOW. Go sit in a corner, and eat a litre of ice cream and a few cakes until you become at least remotely human again and feel as lazy, tired, bloated and completely unenthusiastic as a normal person.
Despite the best of intentions—and often, regardless of our level of fitness—exercise tends to be the first thing to fall by the wayside when we get busy. The truth is that, by the time we’re done dealing with our everyday stresses, it’s hard to work up the enthusiasm to exercise even if we do know that we’ll feel better for it afterwards.
Endorphins make us feel happy, and exercise increases endorphin levels. It’s a bit of a catch 22, since we don’t tend to exercise when we’re stressed or low on endorphins. If only we could improve those endorphin levels a little before exercise time we might feel more inclined to get active.
Well, luckily for us, humanity has a simple, fast, and very common way to enhance energy and mood levels: music. We’ve all had the experience of finding a song with a great beat that gets our feet tapping and has us bopping around the house humming along. In the same way, a good workout music cd can get us up and active when we’re feeling a bit lethargic and unmotivated.
And in addition to the emotional benefits you get from listening to music, you also get some very real physical effects. Certain genres of music, like drumming mixes and rhythmic beats are believed to help increase respiration and heart rate during aerobic workouts. Music also serves as a distraction from discomfort and from that strong desire to jog just as far as the fridge and have a beer instead.
The right playlist can get you up, keep you pumped, and then serve as a relaxant when it’s time for the cool-down. Everyone’s taste in music is unique and so most people prefer a compilation of different artists and songs in a nice mix that builds up to a good pace and then, when it’s time to wind up, helps you relax. By creating high energy workout music cd with enough variety to ensure you don’t get bored with your playlists, producers like Music Mosaic make at least that part of your workout easy.
If dancing around the house with a mop is your favourite type of exercise and music appreciation then you’ll also find some great dance mixes that will have you boogying with the vacuum. Be warned, your neighbours may decide that there is a dance party happening and decide to call the cops (just kidding.. I hope!).
Listening to the same repetitive songs that are regurgitated by local radio stations day after day can be almost as tiring as the actual workout. This is where the lesser-known, independent little record labels can be a saving grace.
Music Mosaic, for example, produces a trance dance workout music cd that’s much more than just a beat to bounce along to; every song in the compilation is a musical work of art utilising multi-cultural ensembles, world-beat and world fusion to create a truly unique sound. The music is entertaining and enjoyable in its own right, it’s not just there just to be a distraction in the background.
Whether you’re working out, hanging out with friends or just listening to music for the sheer fun of it, smaller labels that demonstrate a vision appropriate for our time can truly enhance and enliven your experience.
In this age of desk jobs, fattening food and lifestyle illnesses, such as diabetes and obesity, exercise of all sorts is a lot more important than ever before. It doesn’t have to be a drag. Grab your mp3 player or portable CD player, fill it with songs that get your feet moving, and break loose!