Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1536125
endurance exercise versus high intensity exercise. Endurance exercise was defined as walking for 10 minutes at a speed of 6.5 km/hour (~4 miles/hour). From the look of it, using music during exercise seems most beneficial when used during sustained, moderate-intensity exercise. However, as another study from IDEA Fitness Journal shows, even using music with high-intensity exercise can be beneficial, because it appears to limit uncomfortable feelings and sensations that typically come with such exercise. While the mechanism is unclear, my personal thoughts are that it has something to do with the distraction that music provides. Let's now put this in context and offer up a couple of BPM suggestions that you can use to increase your calorie burn, decrease your feeling of tiredness, and make your overall workout more fun. Let's start with one of the more recent and highly popular line dance songs of today, "Boots on the Ground" by 803Fresh (an artist born in Augusta, Ga.). This song is 111 BPM – which would make it a low-to- medium tempo according to the previously referenced study – and lasts just over 3 minutes. Haven't learned it yet? Getting in 3-4 repetitions of the song while you practice makes for a great endurance exercise session while you click your boots and pop your fans. Shawn McClendon is an ACE-certified personal trainer and owner of Back to Basics Health and Wholeness LLC, an organization dedicated to empowering people to take control of their health and avoid lifestyle disease. He runs a YouTube health and fitness channel, writes on health and fitness topics at shawnmcclendon.com, speaks on health and fitness, and has authored several health/fitness books. While not from Georgia, rap artist Eminem has what is arguably the most popular workout song of all time with "Lose Yourself." At 171 BPM, this song is considered high tempo, and while it may not necessarily be used for its rhythm in an activity like line dancing or indoor cycling, it's most popularly used for higher intensity, shorter duration exercises such as lifting heavy weights or sprinting. So is there a perfect music tempo for exercise? My answer is, not really. It depends more on what kind of exercise you prefer and what personal fitness goals that you're aiming for. "For many, music is an integral part of exercising, nearly as important as fitness clothes or equipment."