Beat-sync even makes people that never exercise want to workout
From the very beginning, we here at lolo understood the importance of music during your workout. Our very first app, BeatBurn Treadmill/Outdoor Trainer allowed users to take their own music and change it to perfectly match their pace. Why? Because we understood the simple fact the exercise is hard, and everything we do is about making it feel easy. We have all kinds of tricks to dull the pain of exercise and turn it into an enjoyable experience, and one of our greatest tricks is beat-synced music.
Music makes you want to move
Human beings naturally respond to music and feel compelled to move to the beat. The compulsion can be anything from bopping your head along with the beat in your car to actually jumping out of your chair to dance along. Music that matches your pace makes you naturally want to work harder than you normally would. Not only that, but it distracts your brain from the effort, so it actually feels easier. The end result is you get better results without trying, and most importantly, you’re more likely to stick with your program long term. Ultimately, the only way to see results is to stick to your program.
Even the most unwilling to move will move
There have been many studies confirming this, but a recent study in Sports Medicine - Open really hammered the point home because it looked at people that already demonstrated their unwillingness to exercise. The study looked at people with cardiovascular disease that were trying to improve their health and reduce their likelihood of dying by undergoing cardio rehabilitation. Typically, compliance with this type of intervention is pretty low because these people got this way by not exercising in the first place, and exercising with cardiovascular disease can be especially taxing and unpleasant.
What they found was that patients exercised 70 percent more when they listened to a playlist filled with songs they liked set to the pace they were meant to go. This study confirms the feedback that we’ve been hearing from our users for years. Thousands of people have told us through emails and app store reviews how they were never able to stick with a cardio program before, but with our apps, it was so easy to get through a workout and they couldn’t wait for the next one. Those messages also tended to contain proud announcements on how they finally lost 10, 20, even over 100 pounds.
Pick the right music
As this study and others show, the right music set to the pace of your workout really makes a difference. While our beat-sync music can change your music to match your pace, not every song is the right choice for a great workout. Make sure you pick songs that will really fire you up:
1. Songs you like right now: This one may seem obvious, but make sure you pick songs that you’re really enjoying right now. Don’t just load up your playlist with everything on your iPhone. You may have liked that song 5 years ago, but if you’re tired of it now, then it’s just going to feel like a speed bump in the middle of your workout.
2. Songs that make you move: Another one that might seem obvious, but you’d be surprised. Just because you’re really enjoying a slow ballad doesn’t mean it’s going to fire you up during a sprint. Slow music actually slows your heart rate and respiration. Great for yoga or for general relaxation, but it’s not really the point during cardio training. Pick songs that naturally make you feel like moving. A strong beat inspires movement. When we first tested our BeatBurn apps (especially with cycling and elliptical), we found that people would naturally fall into the exact speed needed without even being told what it was. We just set the beat to match the pace, and every test subject fell into that pace without even trying.
3. Not just fast, fast with a beat: Like I said, a strong beat inspires movement. Fast songs can also make you feel like moving, but a beat inspires coordinated movement. It’s just a different feeling when your feet hit the ground, treadmill, pedals, etc. right on the beat verses pushing yourself along with faster music. It’s why we partnered with Yes! Fitness Music. They take your favorite songs and put a strong beat behind it to make it the ultimate workout music.
Use it to get the scale moving again
Beat-sync is more that just a gimmick, it is a powerful tool that will enable you to finally break out of your fitness rut and make some serious progress. If it can make such a dramatic change in the lives of cardio rehab patients, think about what it can do for you.
