Does music help you lose weight? Since it has been shown that music can increase performance during training in several ways, you can say yes: music contributes to weight loss.
And there is no doubt that a good playlist represents a great motivating force for both the mind and the body. And feeling motivated and generally having fun during training is key to achieving your fitness goals, including weight loss.
Advantages of listening to music
Music helps make training more fun, which is why it is a good idea for people who do not enjoy doing physical activities too much. Additionally, songs can increase concentration, coordination, and motivation, as well as reduce perceived exertion.
Fast songs help you train harder, while slow songs can help you get back to your resting heart rate faster. For this reason there are experts who advise choosing the songs based on your heart rate during training. In this sense, it is important to note that there are streaming music services that allow you to filter songs by PPM (beats per minute). In English BPM (beats per minute). Likewise, in these services it is possible to find a great variety of playlists specially designed for training, which would increase their intensity and effectiveness.
It should be noted that it is considered that the advantages of music are more noticeable when it is combined with a moderate type of exercise. On the other hand, they would not be so when the athlete works at a very intense level during their training.
Gets you moving
The role of music is as important during training as it is before it. Has the ability to inject the courage and energy needed to start training. This advantage is especially useful on those days when it is difficult to get moving, either due to lack of energy or motivation. Or both.
Reduce perceived exertion
In order for weight loss (and results in general) not to stagnate, it is necessary to make progress in training. That means running faster and longer. That is for running, but the same happens with all cardiovascular exercises, such as pedaling on a bicycle or walking, and strength exercises. As well, Researchers believe that music helps you not notice so much that extra effort you need to break down barriers and surpass your marks (at least until reaching the anaerobic threshold).
Compared to a workout without music, the pace would tend to be higher and steady when a playlist comes into play. Higher tempo is considered to push you to work harder and faster during training at the same time that it blocks a part of the fatigue. When it comes to volume, it is necessary to be careful for safety. It should not be low, but not too high either. The reason is that the most important thing is hearing health. It should be noted that experts warn that regularly subjected to excessive volume of music can cause hearing loss.
In summary, listening to fast music is a great strategy to burn more fat in each session, as it helps to increase the intensity of the workout. Spinning classes are an example. However, there are people who, in order not to think so much about the difficulty and to disconnect their mind from all the unpleasant sensations that continuous effort can trigger, they only need the songs in question to improve their mood. Whether they are slow or fast they don't care; it is enough that they connect with something inside. In this way, the best music to lose weight would be the one that keeps you motivated during training.
Accelerate recovery
We have seen the role music plays before and during training, but what happens after? Listening to slower songs after training would help lower blood pressure and heart rate, as well as the negative effects that exertion can have on the body.
Apparently slow music would make recovery faster and more effective than fast music and even silence. For this reason, if your goal is to be in the best possible condition for the next workout, hitting play can also help you.
In addition to helping to cool the body after running or lifting weights, listening to music with the mentioned rhythm is also considered a good idea for warm-up. The idea is to increase the rhythm of the songs as the intensity of training increases, so it is recommended to start with slow songs to warm up and continue with faster songs when the heart rate increases.