IS THERE A SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN “BEST” TYPE OF MUSIC TO WORK OUT TO? IS ROCK BETTER THAN RAP? OR MAYBE FAST-BUMPING HOUSE MUSIC? – DAN S, TOPEKA, KS
There is an ideal workout music, says Costas I. Karageorghis Ph.D., a sport psychologist at Brunel University London and author of Inside Sport Psychology—but it’s not really a question of genre.
Rather, if you want to motivate yourself, the best workout music touches you personally—such as, say, the theme from your all-time favorite action movie. “When I hear Bill Conti’s ‘Gonna Fly Now,’ the theme from the Rocky film series,” Karageorghis says, “I feel as though just about anything’s possible in the gym.”
To recap: Use what moves you and steer clear of any broody Radiohead. Got it?