March 2005 | Whole Health
Great Fit
by Bob Condor
My friend says watching TV defeats the purpose of exercising. I tell her it keeps me on the stationary bike or treadmill when I would be too bored otherwise. Who’s right? — Julie K., Internet
YOU BOTH have a point. Public health advocates will tell you the best exercise is the one you do. So cycling on your computerized bike watching CNN at the club is better than, say, eating chips and dip on the couch.
But your friend is enlightened to a lesser-known but important element of exercise. Mind-body researchers have found the person who focuses on muscles being worked, even for brief seconds-long interludes, will accelerate muscle growth by firing up more muscle fibers and deploying necessary neurochemicals (both actions directed by the brain).
Even better, not absorbing yourself in a TV program — or a book or, ahem, a magazine — allows you to get in the habit of monitoring your form and technique during workouts. Personal trainers say they could walk through any health club in America and, in short order, find 10 people making form/technique mistakes. Examples: Leaning on the rails of a stair machine, setting the rower at higher than 3, not fully extending your leg pedaling on the stationary bike and various contorted head and neck positions as you run/walk on a treadmill watching a program.
There is one other option that both enhances exercise and fights the boredom (besides finding activities that motivate you, such as regular hikes with a close friend or rollerblading with co-workers at lunchtime). It’s listening to music.
Past research at Ohio State University showed people who run to music perceive themselves as exerting less. This lower rate of perceived exertion (a standard exercise science measurement) in turn allows for a longer, more strenuous run. The runners listening to music also released fewer stress-related hormones in the body, suggesting they were feeling less pain and stress. Researchers theorized the volunteers listening to music tuned out “stressors” such as a pounding heartbeat or labored breathing.
More recent research from Ohio State psychologist Charles Emery suggests that listening to music while exercising might actually provide a mental boost, too. In a study of cardiac rehab patients, volunteers who listened to music while exercising scored significantly better on post-workout verbal fluency tests than subjects in the no-tunes control group (though it should be noted all exercisers improved scores and that physical activity alone elevates mood).
“Exercise seems to cause positive changes in the nervous system, and these changes may have a direct effect on cognitive ability,” said Emery. “The combination of music and exercise may stimulate and increase cognitive arousal while helping to organize cognitive output.”
Emery and colleagues used classical music (Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons”) but noted that volunteers clearly had their own ideas and preferences about what music revs their workouts. You can do the same.
![[Send]](http://consciouschoice.com/sendlink/send.gif){kind=small}
Recommend this page to a friend
Top Ten pages recommended to friends:
