Trance music posses many scientific properties. It increases productivity, produces feelings of altered states and even helps better the development of test tube babies, according to various studies. Did you know it can also better your workout?
Encouraging its readers to “ditch the playlists and listen to Mozart and trance“, Billboard sat down with physical trainer and entrepreneur David Siik to discuss the benefit the genre can have on a competitive fitness regiment. Siik, who leads a treadmill program, wondered if music has an affect on the overall performance of his class, considering athletes don’t typically listen to music when they’re actually in a competitive environment; say a football game. So for the past year and a half, he conducted his own research using his class as test subjects.
In his findings, he found non-lyrical music with major chords and a positive tone causes the limbic system of the brain to “light up” with uplifting vibes and feelings of motivation. And what genre of music can do that best? Aside from classical? You guessed it: trance! Calling it something everybody can tolerate, he would play the likes of Armin van Buuren and Radion6 to power his class, using rap remixes, during warm-ups and cool-downs to bring his class “back to the real world.” The result? Improved performances!
The study shows that lyrical music tends to overstimulate the brain during activities that require multitasking, like working out; it “dramatically” reduces focus and retention. Siik recalls the Mozart Effect, the study in which listening to the classical musician, as opposed to other types of music (especially lyrical stuff), helps you perform better in tests that involve thinking; mental challenges. The Mozart Effect was never really applied to fitness studies. So while listening to Mozart during exercise can help eliminate overstimulation of the mind, high energy trance provides a boost like none other.
“For anybody who’s looking for a little bit of a challenge in their workouts and wants to create a sense of structure- say going to Central Park and doing two minutes fast, one minute walk, try this music. I guarantee it changes the experience.”
Do you listen to trance during your workouts? What song gets you going? Let us know in the comments below.
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