How to keep yourself motivated with the perfect playlist
Take a moment to think about one your favorite songs. If it helps, you can even play one now—but focus on the way it makes you feel, the emotions and memories it conjures up. Is it a happy song, a sad song, a fast song, a slow song? Does it get your toes tapping, your heart racing and your blood pumping, or is it pushing you more towards melancholy or introspection?
Because music can affect each of us in such profound ways, it can often be a useful workout motivator after bariatric surgery in Salt Lake City. Years of research have proven music’s usefulness as an exercise tool: listening to the right songs can elevate your mood, reduce tension and fatigue, enhance your endurance and decrease the amount of effort you perceive, making your workout both more effective and more fun.
If you find yourself needing that extra little push to get out the door and exercise, or a bit of a boost to polish off that last grueling mile, make a playlist! Regardless of what kind of music you like or what kind of workout you’re doing, some energizing tunes can give you the push you need to go further, try harder and feel better.
Your playlist can be as eclectic as you like, but it pays off to put your songs in an order that helps you keep the right pace at each stage of your workout. Here are the seven steps to making a playlist that will pump you up!
- Start with a warm-up track. Just like any great opening act at a concert, your first song needs to grab attention and kick things off with a bang. This track should be one that inspires you, but try to stick to a moderate tempo that will match the intensity of the stretching and easy movement you do during your warm-up. Pick something that inspires you—a song with a great motivational message that will get you ready to try your very hardest.
- Get yourself going. The next song in your playlist should have the same inspirational qualities as your opener, but push the tempo a little faster to help you get your heart rate up. Find a song with a great beat—fast, but not too fast to match the steps of your walk, run or elliptical workout to its speed.
- Pump yourself up. Once your workout is in full-swing, you’ll want to mix in a few super-high-energy tracks that make it impossible to sit still or stay slow. You’ll naturally pick up the pace when a faster song is on, so really try to bring the tempo to its max on these songs.
- Recover. After each super-high-energy song, you’ll need to have a moderate to slow song that helps you recover from the pace of the previous track. Pick one that you can take some meaning from as you catch your breath, a song that you deeply enjoy for its message or stirring sounds. These songs should keep the pace relaxed, but help you stay motivated to continue.
- Keep yourself going. Pad out your alternating pump-up and slow-down tracks with songs that keep your pace moderate, ones that will hold your interest while staying at a reasonable speed. Again, the style doesn’t matter—your favorite tracks will affect you more, so pick medium-speed songs that really get your blood pumping.
- End things with a bang. Your playlist’s finale should be the biggest pump-up track of all. This song will need to inspire you when you’re at your most tired, when each step starts to feel like a drag. Use this song to help power yourself through those last few minutes and remind yourself that you’re almost to the finish line.
- Bring yourself down. Cooling down is just as important as warming up, so be sure to bring the energy down after your finale track. Pick one with a slower tempo that reminds you of what a great job you’ve done, a little auditory reward for all your hard work.
Even if you already have a great workout playlist, arranging the songs like this can be a great way to push your routine harder and faster. Just remember that it doesn’t matter if you like death metal or disco—pick whatever moves you!