There are only two things that are absolutely necessary to make your visit to Ping Recreation Center successful: a pair of headphones and the right type of music. Well, a bottle of water wouldn’t hurt either. Although music is a necessity, this begs the question, what genre of music is the best fit to get you in the exercising mood? After taking to the padded rubber floors of Ping, we have some answers to that question.
Research shows that genres of music with a constant and high BPM (beats per minute) rate are best suited for working out. However, not all genres with a high BPM are created equal when it comes to the type of exercise one is doing. For example, when running, the BPM rate of rap or hip hop music encourages one’s body to match its respiratory response with the music, helping you keep a steady pace as you pound pavement. For strength training, such as lifting weights, dance or pop music is actually best suited to help push you through that last rep.
Andrew Le, a freshman studying biological sciences, said he enjoys listening to rap music the most while lifting.
“The general nature of rap lyrics are open to interpretation,” Le said. “This motivates me to work hard to reach my own specific goals.”
Similar to Le, Taylor Brown, a sophomore studying criminology, also listens to rap in the gym, saying that “it’s upbeat and gives [her] a good rhythm to help her stick to her workout.”
Nolan Kozub, a freshman studying communication, holds four state records in Ohio for powerlifting. He said he listens to classical or piano instrumentals during competition to “calm his nerves before a big lift.” He also listens to rap and EDM on occasion, but sticks mostly to classical because he’s “just always loved that type of music.”
Caila Maronde, a junior studying business, also agreed with the majority that rap keeps her motivated when she is in the gym, but sometimes she enjoys listening to R&B instead, because “it is more personal music” and the “most relatable genre to [her].”
After personally talking to our Bobcats about their listening habits at the gym, we took a word-of-mouth survey to better gauge the most listened to genre of music at Ping. After talking to 50 people, 32% listened to rap, 24% rocked out to heavy metal, 22% listened to pop, 6% jammed to classic rock, 6% listened to alternative rock, 4% chose techno/EDM, 4% kept it light with classical music/instrumentals and 2% listened to punk rock.
Now that you’ve heard from your fellow Bobcats as well as recent studies, go update your exercising playlist and think about including some of the previously-mentioned genres. If you don’t have one yet, now you have all the necessary information to create one to suit your work-out needs.
Most importantly, always double check you have your headphones before heading out the door to avoid that devastating realization when arriving at Ping. Once again, water might also be considered important, so do your best to remember that as well. After headphones, of course.
