Health Benefits of a Good Playlist
Struggling to stick to your shape-up plans? Consider working on your soundtrack, too.
Add new artists, rediscover old faves, and do whatever else you need to do to keep your workout music fresh and fun. Research proves that a good soundtrack takes the grind out of exercise.
A Near and Dear Distraction
Music does more than serve as a distraction. Studies show it actually gives you a better cardio workout by helping you go longer and stronger without noticing the extra effort. Listening to good tunes could also have you reaching for heavier dumbbells sooner. That’s what researchers found when they put a group of adults on a 4-week strength-training program. Those who trained with tunes were pumping out significantly more reps by the end of the program, compared with those who hadn’t gotten down. (Thank you, James Brown!)
The Surgery-Free Tummy Tuck
Help your body incinerate that stubborn spare tire by drinking this metabolism booster before your workout.
We’re not talking Red Bull here. We’re talking green tea. In a recent small study, extracts from green tea helped men burn 17 percent more fat during a 30-minute cardio workout.
Burn, Baby, Burn
It’s not clear how green tea boosts metabolism. Researchers suspect that something in the healthy brew makes fat more available as fuel, so you oxidize more of it when you exercise. Proven bonus: Green tea remains an excellent source of heart-healthy antioxidants called catechins.
October 20th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
[...] Nancy Clark wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptStruggling to stick to your shape-up plans? Consider working on your soundtrack, too. Add new artists, rediscover old faves, and do whatever else you need to do to keep your workout music fresh and fun. Research proves that a good … [...]