Do you listen to music when you work out? We certainly do, and we love it. But there’s more to it than just being enjoyable – the truth is, listening to music when working out carries significant benefits. In this post, we’re covering 5 reasons why music actually helps you work out better.

1. It helps you syncronize your movements

Scientific American has a very thorough article covering the psychological benefits of music, but the key point is: your body instinctively wants to move when it listens to music. That’s why sometimes when you run or cycle you like faster beats, but when you work out you’d rather have slow, bass-heavy tunes. It really varies depending on who you ask, but music gets you moving – and your workouts become even better for it.

2. It improves your performance

A 2010 study suggests that cyclists actually work harder when they listen to faster music, which is great news if you like to work out to boost up your adrenaline levels. A separate study also suggests that you can increase your own endurance by as much as 15% when you work out with music. So next time you decide to put your gear on, don’t forget your music player of choice – you might end up spending more time on the road than you’d expect (and you’ll be thankful for it later).

3. It keeps you in a good mood

A recent study found that people often listen to music as a way to improve their mood. This makes complete sense – after all, music is one of the ways we have to change our own perceptions or approach towards something. In other words, we listen to music because we want to feel something different. The same principle applies to sports, and in fact science does suggest that music is highly correlated with increased levels of enthusiasm and exctement amongst more physically active people.

Over to you: do you listen to music when you work out? Why or why not? Let’s keep this conversation going on Facebook, Twitter or on the comments section below.