When I work out, which is to say, when I climb on top of a stair master type contraption in order to get my aerobic exercise, I must have music. Or, better put, I greatly prefer to have music.
These days it's a small mp3 player. No, not an iPod. I can't afford one of those. Only my kids can. Go figure.
Working out with my favorite tunes, selected for their fast paced beat, I get a better workout. I don't think about how tired I feel, or how hard I'm breathing, or how my heart feels like it might explode out of my chest. The music entertains and distracts me. I work out longer and harder.
Today I got to the gym only to discover that I had left my mp3 player in my gym bag, on my kitchen table. Damn. It's always something that gets forgotten. If it isn't my towel, it's my bottle of water. Today it was my music.
I also like to read when I work out. Music plus reading material. I'm in that bad of shape, ya'll.
So I did remember my reading glasses. I grabbed an Oprah Magazine, picked a stairmaster that had one of those plexiglass book holders, found an empty eliptical machine between two gym rats, climbed on, hit QuickStart, and away I rode.
It was then I discovered another reason why I prefer earphones. The guy next to me.
My earphones block the sound of nearby exercisers. Heavy breathing, throat clearage, coughs, sputters, growls, grunts, and groans. And then there was the piped in muzack. Loud enough to be a nuisance, not loud enough to be of any incentive.
Reader, what helps you get a better workout?
