Your Workout Could Be Even Better if You Put This Very Surprising ...

When you work out, how important to you is it to have music? I have to admit, it's usually at the top of my ready-to-work-out list, and I get a little bummed if I can't find my headphones en route to the gym (this happens way too often! I even bought headphones in neon blue/hot pink so they'd be easy to spot--works about 35 percent of the time).

Research has shown that music is a definite workout helper--it can trick you into thinking you're not working as hard, while increasing your endurance by as much as 15 percent. And now new research is showing that there are added benefits with a very particular kind of music: classical!

According to neuroscientist Jack Lewis (who was commissioned for the study by rara.com):

?Energetic but not overly-fast classical music can be ideal in the gym. Not only does upbeat music increase speed, strength and endurance, but the relaxing qualities of classical music appear to reduce heart rate, blood pressure and lower perceived exertion, at the same time."

He adds that relaxing music, such as classical music, can lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Specifically, Lewis suggests busting out Beethoven's Symphony No. 4, fourth movement--once it gets going, the piece is set to about 140-144 bpm, which should match your mid-workout heartrate.

And there are other classical pieces set to the same general beat:

OK, I love classical music--my husband is a violinist and conductor, so there's always the sound of Mozart (or Debussy or Vivaldi or...) in our house. (I also played the viola for a long time and I like to tell myself that it's like riding a bike and I'll totally start playing again any second now.) But I think it would be a little weird to have a rousing spin class set to the music of Rachmaninoff.

But maybe not! I'm going to put some on my workout playlist. It'll just be interwoven with some of the embarrassing songs that happen to be on there already. (Which we all have! Um, we do all have them, right?)

And speaking of playlists...today, Spotify announced its top 10 streamed workout songs. What do you think--do you agree with any of these?

• Die Young by Ke$ha


• Scream & Shout by will.i.am


• Thrift Shop by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis


• Don't You Worry Child by Swedish House Mafia


• Sweet Nothing by Calvin Harris


• I Cry by Flo Rida


• Clique by Kanye West


• Titanium by David Guetta


• Gangnam Style by Psy


• Locked Out Of Heaven by Bruno Mars

What do you think? Would you put some classical music on your playlist--or do you have some there already? And are any of these other songs already on your list?

More workout helper-outers:
* Excellent at-home workouts with fitness DVDs
* Four new workout accessories
* Sexy-arm exercises from Barry's Bootcamp

Photo: Thinkstock

Source: http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/blogs/vitamin-g/2013/01/your-workout-could-be-even-bet.html

daniel tosh Jason Kidd All Star Game 2012 directv