LISTEN YOUR WAY TO FASTER RECOVERY

If you haven’t given it much thought to cooldown playlists in the past, it’s time to reconsider.  Researchers asked fit young men and women who had just completed a six-minute run to spend 15 minutes cooling down- some in silence, others while listening to music.

The results: Listening to music increased the number of cooldown steps they took from 413 to 499, lowered lactate levels further by 28% versus 22.8% for silent recovery, and reduced their rate of perceived exertion further as well.

Music with tempos of at least 140 beats per minute (bpm) enhances recovery by motivating exercisers to move more during their cooldown.  Cooling down at 40% to 50% of your training heart rate range doesn’t just help muscles feel better, it transitions your heart rate back to normal more effectively.