The Power of Music

Just finished my 12 noon Ride class and was thinking about what a great workout it is and why!

For years I’ve done cardio workouts on a bike. Between the music and instructor, I always find I push myself much more in a Ride class. High-energy music definitely helps motivate you to work harder.

It got me thinking about an article I read where a large group of laborers in Africa were struggling to lift and load truck by hand onto a barge to cross a river. Then one of them started to chant a rhythmic native song, they all followed in unison and were able to quickly load the truck.

Music can be a powerful force; it does something to our unconscious mind that seems to empower us and help our exercise time fly by.

By the way, I hear people say all the time that they feel they can't do Ride because it's too difficult. The reality is anyone can do it because you completely control your resistance and speed.

If you haven’t tried a Ride class you really should. Join me at noon Tuesday or Thursday, or try one of the other classes!

To the next 50 years!

Mike

Balance exercise with recovery

You should know nothing good happens during a workout!

Working out stresses your body, tears it down, and leaves you measurably weaker when you leave the gym. Only during the recovery period following your workout do your muscles begin to rebuild stronger than before. Without enough time off you will actually become weaker, less fit, and prone to injury.

I had the pleasure of discussing this once with Dr. Dick Brown who coached numerous Olympic and World Champion runners. He saw how many top athletes hurt their performance by over training. These athletes are generally driven and tend to think more is always better. When they saw a dip in their performance they would put in more training time making the situation worse.

Dr. Brown’s program was 12 weeks of carefully planned training with the 13^th week completely off! He said it was awful fighting with his athletes to take that week off.

You don’t have to be an elite athlete to suffer the effects of overtraining. If find you have less energy despite regular workouts, or even if you’ve hit a plateau and feel like you’re not progressing, these are classic signs of overtraining.

Remember, we’re here to help, so let a team member know if you have any concerns or questions so we can help you design a balanced approach to your exercise and recovery.

To the next 50 years!

Mike