Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Panting to Pandora


The dentist knows what he’s doing when he pipes relaxing music into his office, a pleasant distraction from an unpleasant situation. Like the dentist, I turn on my own music when I hit the gym. Time passes faster, the energetic beat makes me pick up speed or perhaps slows me down and I stop thinking about how much I long to be somewhere else, anywhere else! In case you haven’t guessed it, the gym is not my favorite place.
Music makes it better though and Pandora is my answer.
I program my favorite songs, push quick mix and the music a is non-stop journey through time. With headphones plugged into my Blackberry I move to the music, whether it is an upbeat Bob Marley tune or some funky old folk. The secret is to pick music that makes you smile and perhaps, like me, you will look like a happy idiot traversing miles on the elliptical or making a land-locked journey on the rowing machine while mouthing the words to a great tune.
Distractions work for me. If I engage my trainer in conversation while I am pushed to my limit, I can reach new heights almost painlessly. I’ve seen people reading while pedaling miles on the stationary bike and always wonder how they manage. Maybe I should give it a try. Better yet, I’ll download a book and have someone read to me while I pant and sweat like a hungry dieter chasing a runaway M&M.
Are distractions part of your exercise routine? Do you have any recommendations you’d like to share with us?

4 comments:

Diane Fit to the Finish said...

I go in waves with distractions while I'm working out. Sometimes I like music, and sometimes I just enjoy the silence. One time I googled music for running and found some really good playlists that other people had put together!

Fat[free]Me said...

It dependsd on the exercise: a country walk/cycle has enough distractions (plus I bring a camera/buddy), for a run I have to have loud music (and I sing along too, despite looking/sounding a complete idiot, lol), lengthy exercise sessions at the gym involve audio books + the tv screen/music video playing.

I have got to the point now where I hear certain tunes that make me itch to get moving and I look forward to exercise sessions because it means I can sing/listen to a great story.

Ellen said...

A country walk sounds ideal. I take the quicker (for me) and easier way and just go to the gym. I think in the country I would be tempted to take my time and look under every rock and in every tree. But I am going to download some audio books!

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