推薦: 健身時最適合大家聽的音樂

Looking for a perfect tune for your workout?

你在尋找最適合健身的音樂嗎？

Michael Jackson's 'Beat It' has the optimal beat. So does 'Gangnam Style' by Psy and Lady Gaga's 'Edge of Glory.'

邁克爾•傑克遜(Michael Jackson)的《走開》(Beat It)節奏非常理想。樸載相(Psy)的《江南Style》(Gangnam Style)和嘎嘎小姐(Lady Gaga)的《榮耀之巔》(Edge of Glory)也是一樣。

Research has found that at the right tempo, music can reduce the sense of exertion as well as boost Motivation. Costas Karageorghis, deputy head of research at the School of Sport and Education at London's Brunel University, says the 'sweet spot' for workout music is between 125 and 140 beats per minute when people aren't trying to time their movements to the music. Previously, experts believed that the faster a person exercises, the faster the music tempo should be.

研究發現，節奏適當的音樂能夠減少疲勞感並增強積極性。倫敦布魯內爾大學(Brunel University)運動與教育學院(School of Sport and Education)科研副主管科斯塔斯•卡拉喬吉斯(Costas Karageorghis)說，健身時音樂的理想節奏是每分鐘125到140拍，這時人的動作能較爲輕鬆地跟上節奏。很顯然，專家認爲一個人運動的節奏越快，相應的音樂節奏也應該越快。

Other new studies have shown that when athletes synchronize their movements to a musical beat, their bodies can handle more exertion: Treadmill walkers had greater stamina and cyclists required less oxygen uptake. And swimmers who listened to music during races finished faster than others who didn't.

其它新研究表明，當運動員的動作與音樂節奏同步時，他們的肢體會更有力量：在跑步機上慢跑的人會有更強的耐力，而單車騎行者需氧量也會減少。游泳者在比賽時聽音樂會比不聽的人更快到達終點。

'Music can alter emotional and physiological arousal much like a pharmacological stimulant or sedative,' says Dr. Karageorghis, who has worked as a consultant psychologist to music and sports-equipment companies and for Olympic athletes. 'It has the capacity to stimulate people even before they go into the gym.'

卡拉喬吉斯爲音樂和運動器材公司以及奧運會運動員擔任心理諮詢師。他說：“音樂可以調節情緒並帶來生理上的刺激，就像興奮劑和鎮靜劑。它甚至能夠在人們走入健身房之前就給予他們激勵。”

The benefits of music seem most pronounced during low-to-moderate-intensity exercise -- in other words, it's more effective for recreational exercisers than elite athletes, scientists say. And finding just the right beat isn't difficult, as a lot of popular music falls within the optimum tempo range and most other musical genres also have music in that range, Dr. Karageorghis says. For classical music buffs, two pieces that work for him are Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, known as the 'Eroica' symphony, and Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G minor. Other qualities that make music ideal for workouts are motivational sounds and lyrics -- think the theme from 'Chariots of Fire' with its associated image of men running on the beach.

科學家表示，音樂的益處在低強度到中等強度的運動中表現得最爲顯著──也就是說，音樂對於休閒性的運動比對競技運動更爲有效。卡拉喬吉斯說，找到適合的節奏並不困難，因爲許多流行音樂都符合理想節奏的範疇，大多數其他類型的音樂也有在這一範疇內的曲目。對於古典音樂愛好者來說，貝多芬(Beethoven)的降E大調第三交響曲也就是《英雄交響曲》(Eroica symphony)以及莫扎特(Mozart)的G小調第40號交響曲是兩個不錯的選擇。還有幾個決定音樂是否適合用於健身的因素是，激勵性的音調和歌詞──想象一下《烈火戰車》(Chariots of Fire)配上人們在海灘奔跑的畫面。

Sylwia Wiesenberg, owner of Tonique Fitness in New York City, says she keeps tempo in mind when compiling playlists for her two-hour cardio and body-sculpting class. 'The hardest part of the class is the first 15 to 20 minutes,' she says. 'I use music as my powerful instrument to push people harder,' she says.

紐約市Tonique Fitness健身中心的老闆席爾維婭•維森伯格(Sylwia Wiesenberg)說，她在給兩小時的有氧運動和形體雕塑課程編排音樂列表時，會時刻注意節奏。“課程最難的部分是開始的15到20分鐘”，她說，“我把音樂作爲鼓舞士氣最有效的手段。”

Ms. Wiesenberg starts the class with songs that have 115 to 117 beats per minute -- such as 'The Longest Road' by Morgan Page -- then increases that to about 125 beats. Finally, the workout peaks with music at about 135 beats per minute, including 'Beautiful World' by Tiesto & Mark Knight featuring Dino. A month ago when the speakers in her studio weren't working, 'the class had a totally different atmosphere and energy,' she says. 'People were stopping.. . .I'm so dependent on the music that I don't even see a point to doing a class without the music.'

維森伯格以每分鐘115到117拍的音樂來展開課程，例如摩根•佩奇(Morgan Page)的《漫漫長路》(The Longest Road)，之後加快到約每分鐘125拍。最後，在運動達到最佳狀態時，音樂的節奏是約每分鐘135拍，其中包括鐵斯托(Tiesto)和馬克•奈特(Mark Knight)與迪諾(Dino)合作的《美麗世界》(Beautiful World)。一個月前，當健身房裏的擴音器出故障時，“班上的氛圍和幹勁截然不同”，她說。“人們都停了下來……我非常依賴音樂，無法想象沒有音樂時如何上課。”

A study published last year in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness found that cyclists who synchronized their movements to music reduced oxygen uptake by as much as 7%. The study tested three different musical tempos on 10 men who cycled for 12 minutes at 70% maximal heart rate.

一項去年發表於《體育醫學與健康雜誌》(Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness)的研究發現，將動作與音樂同步的自行車騎行者可減少需氧量多達7%。研究要求10位男性以最高心率的70%騎行12分鐘，並在騎行時測試了三種不同節奏的音樂。

Another experiment, involving 30 people walking on treadmills, found that exercising at the same tempo as the music boosted endurance. One group of participants walked with motivational music, another with neutral music and a third with no music. Endurance increased in both groups listening to music, although the motivational music had the greatest effect. The study was published in the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology in 2009.

另一項研究要求30個人在跑步機上行走，結果表明健身時與音樂節奏同步會增強耐力。一組參與實驗者行走時伴隨激勵性的音樂，另一組是普通的音樂，第三組沒有音樂。聽音樂的兩組耐力均有增加，而聽激勵性音樂的一組效果最爲顯著。這項研究發表在了2009年的《體育與運動心理雜誌》(Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology)上。

Experts say most of the benefits of working out to music come from psychological factors. 'When people run with music their rate of perceived exertion is lower than if they don't use music or other devices,' says Gershon Tenenbaum, director of the graduate program in sport and exercise psychology at Florida State University. These benefits tend to evaporate once a person begins exercising at very intense levels, he says.

專家認爲健身時聽音樂的益處主要來自於心理因素。弗羅裏達州立大學(Florida State University)體育與運動心理學研究生項目主管格森•特南鮑姆(Gershon Tenenbaum)說：“人們在跑步時聽音樂比不借助音樂或者其他工具時感覺省力”。而一旦當運動強度變得很高，這些益處會漸漸消失。

Dr. Tenenbaum says similar benefits have been observed when athletes are told to imagine they are in a certain location, such as at the beach, or are exposed to particular smells, such as lavender.

特南鮑姆說，在運動員被要求想象自己身處特定環境，例如在海灘上，或者聞到某種氣味，例如薰衣草時，類似的益處也會體現出來。

David-Lee Priest, a researcher at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England, says music is able to divert attention through a neurological mechanism. The unpleasant feedback from exercising, such as difficulty breathing, sweating or stiff muscles, is transferred to the brain using the afferent, or sensory, nervous system. Listening to music interferes with the transmission of those sensations, he says. 'Before you become aware of the fatigue the music will block out the sensations of fatigue and effort so you won't fully notice them,' he says. That blocking occurs only up to a point -- about 70% of one's maximum capacity, he says.

英格蘭諾里奇(Norwich)東安格利亞大學(the University of East Anglia)的研究者大衛-李•普利斯特(David-Lee Priest)說，音樂能通過神經機制轉移注意力。健身時出現的令人不快的反應，例如呼吸困難、流汗或者肌肉僵硬，會通過傳入或感覺神經系統傳遞至大腦。聽音樂會對這類感覺的傳遞產生干擾，他說。“在你感到疲勞之前，音樂會阻斷疲勞感和費力感，所以你完全不會注意到。” 他還補充道，這種阻斷作用只在特定的時候出現，也就是一個人使用最高體力70%的時候。

With resistance training, the benefit of music occurs more before one starts exercising or in between sets, Dr. Priest says. 'It's like taking a mild stimulant.. . will increase your heart rate and blood pressure slightly.'

在鍛鍊時加以控制，音樂的益處就能在開始運動前或者運動間隙時顯現，普利斯特說。“這就像服了溫和的興奮劑……它能夠讓你的心率和血壓略微升高。”

In a recent study, Dr. Karageorghis and colleagues tested the effects of music on swimmers. After three weeks in which the athletes got used to swimming with ear buds, the researchers conducted three experiments using 26 collegiate swimmers who completed the 200-meter freestyle trials. They listened to motivational music, neutral music and no music. Both music groups saw a three-second improvement in performance compared to their race times without music. Although this represented just a 2% improvement, Dr. Karageorghis says it's enough to make a difference in the realm of competitive swimming.

在近期的一項研究中，卡拉喬吉斯和同事們測試了音樂對於游泳者的作用。研究者先讓運動員用三週時間適應了戴耳塞游泳，之後與26名完成了200米自由泳的大學游泳健將進行了三項實驗。他們聽了激勵性的音樂和普通音樂，或者不聽音樂。聽音樂的兩組相比不聽音樂時成績提高了三秒。儘管只提高了2%，卡拉喬吉斯說這足以對競爭激烈的游泳界產生一定影響。

Swimmers listening to music also reported a 10% jump in their level of motivation, compared with swimming with no music. The study, scheduled to be published in the journal Psychology of Sport and Exercise, was sponsored by swimwear company Speedo International Ltd.

相比於不聽音樂游泳，聽音樂的游泳者在積極性方面也提高了10%。這項研究得到了速比濤公司(Speedo International Ltd.)的贊助，計劃發表在《體育與運動心理學》(Psychology of Sport and Exercise)雜誌上。