Music and Training
For many years, music and training have worked together; every gym around the world has some form of music playing over the speakers and many individuals listen to music on a personal music player while they train.
However, to ensure your clients and gym members achieve the best experience when training, there is so much more to the music in a gym than simply randomly playing a playlist or the radio.
We use music in a gym environment to provide motivation, a theme, and a positive upbeat experience. It has a profound effect on one’s ability to train harder, faster, with more intensity and with more energy.
Whether it is delivered via a high-tech sound system, mp3 player or smartphone, music takes the gym experience to whole new level.
Happy Place
As an instructor or trainer, we often train on our own to ensure our body and mind is replicating what we provide as a service and often also listen to personal music while we train, whether it be through headphones or alone in a studio.
How does this music make you feel?
Are you inspired to try that little bit harder? Are you motivated to put in that little bit extra effort? Do you feel that boost of adrenalin you didn’t have before? Is there a release of endorphins that ensures greater enjoyment?
This is the feeling we want replicated for our clients/members. A happy place for them to unwind, de-stress, train, exercise, focus and have fun.
Many people join gyms or train with trainers for various reasons other than exercise and if we, as trainers, can aid in that experience with music to provide a better training environment, not only are they going to get better results, they will thank you for the motivating experience by coming back again and again.
How to Create That Memorable Gym Experience
While overall, music can deliver a motivating experience, sometimes is best to get the members/clients feedback on their preferred music. This can personalise the experience for your clients because, after all, they are the ones paying the bills at the end of the day.
This can be achieved through several means including;
Membership newsletter feedback
Online survey
Front counter survey
Social media poll
Daily or Weekly requests
Theme days i.e 80s
Select your own music (achieved through some existing gym music systems such as Nightlife)
Not only will the members appreciate the ability to choose their music, they will feel more welcome; thus achieving a better workout.
Group Training
For those that run small group training classes or larger group fitness classes, music can be key to maintain a uniformed tempo within each exercise achieved during the class.
Specific music can be selected with a precise beat to achieve the beats per minute needed to aid each participant in moving to this beat and allowing them the sense of motivation to get through each exercise.
In order to ensure the beats are appropriate, certain smartphone apps are available to monitor and report on selected to songs to identify the beats per minute. Apps such as ‘BPM Detector’ allow the group fitness instructor to program the music to ensure the beats in the selected music adequately represent the tempo required in the class thus affording each participant greater opportunity to complete the class with the desired effect.
The Best Approach
The utilisation of music in the gym and training environment is vast and expansive but can be very beneficial to the end result and the overall experience.
From what we know the best approach is through the consumer; therefore,
Survey your members and clients to understand their music tastes.
Understand the needs of your members and clients through their existing activities and base the music around this i.e louder music at peak times.
Introduce change to the music delivery through means such as themed days, choose your own, interactive selection, DJ nights, live music, etc.
Ensure quality delivery through a good sound system.
While some members or clients may appreciate certain music genres, they may not be everyone’s tastes so ensure variety is a priority.
Research the beats in music to encourage a better workout and more motiving session.