When I was a member of a regular gym, there wasn’t a soul that was without an iPod or MP3 player. It was a sea of ear buds. I was among them. I couldn’t even think of getting on the treadmill for 40 minutes without my pumped-up playlist motivating me to faster speeds. In fact, most of the treadmills at this gym had TVs built right into them. How’s that for keeping your mind off your monotony?
But once I started working out at a private facility, I was surprised that I was working out in silence – well, expect for my trainer telling me to “Advertise” and keep my chest up. I never knew the reasoning until I started reading some of Vince Gironda’s teachings and it finally made sense.
In his opinion, music distracts from the goal of sculpting your body. Gironda writes that in order to achieve optimal results, one must be in the ideal mental state, which you need when weight training. According to Vince, “You cannot sculpt and reshape your body to the sounds of the latest rock band.” To achieve your ideal of physical perfection, it takes vivid imagination, enormous desire, total faith, visualization and unending mental commitment. And this just can’t be done when Metallica is blasting in your ears.
You know what? This makes total sense to me. Now when I’m working out, I am completely focused on the task at hand. I’m watching myself in the mirror, paying attention to my trainer’s comments and thinking about the way I want to look and how these reps are going to get me to my goal.
I know this may be a lot to ask, but I’m going to ask you to accept a challenge. Leave your music behind the next time you have a workout and see what happens. Do you pay more attention to what’s going on in your body? How is your form? Can you visualize your perfect body?
Let us know your thoughts about music and workouts, and if you agree or disagree with Vince Gironda’s choice to keep music out of the workout.
