When I go to the gym I usually listen to podcasts.

I feel I’m not wasting my time if I learn something new from them. But honestly, they don’t pump me up when I’m trying to crush deadlifts or power through the last minutes on the treadmill.

I think I’m making the best of my time there, but I’m not. My attention is divided. And when you do two things at the same time, you usually do them both poorly.

Ironically, trying to multitask wastes more time. I don’t focus on my workout or the podcast, doing both poorly.

I’m not truly present. How can I make my time count?

Here’s what you can do at the gym that will help your muscles push harder and make you proud of the time spent working out.

Feel the beat, feel the burn

Researchers from various universities teamed up to study how different music tempos impact our workout performance.

Does the beat really make a difference when you hit the gym?

Which benefits more from music: high-intensity or endurance exercise?

Scientists gathered 19 active women, aged around 26, all with at least a year of fitness training experience, and made them do high-intensity and endurance exercises. Endurance involved steady treadmill walking at 6.5 km/h, and high-intensity with leg press exercises at 80% of their one-repetition maximum.

Every woman went through four music conditions:

• No music (NM)

• Low tempo (90–110 bpm)

• Medium tempo (130–150 bpm)

• High tempo (170–190 bpm)

They did exercises with randomly assigned music tempos in four sessions to avoid fatigue affecting the results. But they all experienced these different tempos throughout the four weeks of training.

What did they find?

• Endurance exercises: High-tempo tunes (170–190 bpm) led to an 11% decrease in perceived exertion (RPE) compared to no music. Just by making the music fast, participants felt their workouts were easier.

• High-Intensity Exercise: The effect was still there, but not as strong. With high-tempo music, RPE dropped by 6.5%. So, while you’re grinding through those heavy leg presses, the right playlist can still give you an edge.

• Heart rate: faster music made their bodies work harder. Their heart rates increased, meaning their bodies worked harder even if it didn’t feel like it.

Try listening to fast-paced music next time you go to the gym. It makes you feel less tired and helps you push harder. This is especially useful for endurance workouts like long-distance running, swimming, cycling, rowing, and elliptical training, among many others.

Fast music also helps with high-intensity exercises like sprints, weightlifting, battle ropes, or kettlebell swings, among others, but less than for endurance.

When I shifted to music, my body changed with me

For my next workout session, I included a playlist with fast-paced songs and it made all the difference.

While I didn’t meticulously record the progress, I could easily see how I could push harder, stay more minutes on the treadmill, and do one more rep when I was exhausted, among other things.

The music changed my mindset and with that shift, my body responded very well. Gains in seconds run or pounds lifted became greater the more I used this playlist.

However, after a while, I had to change the playlist, because I was getting used to it. I needed fresh songs to inject into my body to get that boost. So after 2–3 weeks, I’d create another high-tempo playlist to keep me going.

Now, don’t get me wrong. If I used this music outside the gym, I’d go crazy. It’s too intense for my everyday life. It’s meant for only one purpose. After that, I don’t want to hear it until my next session.

Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar: I save high-tempo music strictly for training because, outside the gym, it would drive me nuts.

High-tempo tracks to maximize your workout

My advice? Ditch the distractions and crank up the beats.

You can get a killer playlist with high-tempo music if you use these songs for your workout.

• The Pretender by Foo Fighters (174 bpm)

• Painkiller by Judas Priest (204 bpm)

• Raining Blood by Slayer (176 bpm)

• Paranoid by Black Sabbath (156 bpm)

• Dyers Eve by Metallica (196 bpm)

• Bonfire by Knife Party (176 bpm)

• Power by Kanye West (Remix) (156bpm)

• Tarantula by Pendulum ft. DJ Fresh, $pyda, Tenor Fly (174 bpm)

• Propane Nightmares by Pendulum (174 bpm)

You need the the kind that gets your heart racing and your energy levels soaring, otherwise don’t include them in your playlist. With the right workout soundtrack, you’ll not only work harder but also actually enjoy the grind.

Make every minute count.

If you enjoyed reading this article, consider chipping in a few bucks to support my work. It takes a ton of time and effort to research and write these pieces, and your donation would mean the world to me!

Donate here