Who grabs their headphones on the way to workout? I know I do. Your gym playlist could be more important to your workout than you think. Putting on my 

headphones and turning on my music sends me into my “superwoman” vibe. Do you know that feeling? Well, there are reasons for this vibe. According to research (Karageorghis & Terry 1997), choosing the right music helps boost your mood, creates a distraction, and encourages rhythmic movement among other things. Here are a few reasons you may want to crank up the jams while you are working out.

• Boosts Mood.  Music releases chemicals in the brain called dopamine which boosts your mood, dulls your pain, and reduces the feeling of fatigue.

• Creates a distraction. When you're jamming to your favorite songs, your concentration on the music takes your mind off of feelings of pain and fatigue.

• Encourages rhythmic movement/ synchronization. Certain music can help you keep your pace while doing exercises like running, jumping jacks, or any other paced exercises.

• Gives you a push. Faster music with a bpm (beats per minutes) between 120 - 145 pushes you to work harder to achieve your workout goal. Working in time to music can help athletes or exercisers work harder for longer. (Peter C. Terry, University of Southern Queensland)

Now of course you can have a good workout without music, but why would you do that when you can crank up the jams and have a SLAYtastic workout.