Motivation... Music... Runner's High?

If you want to increase your running, all you need is motivation! It not only sounds simple – it is simple! You definitely need to motivate yourself to get up early in the morning, to get out of the house when it’s pouring down with rain or if you don’t feel like it at all, so that you can stick with your training plan!

There will always be times where you do not feel the urge to run and you do not feel satisfied. This is when it’s very important to motivate yourself. Try to find different locations to run in, think of the feeling you have when running to the top of the hill, the breathtaking view you experience or just take it easier for the next few runs to get joy out of a steady run without pushing yourself to the limit.

But you will see, once you have the motivation up to go running - no matter what the circumstances are - the next step to take is consistency! Regular injury free training is definitely what will bring you to the next level and on the right track to fulfill the goals you have set yourself.

It is common understanding that running is good for you. But it is as well known that not everyone enjoys the fact that you are just left with yourself and your own mind during a run – they only feel bored whilst running.

So how do you overcome this boredom? Try to run with music – it is a great tool, as it not only prevents you from getting bored, it also helps you to maintain your pace!

But these are not the only benefits from running with music:

• Music can be inspirational
• Takes your mind off running
• Helps people get away from reality and calm themselves as they run

However, there are some disadvantages to running with music:

• Some people like to run and listen to the sounds around them more than music
• Loud music can make you oblivious to your surroundings (e.g. upcoming cars behind you)
• Criminals look for people who are not paying attention to their surroundings therefore a runner with earplugs might be an easy victim

Beats per minute

But how should you decide on which music is good for your next run? It could be helpful to check for the beats per minute (BPM) in a song. The BPM should be identical to your steps per minute – meaning if you have a song with higher BPM you will automatically take more steps per minute. This, however, does not mean that you can only run to fast music.

As an example you can either use music around 170 BPM to 180 BPM, or music that has 85 BPM to 95 BPM. The difference is that you can take one step on each beat of the faster music, where as you can take 2 steps for each beat of the slower music.

Runner's high is a term used to describe the positive feeling people get during a run or after they have exercised. Some people become addicted to exercise and the feeling of the runner's high. Runner's high is an example of a positive addiction as exercise is healthy for your body.

There is still debate among researchers about the mechanism of runner's high... Is it the result of hormones released during exercise, or is it psychological phenomena, or a combination of both? However, one thing is certain: People experience positive feelings from regular participation in physical activity.