Add music to your workout regime

Want to go further with your workout in the New Year? Then music could be the answer. Experts suggest that it can be a tremendous supplement to exercise and can yield better results.

It is said that top athletes use music to enhance their performance and researchers are now studying this phenomenon to understand how to harness its power, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Costas Karageorghis, sports psychologist from Brunel University in London, suggests some tips on how to maximise the beneficial effects of music for your workout.

"Our research demonstrates that music can be a tremendous supplement to exercise. For maximum impact, the tempo and rhythmic pattern need to be targeted towards your movement rate and activity pattern. Music can benefit exercise particularly at low-to-moderate intensities," said Karageorghis.

To get the best result in gym, the music should possess a pleasing melody and harmony, which improves your mood, typically is a major key. Music that promotes inspiring imagery or has strong personal associations can also be highly effective.

Different music work for particular types of exercise. Here is the list:

* Weight lifting: Music that is fast, rhythmic, percussive or bass-driven is particularly good for psyching yourself up before a highly strenuous activity like lifting heavy weights.

* Sprinting: You need faster music for when you are training at a high intensity.

* Jogging, rowing, cycling: A playlist should ideally contour your expected heart rate during such workout. If you are synchronising your movements with the music, the beats per minute need to match your intended movement rate, so it's important to determine what this is likely to be and to select music accordingly.