Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll? How does this relate to exercise? In this article I will explain how training with someone of the opposite sex, drinking coffee, and listening to music can help achieve your exercise goals.
It has been found that testosterone levels increase when members of the opposite sex are around when you train. This is a basic, instinctual phenomenon. When we are attracted to someone, stress hormones like testosterone increase. Testosterone is an anabolic hormone and is related to growth, size and aggression. When testosterone levels increases while we train, we get more results like toning and muscle building. So ask someone you like, to train with you. It will help you get results.
Coffee contains caffeine and that has been proven to increase the effectiveness and duration of exercise. When you consume a couple of cups of coffee 30 minutes before training (that probably amounts to 200-300 mg of caffeine) performance can increase up to 30%. This relates to cardio more than weights though. Weight training uses a different type of energy system than for cardio. It works for cardio because caffeine speeds up your metabolism and your heart rate, so you burn more calories. It is also carbohydrate sparing, so instead of using carbs for energy you are using predominately fat. This means you can run for longer because fatigue is usually caused by depletion of carbs. Now drinking coffee is good, but taking caffeine pills is better because it is in a purer form than in coffee. Caffeine pills normally come in 100 mg amounts, so take two 30 minutes before your cardio exercise and you will be able to go for longer and burn more calories at the same time!
Listening to music while you train helps to increase motivation and performance. When you workout with music it works as a distraction. You become more focused on the music than on the training, so the time seems to fly by. Also fast pace music actually makes you train faster. Most people run up to 10% faster because they are trying to keep up with the music. So try to listen to fast-pace music, this gets the nervous system more fired up. When you listen to upbeat happy music it also helps with self esteem and motivation. Try running to “Eye of the tiger” or other motivating songs that make you happy and motivated. As a rule try to listen to music that is above 140bpm, but if you are walking maybe try music with a lower speed. This means that you can try to match your speed of walking to the speed of the music. Of course, don’t have the music up too loud as this can affect hearing. And don’t have it too loud that you can’t hear anything else, especially if you are running on the roads. Safety first.
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