Well, it’s May, and if you haven’t given up on your New Year’s Resolutions yet, this may be the month of your greatest struggle, or your greatest triumph. The most common resolution is, without question, the goal of losing weight and getting healthy, and if you’ve been going strong since January, more power to you, but if you’re starting to run out of juice, I may have something that can help, provided you’re not doing it already: music.

One of music’s greatest little tricks is how it can give your workout a pretty big boost in a lot of ways. And even if you’re already working out to your beats, a little bit more understanding might be all you need to give your exercise that little bit of something extra to get you over the hump. Music can be an extremely useful tool if you know how to wield it properly. So, in an effort to help you maximize your physical output, check out these five benefits of listening to music while you exercise.

• Pump Up The Effort

If asked, most average exercisers would probably tell you that they don’t feel like they get quite enough out of their workouts. They always seem to want to do just a little more, burn just a few more calories. Listening to music while you work out is a great way to boost your effort just that little extra more. Up tempo music can encourage you to work harder, and can even help your body work more efficiently and effectively. In fact, a study conducted by the Research Institute for Sport an Exercise in 2009 found that cyclists pedaled harder and faster, and covered more ground when listening to upbeat music. Another study conducted the following year also found that these cyclists would begin to pedal in time with the beat, and used 7% less oxygen at the same pace as their peers without music. This suggests that their heart and lungs were working more efficiently than those not listening.

• Mood Booster

We’ve all experienced waking up on the wrong side of the bed, followed by an unpleasant morning where nothing seem to go your way, only to have it all turn around when our favourite song comes on the radio on the way to work; “Maybe today will turn out okay after all.”

We’ve all felt the wonderful mood altering power of music, so why not use it to your advantage? Whether you’re just in the initial stages of building your workout routine, or you’re a gym veteran, something finding the emotional fortitude to get your aching body to go through the motions can sometimes be a struggle. Next time you’re mood isn’t quite up for exercise, try switching over to a playlist of all your favourite upbeat tunes, and kill two birds with one stone!

• Improves Motor Skills

Music can also help improve your motor skills, making you better at the exercises you’re attempting. Some researchers believe this is because music can reproduce some fundamental bodily rhythms. Additionally, specific lyrics can be helpful in finding proper technique. The best example of this comes from the sport of track and field, which combines a variety of body movements, including running, jumping, and throwing. One of the most common technical mistakes make by track & field athletes is during the shot put event, and “Push It” by Salt-n-Pepa is the ideal song to correct it. The shot must be “put” rather than thrown, and the combination of lyrics and tempo in “Push It” help athletes make the proper movements to refine their technique.

• Enhances Explosive Athleticism

Your favourite pump up jam may also be helping your explosiveness. Explosive athletic performance refers to short, fast bursts of movement. A study from the Department of Kineisology at California State University showed that athletes training to their favourite music showed significantly higher explosive power than their music-less counterparts. This is great news for those of you looking for strength and power training.

• Distraction

One of the most common reasons people listen to music while they work out is that it provides something of a distraction. And there may be a number of things you need to be distracted from. Let’s face it, sometimes exercising is just plain boring, especially if you’re going through pretty much the same routine every day. Music can help seem like you’re breaking that routine up by taking your mind of the repetitiveness of what your body is doing.

There is, of course, another things many of us need to be distracted from during our workout: pain. The aches and pains associated with exercising are universal, and can be a pretty big hurdle for people just starting out in their workout efforts. Listening to music during your workout has been shown to reduce the pain you experience by simply giving you something else to focus on. This little bit of distraction music offers can be a huge game changer.

1. Finding the Right Music

The benefits of listening to music during your workout are undeniable, but how do you find the best music for you? Well, different tempos are good for different kinds of exercises, so you’ll want to try to pay attention to your playlist’s beats per minute, or BPM. Songs with a high BPM rate (around 160-180) are ideal for high-intensity cardio workouts, like running. Mid range BPM rates (120-140) are good for something a little lighter, like jogging, or dance fitness, and things a tough slower, in the lower BPM range (around 100) are best for things like strength training.

You can find BPM calculators online to help you build your perfect workout playlist, or you can simply figure it out on your own. All you need to do is count how many beats are in 6 seconds, then multiply by 10. The BPM ranges I have provided for different exercises is, of course, only a guideline. Exercising is a very personal experience, and you may find that different beat per minute rates work better for you. That’s okay, the most important thing for building your workout playlist is to select song that you enjoy, and are personally motivating!