Never underestimate the power of the playlist. When it comes to getting the edge in training, the soundtrack you choose to your workout is all-important. Music has a power like nothing else to push us further and faster. Through rainy days and lazy days, and all the stumbling blocks in between. Many Athletes, runners and gym-goers swear by music for their fitness ‘fine tuning’, including Elizabeth Crisante and Serin George.
💬Elizabeth Crisante ‘When I train I choose music that not only makes me feel good, but also empowers and uplifts me. There is no question that it affects the way I train. It also helps me focus, as if almost being in a state of trance when I¹m working out.’ 💬Serin George ‘Listening to music while training helps me give that extra push. It brings a big impact on your performance, so its good to spend that extra time to create a playlist that suits your kind of workouts.’
⚠️ But there’s a ‘but...’ ‘Playlist power’ may be real, but it does come with a word of warning (particularly if you’re in the habit of turning up the volume for a bit of extra ooomph!) It’s a little known fact that that headphones that are too loud can risk damaging our hearing, and ‘too loud’ might be quieter than you think (85 decibels to be precise).
There’s around 11 million of us in the UK that experience some form of hearing loss, and according to The World Health Organisation (WHO) hearing loss has been identified as a growing global problem, with 10% of the world’s population being subject to sound levels that can cause noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL).
As it’s Hearing Awareness Week, we might all do well to check the volume of our workout playlist next time we’re hitting the gym or heading out for a run!
Besides using the volume warning, the advice is to choose headphones rather than ear buds. These not only better isolate background noise, so you can listen at a lower volume, but they also provide more distance from the sound and your delicate inner ear.
Setting the volume of your personal stereo when you’re in a quiet environment (i.e. NOT the gym) is also a good idea. Equally, just as we visit the optician and dentist on a regular basis, checking our hearing is something we might all benefit from building into our health care routine. Apparently, 50% of us have never had a hearing test as an adult (source: MED-EL) despite these being essential for detection and preventing hearing problems.
Sponsored by The Hearing Care Partnership 📸 @elizabethcrisante / @serin_george .
