Music and Moving Heavy Metal

What gets you motivated in the gym? Is it the hot, hard bodies walking around, seeing a massive poundage being moved or the thought of your delicious postworkout shake waiting for you? Something you may want to add to your bag of inspiring tricks is music. According to a study published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine, listening to musical beats that are close to your heart rate during exercise significantly improves motivation.

You may have to experiment with different tempos to find something that really gets your heart, muscles and mind pumping, but a good place to start is with the hard-driving beat of AC/DC or the more pop-oriented Third Eye Blind.

Another major motivator is getting stronger. Music may help in that respect, but specific power supplements will enhance the effect. For example, the number-one instant strength jack you can throw down your gullet is Gakic by MuscleTech. Everyone I’ve spoken with who’s tried it gets extra reps on big work sets, especially the ones done early in a workout. The power-surging effect tends to wear off the longer the workout lasts. Gakic is an ammonia buffer, so it blocks that specific substance that can stop your sets short. You just keep on repping.

To get an even bigger strength pop, also take beta-alanine. It’s a lactic acid buffer that works along the same lines but via a pathway different from Gakic’s. Beta-alanine postpones the acidic burn, so you keep cranking out the growth reps—and cranking up the tunes. IM