When I started running a few weeks ago, headphones were a given. Put them on AirPods, put on your favorite playlist and go. And honestly? Even today, I still occasionally run with them. Music can be incredibly motivating. But the more kilometers I run, the more I realize one thing. If you're trying to run for fitness, weight loss, or endurance, headphones can paradoxically be more of a hindrance than a help.
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At first glance, this may sound strange. After all, music helps to overcome fatigue, banishes boredom, and makes running go by much faster. But that's where the catch lies. Numerous studies and runners' experiences show that the tempo of music can influence our cadence and overall running pace. In other words, the body often subconsciously adapts to the rhythm of the song without us even realizing it. Research even confirms that changes in the tempo of music can change the frequency of a runner's steps.
And that's exactly what I started to notice in myself. When a fast and energetic song came on, I suddenly ran faster. When a slower song followed, the pace dropped again. This may not be a problem on short runs, but if you're trying to keep a calm run in lower heart rate zones, for example, the music can very easily drag you to a higher intensity than you originally planned.
Without headphones, running suddenly became surprisingly easier. Not because I was faster. Quite the opposite. The pace naturally stabilized. I began to notice my own breathing, leg fatigue, heart rate, and how I felt during the run much more. Instead of adapting to the playlist, I began to adapt to my own body.
And this is something that running coaches also recommend. Especially for beginners, it is more important to learn to run by feel and perceive your own effort than to chase pace or performance. In the long run, the ability to estimate the right running intensity helps build endurance and reduces the risk of overtraining. The experiences of runners themselves are also interesting in this regard. Running forums repeatedly feature stories of people who have discovered that fast music makes them accelerate unnecessarily, overdo the start of their run, and then run out of energy much sooner. Some have therefore switched to podcasts, audiobooks or running completely without headphones.
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Of course, this doesn't mean you should ditch music altogether. It can be a great companion for interval training, fast runs, or when you just don't feel like going out. But if you're trying to build core fitness, lose weight, or learn to run more efficiently, try not tochat headphones at home. You might be surprised at how much your own body can tell you.
I myself got used to quiet runs much faster than I expected. And more and more often I feel that that is when I run best. Not fastest. But most naturally. Andonec maybe that's what running is all about.
Miracle🙈
Running headphones are crap🤦🤦🤦. What about tracking your breathing, stride length, etc???
You're right, but most people use them anyway.
I can't imagine it either. Actually, in any sport, it takes away from concentration and in the end I don't notice it anyway. But most people figure it out on their own over time.