Music and Training
Cyclists often spend many hours training solo, so what can we listen to (or not listen to) during these rides to make them most effective? It seems like an unimportant topic, but when you add up the hours someone can spend listening to something while training, it is enough to make a difference. I’m going to cover three different options to think about when it comes to what you fill your ears with when you ride. The three options are nothing at all, informational content (podcasts/audiobooks), or music. I have consistently applied all three in my training, and have tried to reflect on the difference each of them makes.
First, I will cover nothing at all. This one was inspired by Cal Newport’s book “Deep Work”, where he talked about how a great way to improve at something is to practice with little distraction. I think about the principles of deliberate practice too, in that practicing in solitude with an eye for improvement can be the difference between improving or just going through the motions. Listening to nothing while training forces you to be in your own head and manage the thoughts that arise. It can be good for building mental toughness and improving your ability to manage your thoughts / emotions during training. These skills can translate into racing, which is an environment where we do not have access to anything to listen to.
Second, listening to informational content such as podcasts or audiobooks can be a great way to kill two birds with one stone…you are improving your fitness and getting smarter in the process. I did almost all of my rides listening to some form of informational podcast or audiobook for years, and it has helped me learn so much given the amount of time that I train per year. Recently, I have realized there is a downside to consuming hours of informational content per day during training. I’ve found it can be overwhelming for your brain to download and process all of that information day after day. When training for a sport, you want some attention going towards the details of the skill you are trying to improve through practice, and having your working memory spent on trying to comprehend complex problems from a podcast or book adds another huge mental load over time.
This leads me to the last option, music. Out of the three, this is the one that I find most effective for maintaining consistent and quality training. Listening to music is a passive activity, so you do not have to consciously download or process every note and word the song is giving to you like you do for understanding informational content. Also, training for hours per day listening to nothing can get old, and you can end up being too much in your head. There are many sport psychology studies proving the effectiveness that music has on athletes and their psychological state. Music can help improve your mood and get the right neurotransmitters firing to help you train. There is a dopamine component to music, so there can be too much of a good thing. I find it very effective to set up many different playlists and genres to listen to so things are constantly being changed up. I typically utilize music in the moments before training, during training, then shut it down after training to get the body back into a calm state. Putting on some of your favorite music can help eliminate distractions and get your head in the game for your upcoming training session. To me, music makes training fun and less of a chore, which in the end, helps you maintain motivation to train consistently.
So there is my take on the three things you may find yourself listening to (or not listening to) during your training. Each has it’s place and it is up to each individual to determine what works best for them to keep their motivation and training quality in an optimal state. One thing I did not cover in this post is that there is another option of riding in a group or with friends, which is a whole other psychological environment to train in itself, and may be a topic for another time.