For many exercisers, an iPod is as much apart of their exercise gear as their shoes and clothing. Music can provide a distraction to the physical effort required during exercise and even make the workout feel like it goes quicker. But are there other benefits of exercising to music? A study published in Heart Lung journal tested whether exercising to music can affect depression, anxiety and verbal fluency compared to exercise without music.

Researchers studied cardiac patients (average age 63 years) participating in a cardiac rehabilitation program. The subjects participated in two exercise sessions; one was performed to music and one without. Each subject completed tests to measure anxiety and depression before and after each workout. They also participated in tests to measure verbal fluency. The test measures ability to find the right word at the right time. For example, the subject may be asked to name as many words from a category (vegetables, animals, etc.) as they can in a given amount of time. Verbal fluency is a good measure of how well the brain organizes and processes information. It is often associated with quick wit and persuasive communication.

Both groups felt better emotionally and mentally after the workout whether they listened to music or not. However, when they listened to music, scores on the verbal fluency test were more than twice as high compared to exercise without music. Researchers think that the combination of exercise and music may stimulate the brain and nervous system more which helps to organize cognitive output.

Before your next business meeting or big discussion with your spouse or children, you might want to grab some exercise to your favorite tunes! Does listening to music energize your workouts?

Emery, C.F., Hsiao, E.T., Hill, S.M., & Frid, D.J. (2003). Short-term effects of exercise and music on cognitive performance among participants in a cardiac rehabilitation

Are all cardio machines created equally? Studies have shown that when individuals exercise on different pieces of cardio equipment at the same self-selected effort level, some pieces of equipment result in greater calorie burn. For example, at the same self-selected effort level, most individuals burn more calories exercising on the treadmill compared to the rowing machine, stair stepper, cycle ergometer or cross-country ski machine. However, until recently, newer forms of exercise equipment like the elliptical machine have not been investigated.

A study published in Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research¹ examined whether you burn more calories on the elliptical or the treadmill when you self-select your exercise intensity as moderate. In this study 18 untrained college-aged subjects performed 15 minutes of exercise on both the treadmill and elliptical machines. They exercised at the same effort level as determined by their Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE). The scale is a numerical scale used to rate overall exercise effort level. The scale uses numbers ranging from 6 (no effort - rest) to 20 (maximal effort) as shown in the RPE chart below. Each subject exercised at the same moderate-intensity rating of 12-13 on both machines.

This study found no difference in caloric expenditure between the treadmill and elliptical at the same RPE. Worth noting, although subjects burned the same number of calories, heart rate was higher when exercising on the elliptical compared to the treadmill. They found heart rates were an average of 16 – 18 beats/minute higher on the elliptical machine at the same RPE level. Reasons for this may include a lack of familiarity with the elliptical machine and/or the arms may contribute more work than the legs during elliptical exercise compared to the treadmill. Other studies which examined the heart rate response to combined arm and leg exercise showed that as the amount of work contributed by the arms increased that heart rate also increased² even though total workload did not change.

These results suggest that when individuals self-select exercise intensity based on rating of perceived exertion, they burn an equal number of calories on the elliptical and treadmill. The elliptical machine is a great cross training alternative to the treadmill as it reduces impact and provides more conditioning for the arms. However, expect higher heart rates on the elliptical machine compared to the treadmill for the same calorie burn. Which cardio machine do you prefer and why?

1. Brown, G.A., Cook, C.M., Krueger, R.D., & Heelan, K.A. (2010). Comparison of energy expenditure on a treadmill vs. an elliptical device at a self-selected exercise intensity. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24(6), 1643-49.

2. Mayo, J.J., Kravitz, L., & Wongsathikun, J. (2001). Detecting the onset of added cardiovascular strain during combined arm and leg exercise. Journal of Exercise Physiology, 4(3), Retrieved from http://www.asep.org/journals/JEPonline.

More than half of U.S. adults play video games with one in five playing daily or almost every day.¹  Video games are gaining popularity, especially those that use arm gestures and motions or force plates to control the system.  Sedentary individuals who like video games may find these more active types of video games attractive.  But is the intensity of these video games high enough to provide health benefits?

Japanese² researchers investigated the energy cost of theWii Fit Plus videos for yoga, resistance, balance and aerobic exercise and Wii Sports including golf, bowling, baseball, tennis and boxing.  They measured caloric expenditure in a special airtight room called a metabolic chamber while subjects performed each activity for eight minutes. 

Researchers measured the intensity of each video activity in units called metabolic equivalents (METs).  Resting energy expenditure is defined as 1 MET; if you are exercising at 3 METs then the intensity of the activity is three times resting.  According to the American College of Sports Medicine, an activity must reach a level of moderate intensity to provide health benefits.  Moderate intensity exercise is defined as an intensity of 3-6 METs.  Vigorous activities have an intensity >6 METs.

Results of the study showed that Wii balance exercises and yoga were below the minimum intensity of 3 METs.  These exercises produced only light activity levels which were not adequate to provide health benefits.  Many but not all the resistance training and aerobic exercises met the minimum 3 MET criteria and would be considered adequate to provide health benefits.  Of the Wii Sports activities, boxing had the highest energy expenditure averaging just over 4 METs.  Tennis and baseball averaged 3 METs with golf and bowling <3 METs.  None of the sports or fitness activities were considered vigorous activity. 

The activity guidelines for health benefits are 30 minutes of moderate intensity (3-6 METs) activity performed 5 days/week. Some of the Wii sports games and fitness activities are sufficient to meet these minimum guidelines and could be used to meet part of the recommended 150 minutes of activity per week.  However, many of the games (about 2/3 of those tested) provide only light activity (<3 METs) and do not meet the criteria.  For this reason it is important to choose games requiring the greatest energy expenditure.  It is also important to note that 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity is the amount recommended for health benefits like improving cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels.  If an individual’s goal is weight loss, the recommendation for activity is 300 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week. 

Worth noting, the Wii Sports games and Wii Fit Plus aerobic exercise videos expend fewer calories than performance of the actual sport or exercise itself.  There is not much horizontal movement involved in playing Wii games; the added movement increases energy expenditure when playing the real sport or aerobic exercise.  So if you get the opportunity select the actual activity or sport to get the most fitness improvements and the greatest caloric expenditure.

1.  Lenhart, A. Jones, S., and Macgill, A. (2008). Adults and video games. In: Pew  Internet and American Lift Project. 2008 [cited July 1, 2009]. Available from http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2008/Adults-and-Video-Games.aspx

2.  Miyachi, M, Yomamoto, K, Ohkawara, K, Tanaka, S. (2010). METs in Adults While Playing Active Video Games: A Metabolic Chamber Study. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 42(6), 1149-1153.

What if you could burn calories faster while strength training? A recent study¹ compared the calories burned during two types of strength training workouts - traditional and superset. Traditional involves completion of one set of repetitions for a specific exercise followed by an inactive rest period. Superset training works two opposing muscle groups before taking a recovery period. Working opposing muscle groups allows the first muscle to rest while the opposing muscle group is working.  

The study measured calories burned during the two types of resistance training. Ten active men (average age 22 years and 165 pounds) completed a superset workout and a traditional workout on different days using the same resistance while performing the same exercises. Each workout exercised six muscle groups (chest, back, and the anterior and posterior muscles of the arms and thighs). Subjects completed four sets of each exercise lifting 70% of their 1 Repetition Maximum (1 RM). During the superset workout, subjects completed two back to back exercises for opposing muscle groups (for example, chest and back) followed by a 60 second rest before repeating the same two exercises three more times. For the traditional workout, subjects performed one set of an exercise followed by a 60 second rest before repeating that exercise three more times. The traditional workout had twice as many rest periods as the superset workout. Therefore, the traditional workout took longer to finish than the superset workout (30 vs 36 minutes). 

Researchers measured the total calorie burn during the workout, calories burned per minute, and the extra calories burned during 60-minutes of recovery. The total calorie burn during the superset workout was 241 calories while the traditional workout totaled 227 calories. Due to the fewer rest periods during the superset workout, subjects averaged 8.0 calories per minute and the traditional workout averaged 6.3 calories per minute. During the 60 minutes of recovery, the superset workout burned an extra 19 calories compared to the traditional workout which burned 14 calories above baseline resting caloric expenditure.

The take home message is that both types of strength training programs provide similar calorie burn for the same volume (sets x reps x weight) of exercise. But, for those who want to burn the most calories in the shortest amount of time, superset strength training programs provide the biggest bang for your buck at 8.0 calories per minute. Maybe its time to rethink your current resistance training program and switch to supersets; you could cut your workout time by 17% and spend the extra time on cardio exercises like cycling or running to burn an additional 50-75 calories depending on the intensity. Are you wasting precious workout time that could be better spent burning calories?                

1. Fairchild, T. J., Hackney, K. J., Kelleher, A. R., Keslacy, S., and Ploutz-Snyder, L. L. (2010). The metabolic costs of reciprocal supersets vs. traditional resistance exercise in recreationally active adults. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24(4), 1043-1051.