I’m here For the Beat!

Source: Pintrest

There’s a reason why the Stirling University is Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence. As training grounds to Olympic and Commonwealth successors, its sophisticated sports facilities are rightly boasted. For a student like myself however, who is unblessed with any particular sporting skills and having gone through life avoiding any commitment to heavy exercise, I found my weekly gym motivation through music.

Yes, of course the summer bodies of Amanda Bisk and Kayla Itsines (fitness bloggers) also played a role in encouraging me to ditch that second- or fourth- chocolate bar, but getting through a full workout was never made easier than to the beat of my favourite song. With so many fitness classes and exercise options available at the University, I’m keen to break away from my gym-only comfort zone and try something new. Needing a new beat to make me move, I asked some students about their experiences with music motivation in Stirling Sport.

Source: Pintrest

You Spin Me Right Round

Ross, postgraduate student and Stirling spin/cycle instructor, said that many people coming to his class initially feel that they aren’t fit enough and find it difficult to build the energy to push themselves forwards. For this reason, Ross encourages ‘listening to some brilliant music’ in class:

There are a few songs that definitely make the cut with almost every class. I try and keep it quite different, and people have definitely responded to that; often, instructors use dance songs and covers of an absolute classic. Bumblebee by Kasabian is a phenomenal song for hill sprint sets, because at the chorus he shouts “Yeah, everybody get up!”, and you just launch yourself at the climb.

Shake It on the Floor

Source: Giphy.com

Alice, undergraduate student, also enjoys exercising to music in the highly popular Stirling Zumba. What she particularly enjoys about the classes, in comparison to her experience in other sports centres, is that her instructor tends to use music from around the world to keep the classes lively.

I like listening to new sounds, new tempos, rhythm’s and languages. Enjoying a really good beat helps me to forget that I’m technically working out.

According to research lead by Dr. Costas Karageorghis, music is “a type of legal performance-enhancing drug” and “it does improve the experience thereof: It makes hard training seem more like fun, by shaping how the mind interprets symptoms of fatigue.”

Let’s Get Loud 

Sports and Exercise Science student, Greg, plays for Stirling University Men’s Hockey team and explained that whilst hockey matches obviously can’t blast music from the pitch-sides, the team do however like to incorporate music into some training and warm-ups before matches.

Source: Stirling Uni Men’s Hockey Team Facebook Page (permission given)

For me to play well, I need to be in a positive mood- which as a fourth year student is pretty difficult at times. In training and game days, music calms me down so that I don’t think too much about the stresses of uni life, and just focus on working hard and playing well. Having a song like “September” by Earth, Wind & Fire stuck in your head whilst you’re running across the pitch is definitely not a bad thing either.

With music transforming our performances in so many different sports, the University of Stirling might just be the place for you! With a wide variety of sport related activities, classes and clubs that encourage music during exercise, finding one that’s right for you has never been so easy!

Get involved, and don’t forget to share your favourite work-out song with the hashtag #StirBeatMakesMeMove