A little known fact I’d like to share about myself is that I’m actually a music nerd. Yep, my first year of Uni I studied a Bachelor of Classical Performance on the clarinet, at the Elder Con in Adelaide.
Music has always been in my blood and in my bones; I’m deeply connected to it. And it wasn’t my technique that made me stand out, it was my musicality and ability to story tell with each breathe and each note. Not too long ago, I realised that when I stopped studying music and switched to health and fitness, my outlet for creative self-expression became movement.
When I’m training, it’s my creative time. My headphones are in, I pick my first track based on whatever I wake up singing, and off we go, just me in my own little Kirsto training bubble.
I don’t care who you are or how old you are, music inspires each and every one of us. We may not appreciate the same genre or artist as the person next to us, but when we find that track that we love, man do we want to get up and dance, or sing as loud as we can, or if you’re anything like me, do all of the above and profess, “I LOVE this song!!” as soon as the intro starts.
What’s my point? Don’t you worry your pretty/handsome self, I’m getting to it.
A lot of us can honestly say we love training. But we are in the minority. I constantly have questions from people asking how to stay motivated, how to stick to a training program, how to not get bored with the same routines... and honestly, MUSIC is an absolute game-changer.
When we are listening to a favourite song, we are not thinking about ‘how hard these lunges are’ or ‘oh my god I’ve only run for 3 minutes’ or ‘aaah my abs are burning, this is awful’... or maybe we are a little, but 75% of our thought space is taken up with something we love, leaving little room for the excuses and the negative thoughts about ourselves. (I may have made up that stat, but work with me here...). I remember my weights regime back in Adelaide at Fitness First and I’m pretty sure all the other trainers knew my habit too; I would tune all my senses into the music, wait for the chorus, psyche myself up and start my set on beat 1, no doubt singing out loud along the way. It worked like a dream, I definitely lifted heavier weights and had more fire and spark in my sessions.
I also went through a cardio phase, where I played one song on repeat with a tempo that matched my foot strike speed. I would be in this beautiful zoned out space, not really even aware of the song starting and ending again. This is perhaps not as favourable, but whatever works for you to get you over the line is a good place to start. Personally I love songs that have motivating lyrics, like ‘Hall of Fame’ by The Script, or ‘Closer To The Edge’ by 30 Seconds to Mars, or ‘The Edge of Glory’ by Lady Gaga, or just fun songs that you just make you lose any inhibitions. Create a few playlists for yourself to match whatever energy you need for particular workouts.
Do it now, head to ITunes and download a bunch of new tracks. Movement is fun, movement is exciting and it’s a beautiful opportunity to express yourself. I’ve seen people dance on treadmills (or maybe that was me in the mirror), or crank out some hip-hop between weights sets, and you don’t need to be this extraverted but at least have a party in your own head!
Enjoy! Please don’t stop the music music music....
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
KIRSTY WELSH
Personal Trainer, Health & Wellness Expert; Health Writer & Presenter
She is a qualified Fitness Trainer & Yogafit Instructor; holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Health and Human Movement; and is a qualified CHEK Holistic Lifestyle Coach & Reiki & NLP and Timeline Therapy Practitioner; and it doesn’t stop there.
For Kirsty, health and wellness is a way of life and she is keenly passionate about inspiring others to help them achieve their optimum health. Aside from running a successful personal training business, Kirsty has also worked extensively in the media & entertainment industry; as the personal trainer for Mel B (Scary Spice), the 2011 Final 12 X-Factor contestants, and as the behind-the-scenes trainer for Channel 9′s BIG: Extreme Makeover.
Today, she appears regularly in The Sunday Telegraph’s Body+Soul weekly lift out, recently becoming the face of their body + soul revolution program – a 10week online diet and fitness program aimed at helping people achieve a balanced and healthy lifestyle.
She also appears regularly on healthyMEtv.com.au, writes for Women’s Fitness magazine and Yahoo! 7 Lifestyle and is regularly quoted by various newspapers and magazines for her outstanding knowledge of health and fitness.
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