The right kind of music can take your classes to the next level. In fact, science suggests it can actually boosts your endurance while helping you enjoy your class and workout. 

• One of the biggest benefits of exercising to music is that it enhances the pleasure of the workout. Music taps mood-related areas in the brain like the amygdala or cerebellum. When we work out at high intensities, it enhances the mood without the need for complex processing. So music is really effective as a stimulus for countering discomfort during your workout. 
• Music acts as a distraction so you can feel more comfortable and less tired as you exercise. This translates into being able to workout longer and harder without accumulating the same fatigue.
• There’s some research on how music can affect your body’s stress response after exercise. A study found music can impact your autonomic nervous system, which is responsible for maintaining the balance between your sympathetic (“fight-or-flight”) nervous system and your parasympathetic (“rest-and-digest”) nervous system. Using the correct music can generate “faster recovery and a reduction in cardiac stress after exercise.”

You’ll get maximum effect when you find songs with a strong beat that you can synchronize with. You want to stay ON beat to make these musical effects even stronger.

Feel like you’re running out of song inspiration? 

• The best inspiration tends to strike when you least expect it. When you’re at work or enjoying your downtime at home be listening to the surroundings. Commercials, random songs on tv shows, or that song in the coffee shop may be the next great song to get the class moving. 
• Add songs as you think of them and you’ll be surprised at how much variety there is! Shazam them all, then drop them into a playlist folder for future use! A lot of you already do this 🙂 
• Spotify puts out a “New Music Friday” each Friday with all the new popular songs. They also curate a playlist called “Release Radar” that pulls the new songs they think you will specifically like into a playlist for you. This is where I get a ton of my music. Let me know if y’all need help finding this!

Remember to always reference the True40 guidelines for music if you ever have any questions about beat or vibe of the song. 

http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/how-music-influences-your-workout/