Yes, working out to gwen stefani or kanye west really can improve your fitness.

Back in the ’80s, the famed British middle-distance runner Sebastian Coe once told a reporter that anyone listening to music while they were running couldn’t possibly be working as hard they could be. Looking back on it now, Coe’s idea of music and exercise seems antiquated. With the advent of MP3 players, which have turned people into their own personal DJs, workout music has become an obsession for some and a cottage industry for others.

“Fitness industry people are always looking for a new piece of equipment,” says Amanda Vogel, a local fitness instructor, lecturer, and writer. “Right now, people are looking at the iPod.”

Science seems to support the idea that the right music while working out can improve and prolong performance. A 2005 study by sports psychologist Costas Karageorghis of Brunel University in London, England, found that music with a tempo that matches the rhythm of body movements can increase performance by as much as 20 percent. Generally, the ideal tempo is somewhere between 120 and 140 beats per minute (BPM), which roughly corresponds to the average person’s heart rate during a routine workout. Another University of Kansas study in 2000 found that music results in lower ratings of perceived exertion, thereby increasing endurance.

Those looking for appropriate workout music have more options than ever. Nike has created the Nike Sport Music store on iTunes that features workout playlists created by DJs, fitness instructors, and professional athletes. It also features new music composed by established artists, such as the Crystal Method or Aesop Rock, designed specifically for exercising. If you punch “workout playlist” into an Internet search engine, you’ll find countless Web sites and on-line forums where users swap playlist suggestions. You’ll also find people who seem to spend as much time working on playlists as they do working out.

If you don’t have the time to comb through other people’s playlists, several music labels produce CDs with pop hits remixed at different tempos: 115-118 BPM for stroll walkers; 137-139 BPM for power walkers; and 147-160 BPM for runners. Vancouver-based Burtrax Fitness Music offers CDs featuring cover versions of hit songs designed for fitness instructors and anyone else who has ever wondered what Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl” sounds like at 140 beats per minute.

Vogel points out that although workout music should have a relatively consistent tempo, it’s also important to have some variety. “I find that it works well if you vary the sounds that you’re listening to,” she says. “One of the things people might not be aware of is that after a while you start to tune out of your music. It starts to all sound the same. If you have different styles, it pulls you back into what you’re listening to and that can help motivate you to work a little harder.”

A good way to approach this is to listen to songs from different musical genres that share the same tempo. If you listen primarily to hip-hop, you should throw in some jazz or reggae. An uptempo jazz song like Nina Sim-
one’s “Sinnerman” can get your heart pumping just as much as the latest from Kanye West.

Rhythm is important in selecting workout music, but so is the music’s message. Corny rock anthems like Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” or Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” may make you feel like you’re in a bad ’80s film, but they could also inspire you to push a little harder.

When it comes to workout music, there really is no accounting for good taste. Champion runner Haile Gebrselassie often asks to have “Scatman” by Scatman John, a grating dance song from the mid ’90s, played over the PA system during his races. It’s hard to argue with the results. The Ethiopian has set 18 world records and generally runs faster and longer than Coe and all those who run in silence.