found that regardless of whether you
do it before or after exercise, stretch-
ing doesn’t significantly reduce
muscle soreness.Does music make exercise easier?
yes. Listening to tunes while you exer-
cise can improve power, strength, and
endurance. We move to the beat of
our playlist unconsciously. When
researchers secretly sped up or
slowed down music that cyclists
were listening to, they quickened or
eased their pace accordingly.
Another small study found that run-
ners who listened to either a metro-
nome or music at a tempo that synced
with their typical stride ran for longer
than they could without music. While
the metronome helped them maintain
a consistent pace, the runners said
music made the workout feel easier.
To find the right music for you,
count how many times one foot hits
the ground in a minute and double
it to get your stride rate. Then find a
song with a similar number of beats
per minute (bpm). You can search
for tracks organized by bpm on the
website jog.fm; use the Spotify app,
which matches songs to your tempo;
or check out Weav Run, an app that
reengineers your favorite songs to
match your tempo.Does a good workout mean sweat?
no. Research does show that people
perspire more as they get fitter because
their bodies adapt to dealing with theeffort and sweating more helps them
keep cool. Also, men tend to sweat
more during exercise than women.
But sweating doesn’t indicate anything
about the quality of a workout.Is running on a treadmill easier
than running outside?
no. It’s true that on a treadmill, there
is no air resistance. (To make up for
that, some people set the treadmill’s
incline to 1 percent to approximate
the amount of extra energy they’d use
outdoors.) However, research shows
that at slower speeds, there was no
significant difference in the amount ofReader’s Digest How to Get in Shape
22 february 2019 | rd.com
matthew cohen. yasu+junko (confetti). water bottle courtesy hydroflask. app courtesy weav run