Group Fitness Music
The Bride or the Barbecue?
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Jeffrey Pinkerton
Music is a strong motivator and should be the heartbeat of the group fitness experience. It has a proven ability to increase enjoyment and improve performance. A great playlist allows people to get lost in the music and helps people disassociate from some of the negative sensations of working out. When music moves from the background to the forefront, it can drive efficiency, improve endurance, create an emotional connection, increase endorphin release and transform a workout into an experience. But, you need the right mix of music to attract maximum members into your group fitness workouts, and there is a big difference between music for the bride and music for the barbecue.
For a bride and groom, every detail of the big day is planned to be perfect, from the venue to the flowers to the colors and coordinating outfits. It's their big day. The bride and groom make countless decisions on what will be and won't be part of their memorable day, music included.
When my wife and I were married 28 years ago, one year after the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, we told the DJ the music that we liked and did not like. In fact, we had a list of songs that were not to be played under any circumstances. It didn't matter what the crowd asked for. Even if the guests (mostly fraternity and sorority friends) begged and bribed, there were certain songs we didn't want to hear. During our pre-wedding conversation with the DJ, my wife slowed her speech and lowered her voice, "We are not joking. If you play Macarena at the reception, we will not pay you."
Most group fitness instructors, either unknowingly or intentionally, choose only music they love. And, they don't play music that they don't love, even if it's 1996 and Macarena is in its post-Olympics heyday. Building a "bride-only" playlist reduces or even eliminates music variety, and in a group fitness setting, will certainly affect participation. I'm a 50-year-old white male. Imagine if my cycling playlist was only my favorite music! I hope you all like The Beastie Boys and REO Speedwagon.
On the other hand, imagine you've invited your neighbors over for a backyard barbecue. You know your neighbors represent a broad spectrum of ages and ethnicities, but you don't know them well enough to know their musical tastes. So, if you want to build a great playlist, you'll need to make sure that the night's music has something for everyone. Yes, maybe even songs that are not your personal favorites.
For an inclusive, broad-reaching group fitness experience, your instructors need to stretch outside of their personal preferences and build playlists that appeal to a wide audience of members: different artists, different genres and different decades. One reason you may be struggling to get younger people into group fitness? There isn't any music on the playlist for them.
To make unbiased music selection even more complicated, research suggests that most of our musical tastes are formed in our teens and throughout our early 20s and 30s. After that point (one study says it's around the age of 23), our musical tastes become mostly locked-in... for life. Certainly, there are some exceptions to this, and of course, we'd all love to think that we are well-rounded, but I guarantee you are not as musically open-minded as you think.
Don't believe me? As we approach the end of the year, find a 20- or 30-something on your team and compare your Spotify Year in Review with theirs. Sure, you both listened to Taylor Swift's new album... after that, you might be hard-pressed to find some common favorites.
How important is the music? Have you heard of social motion? It's a term that the authors of Blue Zones coined to describe a phenomenon that occurs when people move together, synchronized in time to music. This music and movement super-power can elevate experiences and even bring people together in a closer way. As Cohen and Davis describe, "Social motion comes in many forms across cultures and contexts – exercise, dance, ritual, labor and play – but is universally characterized by two components: coordinated movement and physical exertion."
The difference between motion and "social motion" is the difference between cheering at a sporting event (yes, fun and social), versus full-stadium chanting at a sporting event, which can raise the heart rate and hairs on your neck. It is the difference between dancing at a Coldplay concert and jumping in unison with thousands of others at a Coldplay concert. And, it's the difference between sheepishly heading out onto the dance floor at a wedding and joining the coordinated line dance at a wedding (guilty as charged).
Carefully curating your playlist is one of the best ways to make sure the experience being delivered is as inclusive as possible – for women, men, all ages. This is true for workouts and for weddings. My son and his high school sweetheart recently got married. In addition to being meticulous, detail-oriented people, they are also kind and thoughtful. They wanted to make sure everyone had an amazing night celebrating with them, and preferably, as many people on the dance floor as possible. They spent weeks building the perfect playlist, and it was a hit: ABBA, Flo Rida, Marvin Gaye, Taylor Swift, Bee Gees, Sabrina Carpenter, Pitbull, Beyoncé, Zac Brown, Britney Spears, Soulja Boy, John Denver and Fergie, just to name a few. It was a night... and a playlist to remember.
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Well-rounded and open-minded... does that describe your and your instructors' approach to workout music? With MOSSA, you don't have to spend weeks curating the perfect playlist because we do it for you. Then, we sound design it and test it around the world, to give you workouts driven by musical variety and energy that can fill your room like a busy dancefloor. If you'd like to hear it, believe it, maximize participation with it – and get Macarena out of your head (sorry!) – reach out to me at jeffreypinkerton@mossa.net.
