Hello, my friends! I hope everyone had a great week last week. To kick off another week of awesome, this is The WOW, for the week of 2/18/19. This is The “Music Workout” from GoodAttitudeFood.com.
This week I am talking about music. There are definite benefits to listening to music and you can find many studies to support that listening to music is great for humans. However this week I am going a little deeper. I am exploring the benefits of playing music.
I will also have a great workout. It is back to “2-A-days” this week! In the mornings, it will be a great HIIT kickboxing and boxing video from Fitness Blender. Then after work in the afternoon or evening, I have a cycling workout (plus some bonus material!) from GCN. I am following the spin bike session with a Yoga for Cyclists video workout. As a bonus, I am dedicating myself to 30 minutes of guitar practice at least 3 times this week – 90 total minutes of practicing guitar.
Just a quick note – make sure you are healthy enough to exercise before begining any workout. Be smart and safe!
Music – When I Was Young
I have loved music for as long as I can remember. Some of my earliest and happiest memories involve music. Whether it was sitting in front of the record player listening to my mom’s records – Elvis, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, John Denver, The Eagles, and others – or listening to Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder while washing dishes in the kitchen sink (music “in flow state”), studying to music while doing homework (more “flow state”), or buying my first Garth Brooks cassette tape – No F
“I will sail my vessel until the river runs dry”
Garth Brooks (not sure if he wrote this song but he recorded it) – The River
I credit this song as one of my first experiences with motivational media!
Check out Garth in 1992 singing this great tune!
I loved music as a kid but did not have the desire to learn it. I took piano lessons when I was young but was not into it. I didn’t enjoy the boring practice. I remember learning “Pretty Woman” and loving to play it. I just couldn’t get into practice and the boring lessons. I wanted to play songs! I didn’t want to learn scales and chords… After a year or two, I told my parents I didn’t want to continue lessons, so we stopped.
Continuing Love of Music
My love of listening to music only grew though. Rock, Blues, Oldies, Country, Hair Bands, Classical Symphony, Hip-Hop, EDM, and everything in between – I love all types of music.
In my teens, I got into Rock music. I really wanted to learn how to play guitar but didn’t think I had any talent (because of my failings at the piano), and I didn’t have the ambition to try it at that time. My music ambitions at this time revolved around “
In my early twenties, I had very few goals or ambitions. I went to work, partied, repeated, and that was about it. I got pretty bored with that life after a while. I decided to buy a guitar one day. I saw this old, kinda beat up but beautiful, Yahama acoustic guitar at a pawn shop. The price was $40. I decided to buy it.
Learning
I started teaching myself tabs. Tablature is a shorthand notation for guitar method that teaches where to put your fingers on a fretboard. Guitar players can use this in place of learning to read actual musical notes.
**Shout out to Guitarjams.com and Marty Schwartz. Marty’s videos taught me almost everything I know about guitar.
After my father’s death, learning music was therapy for me. It took my mind off the loss, got me to focus on goals, and led me to read more books. Eventually, it led me to return to school and earn two degrees.
My “Dumb” Hand Got Smart
I was “left-hand-dumb” before learning to play guitar. I am very right hand dominant. Learning to play guitar taught me how to use my left hand.
Goal Setting
Learning Guitar taught me goal setting – something I did not learn in my formal education. Goal setting is the single most important thing I have learned from Music.
Activate the Brain with Ear-Training
Ear training taught me to identify individual notes and chords, how to pick up rhythm and melodies, and to combine that with strumming patterns. This all made my brain work in ways it never had!
I credit learning music with changing my “lazy brain” into a “active brain”.
Continuing music training and practice is still a huge part of my on-going personal development.
Some Research
According to PBS, in a large study, learning music is SUPER-important for children. Learning music activates several parts of the brain at once. This is thought to stimulate a developing brain in important ways. Check out the PBS article for more!
TED-Ed – Benefits of Music
A great, quick video from TED-Ed that talks about “the full-body-workout” that goes in the brain when we play music. Playing music engages different parts of the brain all one time in ways that nothing else can do.
From Duke U – Music’s Impact on the Brain
Arts, Music, and the Brain – Brainfacts.org video
The Music this week!
I was looking for some cool music this week that is a little different from the typical share on the post. I found a really good concert from some of EDM favorites – Above and Beyond. What’s cool about this concert is they have translated their EDM music into a live band production. This one gives me goosebumps! Check it out! Turn it up! For your listening pleasure! … Above and Beyond! Check out their YouTube channel and their Podcast too!
The Workout — 2-A-Days
I am highlighting some great videos this week! Please support the free content providers!
Morning – Kickboxing, boxing, HIIT video from Fitness Blender
In the morning this week, I am working out with this Awesome routine from fitness blender. To kick it up a bit, I am adding my Meister weighted gloves. I am also doing fasted state cardio.
Check the video, get your sweat on, have some fun. Check out “homie’s” punch snarl in this video too! I love it! My guy is getting into the workout and you can tell he’s not super perfect about it, just getting after the workout!
This video has all you need for a great morning routine. It includes the warm-up, the cool-down, and it will get you pumpin’ for a great day! 🙂
The After Work – Stress Reliever
After work this week I am doing a spin bike sprint routine. The workout will follow along with this awesome video from the best cycling site on the “inter-webs” – GCN. They also have a great video talking about some science behind cycling and it’s mental health benefits. Check it out too!
The Workout Video
The Science Video – Why Spin Bike is a Stress Reliever!
Yoga video – Yoga for Cyclist
After the spin bike video, I am following along with this great yoga routine for cyclists. To me, practicing yoga, especially after a bike session, has been like finding the missing link in my life. Doing “yoga-stuff” has proven beneficial on many levels. It helps reduce both the physical stress of working out every day and the mental stresses of life! Check out this video and check out the cool content provider – Canadian Cycling Magazine
Make it a Great Week
Learning music helped me develop as a person. It helped change me from a lazy depressed person to a happy active person. It led me to expand myself and my mental capacities.
I don’t want to say it MADE me smarter, but it did for sure lead me to ways to BECOME smarter.
Learning music taught me to set goals. Setting goals taught me to change my personal belief and my story. Learning music activated my brain in ways that nothing else could have. I think that playing music will help me age better, both mentally and physically.
Make it awesome!
There you have it my peeps! This has been The WOW for the week of 2/18/19; The “Music Workout” from GoodAttitudeFood.com. Thank you SO MUCH for reading. Thank you to all the content providers! Please remember to be smart about working out. Be happy and Healthy my friends! Until next week,
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