That's Fit

A lot of us use earbuds or headphones pretty regularly, whether it's while working out or during a long subway commute or whatever, and most of us barely give our health and our hearing a second thought while choosing a playlist and adjusting the volume. But research shows we should be giving it some thought, as causing permanent hearing damage is easier than you might think. Experts have suggested some listening guidelines based on how loud you like to crank your tunes (these are for earbuds):

• At 80% of the maximum volume you shouldn't listen for longer than 1.2 - 1.5 hours at a time
• At 70% of the max volume you can listen for quite a bit longer: 4.6 - 6.0 hours
• And if you can keep it to 50% of the max or lower you can listen as long as you want

I have no idea what percentage I usually have my iPod set on, but I'm gonna figure it out!

Take a look around any gym and at least 9 out of 10 people will have headphones on, either listening to the news/soap operas/sports that the gym TV is tuned into or playing music from an mp3 or CD player. In the gym, the desire to listen to something other than the strangers around you panting for breath is understandable, but do you listen to music outside of the gym as well?

Personally, I have mixed feelings about it. I like background noise, so if I can play music in the area that I am in, I enjoy it. Sometimes I find it to be distracting to have music playing right in my ear, where I can't really tune it out, though. Music is helpful with motivation and consistency when the beat matches your own rhythm, but it can really throw you off your stride when it doesn't.

What do you think? Do you workout with music?