The beat goes on … and so do you

Muscle & Fitness/Hers, Oct, 2004 by Brandy D. Colbert

RESEARCH IN THE Journal of Sports Behavior found that subjects listening to mainstream dance or motivational music (130 beats per minute) cycled farther than when they were not listening to music. The study's subjects participated in three 12-minute cycling sessions, listening to no music, music they disliked and motivational music. In all trials, the subjects worked at a Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) of 13 (on a scale of 1-20). Not only did participants cycle for a longer distance while listening to the motivational music, they reported not knowing that they were working harder. Make the most of your time in the gym with these albums:

Beastie Boys "To the 5 Boroughs" (Capitol)

After a six-year hiatus, everybody's favorite B-boys are back with fresh, hip-hop beats and nonstop clever rhymes. They take it back to their old-school style on album standouts like "Ch-Check It Out" and "Right Right Now Now."

Guns N' Roses "Greatest Hits" (Geffen)

With energy-charged oldies but goodies like "Welcome to the Jungle" and "Paradise City," this greatest-hits compilation from Axl and the gang will definitely keep your heart rate pumping.

10 lbs

Women who lost 10 pounds or more each time they dieted had weaker immune systems than women who lost less than 10 pounds, especially if they did so two or more times.

--U.C. Berkeley