Be Fit With Biray

In support of Blog Action Day (a day where bloggers around the world to post entries that bring awareness to environmental issues), I’ve decided to focus today’s blog entry on noise pollution. Transportation vehicles (like motorcycles) and construction sites probably have the most ear piercing sounds! Clearly not good for our hearing. Unfortunately we don’t have much control over these factors. So what can we do about it? Good question.

I used to work at fitness facility where the Group Exercise Coordinator was meticulous about taking decibel readings while we were teaching - especially during the cycling and kickboxing classes where the music was always loud and pumpin’. Instructors were required to keep the music volume (including the mic volume) at or below 85 decibels (which is where hearing damage begins). If you consider normal conversation is at 60 dB and an average car is about 100 dB, then 80-85 dB is not that loud. In fact, that facility even provided ear plugs to members whose ears were extra sensitive.

To all group exercise instructors out there - in preservation of our environmental and physical health, I challenge you to incorporate moments of silence or ambient nature sounds into your group fitness classes. (Or at the very least, be extra mindful of the volume levels and keep the music extra low this week.)

I also thought Health and Fitness Marketing blog suggested a good tip: passing up the treadmill for an outdoor run!

What will you do today?