Music and exercise always made a great pair, but now they’ve become inseparable. People nearly freak out when they forget to bring their headphones to the gym. However, a select few, like Mike O’Hearn don’t see it that way. In fact, the five Mr. Universe doesn’t prefer listening to music when working out. As shocking as it may sound, O’Hearn is not alone.

The 55-year-old is part of a minority of lifters who prefer not to listen to music. In O’Hearn’s latest ‘Heavy Chest Workout’ video, the power bodybuilder explained why he doesn’t like listening to music during exercise. You might find something worth taking away from his logic.

Does music help or hinder your workout?

There are several reasons why people listen to music while working out. Besides helping them shut out the noise of what others are doing in the gym, music helps some people concentrate. However, Mike O’Hearn and his lifting partner challenge this idea in the video. Instead of agreeing that music helps, they said that it distracts.

When O’Hearn’s wife asked if she should turn up the music after a successful set of heavy bench-pressing, he said, “No.” The 55-year-old added, “I don’t need that distraction.” when his wife asked why. Mike O’Hearn’s workout partner for the day also agreed with the former powerlifter. He raised another important point. Music “also becomes a dependency,” said the bodybuilder.

This is why people say that didn’t have the best workout because they forgot their earbuds or headphones. Mike O’Hearn’s workout partner also said that being unable to control the music might trigger people. In fact, many gym goers have curated workout playlists that they prefer listening to over the music playing in the gym. Mike O’Hearn also elaborates on the “dependency” issues.

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The bodybuilding icon said that during his teenage years, he and his bother also had a specific song that they listened to white attempting PRs. However, he understood that it became a crutch and stopped. One of O’Hearn’s inspirations, Arnold Schwarzenegger, also believes that you should focus at the gym.

Mike O’Hearn and Arnold Schwarzenegger share the same opinion

In Arnold’s Pump Club, the 76-year-old bodybuilding icon explained how easy it is to get distracted during a workout. Since our smartphones contain everything from music to social media, it’s easy to get lost scrolling endlessly. Arnie explained that instead of focusing on their workout, people lose all sense of time staring at their phones.

Looking at their phones between sets hinders their progress. Many people fail to maintain their intensity, keep track of rest periods, and have low focus while performing the movement. Hence, like Mike O’Hearn, Arnie recommends putting your phones down, turning off the music, and focusing on developing a mind-muscle connection.

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