What to Wear
Toning Major Muscle GroupsChoosing an MP3 Player
Get the right player for your fitness needs
There are lots of brands and styles of MP3 players. So many that it’s hard to know what exactly makes one better than the next. The first thing you’ll need to consider is storage space. How many songs do you want to load it up with or how big of an audio book file do you plan to listen to? If you know that then you can narrow your search.
- Flash drive - Flash drive MP3 players are the ideal fitness MP3 player. They hold a small to moderate amount of songs, often between 512 megabytes (about 120 songs) and two gigabytes (about 750 songs), although some larger capacity models go up to about 12GB. They are small in size and never skip, which are two things athletes need in an MP3 player. Removable batteries often power flash drive MP3s, so when they run out of juice you can pop in a new one and get right back to what you were doing.
- Hard drive - These MP3 players can hold thousands of songs, great for someone who wants constant access to their entire MP3 collection, but completely unnecessary for wearing during a workout session. Not only are they bigger and a lot more expensive than most MP3 players, but they can actually skip due to sudden movements.
- Micro hard drive - At most a micro drive will hold about 1,700 songs, which is still more than you need. They are smaller in size, but still costly and have the potential to skip. Like hard drive MP3 players micros usually come with a built-in rechargeable battery. So if it drains in the middle of a 5k run, you’re out of luck until you get back home and recharge it.
Aside from the MP3 players that are just MP3 players, it’s becoming more common to find music playing capabilities on cell phones. If you always have your cell phone on you, and it’s time for a new one anyways, you might consider getting a phone that does both jobs.
The best MP3 players have fitness-friendly features that make it easy to work up a sweat without having to worry about breaking the player or running out of music before you’re done.
Accessories
If your MP3 player doesn’t come with extras like an arm band, lanyard or a built-in clip, you should add one to your purchase. These accessories mean you won’t have to worry about where you’re going to stash the MP3 player during a workout. Arm bands are the best choice if you exercise inside, where it’s always easy to strap the player to your arm. If you exercise outdoors a lanyard might be necessary if the band won’t fit over your jacket.