Music and Movement: A Brain-Body Workout to a Song

The easiest brain-body workout I know takes one song: pick one of your favorite songs and let the music tell you how to move. It's one of my personal favorite ways to work out, and it's a fun entry point to exercise for brain health.

Music gives your brain something extra to process while your body is moving. You're listening for changes in rhythm, anticipating what comes next, adjusting your pace, and coordinating your movements at the same time. Research with older adults suggests that combining music and movement can be a great way to challenge both your brain and your body.

And this can work at whatever level you're at right now. If walking outside feels like too much, try walking inside with a countertop or sturdy surface nearby for support. You can even do it seated by marching your feet, moving your arms, or both. And you don't need to start with a whole playlist. Try one song — or even part of a song.

How Do You Do a Brain-Body Workout to a Song?

You let the song's structure set your pace. Here's an easy way to try it:

• During the verses: move at an easy, comfortable pace.
• During the chorus: pick up your pace.
• When the verse returns: slow back down.

Keep alternating for as long as feels right for you.

How Can You Make a Song Workout Harder for Your Brain?

Add a cue: choose one repeated word in the song and, every time you hear it, do something different: take three bigger steps, gently change direction, or simply say a category such as a fruit, state, or animal out loud.

The goal isn't to make the exercise complicated. It's simply to give your brain and body something new to figure out together. If you enjoy this, you'll like these other brain-body exercises and dual-task walking exercises, and it's the kind of challenge we build into in-home personal training.

And perhaps the best part? It doesn't feel quite so much like exercise when your favorite song is playing.

So turn up the music and move!