Should You Wear Headphones or Earpods To Exercise
Wearing headphones or earpods during exercise depends on the type of training individuals participate in. The comfort and stability of headphones make them excellent for isolated exercise; whereas earpods are best for compound exercises with high motion.
Exercises that commonly use headphones include:
- Weight Lifting.
- Rowing.
- Sport Practice.
Exercises that commonly use earpods include:
- Boxercise.
- Calisthenics.
- Long Distance Running.
Why Headphones Are Better Then Earpods During Exercise
While it’s a personal preference, we favor using headphones. High-quality headphones are built with sweat-proof material, allowing your ears to breathe throughout the workout. This ensures safe-usage; all while providing a better music experience than earpods.
Their main benefits include:
Headphones Increase Focus During Exercise.
It’s imperative to be in the right state of mind during exercise; concentrated, determined, and energetic. Headphones get you into the zone more efficiently than earpods due to them being over-ear, which is far better at noise cancellation.
As a result, It’s easier to filter out any distractions, such as the gym’s music, other athletes, or watching others work out, and remain tunnel-visioned during the workout.
Headphones Have A Lower Chance Of Injury
Research suggests headphones are less damaging to your ears than earpods.
https://hearinghealthfoundation.org/blogs/earbuds-vs-over-the-ear-headphones-which-should-you-use
Earpods are placed directly into your ear canal, whereas headphones play music from the outer ear. With this extra distance to travel, the number of decibels your ear receives reduces, so the likeliness of ear injury is lowered.
Individuals who train for long periods are most at risk because they expose themselves to the sound waves for an extended amount of time. Without giving your ear rest, your eardrum will slowly deteriorate.
Headphones Have Better Sound Quality Than Earpods
Low-budget headphones sound a lot better than low-budget earpods.
Beginners experimenting with music during exercise or individuals needing a cheap, temporary audio device will find more bang for their buck by purchasing a pair of headphones over earpods. This is a great solution without committing to purchasing an expensive pair.
However, this should only be a short-term settlement as long-term usage of cheap music devices can cause ear damage.
Please note this pattern doesn’t occur with a medium-high budget, as earpods seem to be more value for money than headphones in this range.
Headphones Offer Greater Range Of Movement Than Earpods
Headphones sit securely on your skull due to the adjustment features they come with. The length, angle, and rotation can all be altered to fit your head perfectly. This means you don’t have to hesitate what exercise you can and can’t do as it will remain on your head.
On the other hand, earpods frequently become loose or, worse, fall out of your ears. While this depends on your ears’ structure and shape, it’s rare for generic earpods to fit perfectly.
This can become frustrating in a range of training methods, though it’s especially infuriating during:
- Exercises that use rhythm, such as long-distance running, as it constantly disturbs rhythm when you’re constantly rearranging its position.
- High Intense workouts, such as calisthenics, because they can fly out of your ears during projectile exercise. For example, performing a muscle up will usually always result in my AirPods on the floor.
Using headphones prevents any of these from happening.
Headphones Are Comfier Than Earpods
This is up to opinion, though I find headphones are a lot comfier to wear than earpods. Due to the cushion around the ears and their sturdy build, you barely notice you’re wearing them!
Comfortability is imperative when working out as you want your focus to be on the exercise – rather than any itch or nuisance that can arise from the uncomfortableness of earpods.
Why Earpods Are Better Than Headphones During Exercise
Earpods’ portability and durability make them ideal for exercise, as athletes can toss them in a gym bag or pocket without concern. They’re built for heavy-duty, enabling them to be used for exercises and activities of high demand; but they can also be listened to during less intense workouts.
Their main benefits include:
Earpods Are More Portable Than Headphones
Earpods can be placed wherever and won’t use up any noticeable space. If you prefer going gym with no, or a light, gym bag and being minimalistic, earpods provide you with that simplicity.
Most of us use a gym bag to carry our equipment from home. Earpods are light, small, and can fit into a pocket, whereas headphones are a lot bulkier, stiff and usually come with a bulgy case to protect them from breaking.
Earpods prevent the worry of being space conscious about other items, such as towels, shorts, or a change of clothes.
However, always remember that earpods can easily tangle if you leave them in tight pockets!
Earpods Make It Easier To Use Equipment
It’s much easier to use equipment efficiently with earpods due to their size and lightweight; they don’t create any barriers or uncomfortableness, unlike headphones.
For example, exercises requiring a bench can be challenging with headphones due to the added lip between your skull and the headphone.
Earpods Have Better Technology Than Headphones
Earpods in the medium to high price range have more technology than headphones. Examples include voice commands, safety features, and augmented sound quality, which all help athletes to better their workout.
While some headphones do have these features, there is a greater premium to pay, as most suppliers are fashion brands that increase the price for their logo.
This is important as exercise has become expensive – gym memberships, smartwatches, and clothes have all increased in price, so saving where you can is necessary.
Headphones Are More Durable Then Earpods
The material used with earpods gets less damaged than those of headphones.
For example, sweat builds around the headphone over-ear cushion, causing it to rip and deteriorate. However, the tough and rigid plastics that comprise an earpod makes it resilient to sweat, being dropped, or over usage.
This makes using earpods less expensive in the long run because you’ll have to replace them at a significantly lower rate than headphones.
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