How to use music to your advantage during a meet As you probably know if you've ever been to a swim meet, swimmers can often be seen pacing before a race, headphones on and music blasting. Music is a powerful motivator for physical activity, and the best athletes know how to harness its power to augment their ability to perform. Here are a few tips for using music like a champion swimmer

 Let it pump up your heart. In an informal survey conducted for Swimming World Magazine, the most common answer swimmers gave for why their favorite songs worked for them was the beat. Trying to match your heartbeat to the beat of a song can create a deeply meditative state that allows you to be more in touch with your body. For this to work, the song has to have the right tempo — if the beat is too fast, you might end up feeling nervous, and too slow can make you overly relaxed.  Connect to the lyrics. A great pump-up song has lyrics that make you feel like you could take on the world. For example, Ryan Lochte is known for blasting motivational Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy songs before his races. It doesn't matter what the song is as long as it makes you feel powerful — don't be afraid to include some "guilty pleasure" music on your playlist.  Loosen up your body. A less-used but no less powerful technique is to sing and dance along to your favorite song, releasing tension from your body and mind. If you tend to get tense and stiff before races, this is a great way to overcome your anxiety and loosen up your muscles. Shake It Off – Taylor Swift Find You – Zedd ft. Matthew Koma BO$$ – Fifth Harmony Shut Up and Dance – WALK THE MOON GDFR – Flo Rida Time of Our Lives – Pitbull & Ne-Yo Out Alive – Ke$ha Get Low – Dillon Francis Higher Ground – TNGHT (Hudson Mohawke x Lunice) Uptown Funk – Bruno Mars We Own the Night – The Wanted (Chainsmokers Remix) Mambo No. 5 – Lou Bega All Star - Smash Mouth Shook Me All Night Long - AC/DC Shake it Out - Florence + The Machine I Want You to Know - Zedd ft. Selena Gomez Started From the Bottom - Drake We Will Rock You - Queen Girl on Fire - Alicia Keys Stronger - Kanye West Seven Nation Army - White Stripes Lift Me Up - David Guetta, Nico & Vinz and Ladysmith Black Mambazo Alive - Krewella Don't Stop Believin' - Journey Walking On a Dream - Empire of the Sun All I Do is Win - DJ Khalid Roar - Katy Perrty Bulletproof - La Roux I Bet My Life (Alex Adair Remix) - Imagine Dragons Heads Will Roll - Yeah Yeah Yeahs Push it - Salt-N-Peppa GDFR - Flo Rida The Walker - Fitz and the Tantrums Anything Could Happen - Ellie Goulding Eye of the Tiger - Survivor Happy - Pharrell Williams Heart of a Champion - Nelly Burn by Ellie Goulding Gold Guns Girls by Metric 300 violin orchestra- Jorge Quintero Hip Hop and RnB Instruments Five hours - Deorro Bom Bom by Macklemore Eminem - Lose yourself Bonfire - by Knife Party

Centuries by Fall Out Boy Uprising - Muse Momma Said Knock You Out...LL Cool J Live to Win - Paul Stanley Sirius by Alan Parsons Project Fury by Muse Pumpin Blood NONONO Get Down by James Arthur One Way or Another covered by One Direction "Burn It Down" by Linkin Park. The Phoenix by Fall Out Boy Warriors by Imagine Dragons