Can artificial hatred be a good thing? (at the gym at least)

[Carolinas Identity*]

I go to the gym on a regular basis and one thing that I have noticed is that of all the music on my phone that I listen to while working out (and it is a wide variety to be sure), crazy Norwegian black metal seems to make weights seem almost effortless.

I listen to all types of things music wise, but when I am on my last set of bench press and I feel like I can't finish it, there is nothing like a little Dimmu Borgir to help me power through.

Anyone else have similar experiences?

 

[Swervin81]

Yeah, definitely. Whever the "**** you, I won't do what you tell me" part of RATM's Killing in the Name comes around, it gives me a nice 30 second adrenaline boost.

 

[Hippasus]

I do something similar. It's like a psychic voodoo doll. Not so much in connection with exercise but more as a matter of general motivation. I think I get energy from negative feelings. Hate, anger, etc. are often assumed to be simply bad, negative, destructive, etc. but I think that couldn't be further from the truth. If I think about "bad" things, that can embolden me for some other activity / pursuit. Like you said, music can help with this sort of process too.