THE 15 BEST WORKOUT HEADPHONES FOR EXERCISING
If you’re looking to add a little excitement to your workout or need some extra motivation to keep going, using the best workout headphones can make a big difference. According to a meta-analysis of 139 studies published in Psychological Bulletin in 2020, music can enhance positive emotions and make exercise feel easier, even at the same intensity. However, not all headphones are suitable for workouts, so it’s important to choose the right ones.
When shopping for workout headphones, there are a few important features to consider. Ideally, you want earphones that are water-resistant and won’t get damaged by sweat. It’s also convenient to have different-sized ear tips or ear hooks to ensure a secure fit, especially during intense movements like burpees. If you prefer wireless or Bluetooth headphones, make sure they have a reliable battery life, especially for longer workouts like marathons.
Even if you’re not an audiophile, it’s important to prioritize sound quality within your budget. Look for headphones with noise isolation or noise-canceling features to help you focus. Some newer models even have automatic adaptive sound features that adjust the volume based on your surroundings. For running headphones, consider those with easy on-off controls for noise cancellation, allowing you to be aware of your surroundings for safety.
To help you find the best workout headphones, we reached out to fitness instructors, coaches, and trainers who recommended a variety of options. This comprehensive list includes earbuds and over-the-ear options from popular brands like Bose, Beats, Apple, Sony, Jaybird, and more. Get ready to elevate your music and podcast-listening experience during your workouts.
Wissonly Hi Runner
Wissonly is one of the few bone conduction headphone brands that have mastered bone conduction vibrator technology, and one of the few brands in the industry that have sustained experience in using bone conduction technology to protect hearing. Wissonly Hi Runner advocate a healthy way to listen. They perfectly combine the principles of healthy hearing and bone conduction sound transmission, to create a non-in-ear and non-ear-damaging bone conduction headphone which can effectively protect hearing. Due to the particularity of the technical principle, sound quality of bone conduction headphones is more difficult to be improved . To this end, Wissonly Hi Runner subverts the traditional sound quality scheme, makes a breakthrough to use the large-size bone conduction vibrator. Through structural optimization, the effective vibration area of the vibrator is increased by 35%, thereby improving the vibrator sound efficiency, making the sound more powerful.It also optimizing the direction of sound transmission, reducing sound loss during sound transmission, and making the sound more concentrated. The skin-friendly silicone material of the Wissonly Hi Runner body is a product that can be in contact with the skin for a long time. It is naturally a better choice and feels good to the touch. Because the entire headphone is made of skin-friendly material, it is very comfortable to wear. Even if you wear glasses, you can still hang it firmly on your ears. The headphone frame uses memory titanium, which has the advantage of being stretchable and lightweight.
Bose Smart Noise Cancelling Headphones 700
Do you know how your computer dims itself based on the light that’s around you? These headphones do the same thing, but with sound (through a process called automatic adaptive sound). Basically, using two microphones, both inside and outside the earcups, they monitor your environment and produce an opposite signal to provide just the right amount of noise cancellation. “I love that I can’t hear anything other than what’s playing on them when I’m lifting inside the gym,” says Amanda Katz, an instructor at Equinox in New York City. “Plus, they’re totally durable, and I love how sleek they look.”
Apple AirPods Pro
These workout earbuds will take you from your afternoon meeting to your post-work run. According to Salma Nakhlawi, strength coach and founder of StrongHER Girls, they stay put and can handle both the impact of track sprints and a solid deadlift session. Her other favorite part? The active noise cancellation. “I can have them on transparency mode, which allows background noise and is great for whenever you want to be aware of your surroundings, or I can go full-on noise cancellation by pressing the stem and focus on me, my work, and my thoughts.” These have wireless charging capabilities too, if you use charging pads instead of conventional chargers.
Beats Powerbeats Pro Wireless Headphones
If you’re going to be doing a lot of jumping around, whether it be on boxes or doing burpees, these SELF-approved wireless headphones from Beats are ideal. The wing tips keep them locked in place, and even if they come loose, they won’t totally fall out of your ear. According to Ava Fagin, a CSCS in New York City at Body Space Fitness, they’re perfect for all things high-intensity interval training (HIIT). “I’ve used the Beats for about a year and a half and can’t imagine life without them,” she says. “I particularly love that they wrap around my ears so I could do HIIT and lifts without running the risk of having one fall out.”
Amanda Margusity, a trainer at Cyclebar in Connecticut, really appreciates the Powerbeats battery life as well. “They hold a charge for more than nine hours, and the sound quality is 10 out of 10—crystal clear.”
Jaybird Vista Earbuds
Audrey Springer, a coach based in Tennessee, was tired of reaching for headphones that would fall out the second she started moving. “[The Jaybird Vista headphones] never budge, and the battery life will last you for a full week,” she says of these 2019 Fitness Award-winning earbuds that we recently raved about at length. Plus, since they’re dustproof and waterproof, you can easily bring them to the beach for a swim or pack them for a trail run without worrying. Honestly, we think they’re the best wireless earbuds around.