For me, the best part about working out is the soundtrack. Unless I have my favorite tunes to motivate me on a run or during a weights session, I don’t really want to be doing it. And in truth, I find it so much harder.
Without my carefully curated playlist coming along with me on my workout, every mile feels so much longer, and all of the weights become heavier somehow. But what’s the best way to listen to your tunes that will keep you motivated and safe at the same time? Well, I think I have the answer.
Bone conduction is the popular choice when it comes to staying aware while working out. Your ears are left completely free while the bones around your ear do all of the sound conduction work. But big brands like Sony are jumping on the newer trend of clip earbuds, like the Sony LinkBuds Clip, which, as the name would suggest, simply slip on to the cartilage of the ear and directs the sound waves toward the inner ear.
The choice mostly comes down to personal preference, but from where I’m standing, if the sound quality isn’t great, I won’t want to listen at all.
Motivational music is a must
I need music to motivate me, and I don’t mean exclusively listening to Eye of the Tiger or Don’t Stop Believing (the Glee version, obviously). What motivates me the most is having the music I’m listening to be the best quality possible, and for me, that means having drivers that can support booming bass.
Bone conduction headphones just won’t do that. Charli XCX is a serious no-go when I’m wearing bone conduction headphones, as all you’re able to hear is vocals, and not the intense driving bass.
If your personal workout playlist looks a little more like gentle country pop, you’ll have better luck with bone conduction. But since discovering clip-on earbuds, I’m not sure how you could work out any other way.
While this sound quality isn’t as good as in-ear buds, they can let in all of the ambient sound around you while delivering great audio over the sound waves that are directed at your inner ear. When I use the Soundcore AeroClip earbuds, the sound is really great, and I can even make alterations to the EQ using the Soundcore app.
She’s a runner, she’s a track star
When I’m out on a run, almost everyone that runs past me (I have little legs, I’m not overtaking anyone) has a bone conduction headset on, like the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2, so these seem to be a firm favorite in the running community. And it’s for good reason.
Since your ears are completely free, you can hear everything going on around you, including traffic and other runners. They’re especially great if you run as part of a group and want to keep up a conversation.
But clip-on earbuds let in all that extra sound too, and if you listen at lower volumes, you can easily keep up with all of the conversations going on around you.
Feeling secure
This is obviously personal preference, but I think clip-on earbuds are far more secure than the traditional around-the-head design of bone conduction headphones. When I used the H2O Audio TRI 2 PRO headphones, the fit was far too bulky, and left me with some vibrations when I was finished listening.
When I use clip earbuds, I genuinely forget they’re there. They are so comfortable. Since bone conduction headphones go around the back of my head, if my hair comes undone, it ends up tugging them off, but with clip-on buds, I don’t need to worry about my hair affecting their performance.
It’s a case of choosing which earbud and headphone design suits you best, and everyone will have different thoughts, but which ones are for you?
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