Press

12.07.2010 - Wedemark

5 FOR SPORTS - The ultimate training playlist

What music do athletes and sports enthusiasts listen to when they train? That's what audio specialist Sennheiser and sporting goods manufacturer adidas aim to find out with their new website 5 FOR SPORTS. Over a period of five months, sports fans throughout the world can nominate their five favourite training songs at the online portal www.5-for-sports.com. Also taking part are well-known celebrities from the sports and music worlds. US sprinter Tyson Gay, British heptathlete Jessica Ennis, Chinese singer Hins Cheung and other professionals reveal their Top 5 warm-up, jogging and cool-down tracks. And as a thank-you gift for taking part, Sennheiser and adidas are offering not only a whole host of instant prizes but the chance to win the main prize: a gift voucher for sports equipment worth € 5,555.
    

What songs motivate athletes when training? What music does Tyson Gay listen to while training? How can I find the right track for jogging? There is now a new website that helps sports and music fans to choose their ideal training music. www.5-for-sports.com shows them the world's most popular running songs, lets them listen to the playlists of various athletes and musicians and find the ideal songs for their own training. “Good music not only makes training more fun, it's also great motivation to train more effectively,” explains Uwe Cremering, Brand Manager at Sennheiser. “With 5 FOR SPORTS, we want to create a platform that allows sports fans throughout the world to exchange their training music.”

The right sound for running
Sport is even more fun when you're listening to music. It can motivate you, maintain your running speed or give you that extra ‘kick’ when you need it for the final sprint. The most important thing is to choose the right songs. An optimum training session consists of different speed and rest phases: you should therefore choose your playlist accordingly. "I am always connecting music to my team's training runs and hard workouts”, explains Running Expert Mike Mcmanus at adidas International. “Our favourites for the interval sessions and tempo runs are DJ Tiesto, Paul Oakenfold and Paul Van Dyk. There is nothing better than a good techno song to get your legs moving fast and into a good rhythm. Warm downs and slow recovery jogs is when I pull out something from the Smiths, the Cure or REM. Keeping the music in line with the workout plan helps to keep you where you need to be in your heart rate zone and workout speed." 5 FOR SPORTS therefore has five different song categories: songs for warm-up, jogging, sprinting, cool-down and relaxation. In this way, you can match your playlist perfectly to your own training.

  
TOP 5 of the pros
US sprinter Tyson Gay explains: “Good music motivates me; it puts me in the right mood for training.” His playlist is already online at www.5-for-sports.com. For warming up, the vice world champion and American 100 metres record holder listens to DJ Khaled, and while jogging he prefers Lloyd Banks. After training, his cool-down and relaxation tracks are songs by the Black Eyed Peas and 50 Cent. The playlists of heptathlete Jessica Ennis, basketball pros Derrick Rose and Nick Batum and singers Hins Cheung and Tarkan are also online. Over the next few weeks, other professionals will reveal their favourite training tracks at 5 FOR SPORTS. 
 

Charts of the best sports songs
“We're really excited to see the results of 5 For Sports“, says Uwe Cremering. “For example, it will be interesting to see whether there are different music preferences in Europe, Asia and America. Or whether women train to different music than men." Sennheiser and adidas will notify everyone who has taken part about the results. The more participants who enter their favourite training songs at 5 FOR SPORTS, the more comprehensive the results will be. And with a little luck, sports fans can win one of 250 instant prizes just by taking part. Prizes include various surprises from the world of sports and music, such as iPods, iTunes vouchers, sports headphones and sports watches. The main prize is a gift voucher valued at € 5,555 to spend on sports equipment.
  

Powerful running partners
To ensure that you can also enjoy top-quality sound while training, Sennheiser and adidas launched a new range of sports headphones at the beginning of the year. The four different models are especially tailored to the needs of athletes and can withstand even the toughest training conditions. From July, the sports headphones will also be available as a headset version for the iPhone* and other Apple products**.

  
About Sennheiser
The Sennheiser Group, with its headquarters in Wedemark near Hanover, Germany, is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of microphones, headphones and wireless transmission systems. The family-owned company, which was established in 1945, recorded sales of around €390 million in 2009. Sennheiser employs more than 2,100 people worldwide, and has manufacturing plants in Germany, Ireland and the USA. The company is represented worldwide by subsidiaries in France, Great Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark (Nordic), Russia, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, Japan, China, Canada, Mexico and the USA, as well as by long-term trading partners in many other countries. Also part of the Sennheiser Group are Georg Neumann GmbH, Berlin (studio microphones and monitor loudspeakers), and the joint venture Sennheiser Communications A/S (headsets for PCs, offices and call centres).
  

About adidas AG
adidas is a global designer, developer and marketer of athletic footwear, apparel and accessories with the mission to be the leading sports brand in the world.  Brand adidas is part of the adidas Group, a corporation that includes brands such as Reebok, TaylorMade and Rockport. For further information please visit www.adidas.com.

   
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