The Best Workout Headphones to Keep You Training in 2024
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Having a great pair of headphones for working out can make a huge difference when you’re training. Forty-three-time marathon finisher Kieran Alger wrote in Runner’s World that the “right backing tracks can delay fatigue, boost mental toughness, distract you from discomfort, elevate your mood, reduce perceived effort, and even support recovery.”
Picking a great pair of workout headphones differs a bit from picking one for everyday listening. You want them to sound good, but fidelity isn’t necessarily the most important factor. Instead, you need headphones that will stay in place even when you’re moving fast–that generally means earbuds.
0nike pegasus trail running shoes active noise-canceling, emporio armani logo patch low top suede sneakers item transparency mode, and a certain amount of water resistance, among other things. If you’re thinking about buying a new pair of headphones specifically for working out, whether you’re training for a marathon or simply hitting the gym, we can help you find the right pair.
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Best Workout Headphones
The Expert: I first began testing running earphones while training for the Marine Corps Marathon about two decades ago. Now, I test headphones while working out at the gym, climbing, shoveling snow in my driveway, lifting weights, hiking, and running. My reviews have been been featured in Backpacker Magazine, Outside Magazine, Popular Mechanics, Runner’s World, Sierra Magazine, and Travel+Leisure.
What to Consider When Picking Headphones for Working Out
Fit
When you’re working out, fit is the most important factor. Changeable ear tips are a must if your ears tend to ache after wearing earbuds, or if they often fall out. I prefer a looser fit when exercising outdoors and need to be aware of my surroundings. If you’re unsure of how to get a perfect fit, some earbuds, like Apple’s AirPods Pro, offer an “Ear Tip Fit” test to help find the right tips for your ears. With the AirPods Pro, the test uses the microphones inside and sound output from the drivers to determine whether a tip is creating a tight seal.
Ultimately, an earbud that fits should stay in place and feel comfortable in your ear over long stretches of time. If your earbuds pop out, get covered in wax, or you feel like you have to push them deep to keep them in, you should start trying different ear tips until you find a pair that feels right.
Sweat And Water Resistance
If you’re running, you’re also going to be sweating, which means you need headphones that can stand to get at least a little bit wet. Most electronic devices made for outdoor use, including headphones, receive a standardized score to indicate their ability to resist water and dust called an “Ingress Protection” rating.
The score reads as “IPXY”–“IP” for Ingress Protection, then the X and Y are single-digit numbers indicating dust, then water resistance. Headphones that are rated IPX4 or higher are best for handling sweat and rain. To wear your headphones underwater, they should be rated IPX7 or higher.
Sound Quality
Sound quality is every headphone’s most fundamental mark of quality, but it may not be the most important thing when you’re working out. It’s hard to pay close attention to the nuances of a song when you’re running, so you only need to make sure that the sound quality is clear.
That means avoiding headphones with excessive distortion (rattling or anything that isn’t in the original recording), tonal-balance errors (such as too much bass or treble), hisses, and hums. All but the absolute cheapest earbuds should do a satisfactory job.
That said, sound quality is often the difference between good workout headphones and the very best. If you plan to use your headphones before and after your workouts, it pays to spend a little more and get a pair that you’d be happy listening to all the time.
We look for an earbud that creates a balanced, natural sound. If there’s too much bass, voices will sound boomy. If there’s too much treble, voices sound shrill and hissy. Some headphones feature a customizable equalizer, allowing you to adjust the audio mix to your liking.
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Active noise-canceling (ANC) and Transparency or “ambient” mode are two features that use the microphones in your headphones to help you hear. Active noise-canceling uses the microphones to identify ambient noise around you, like sound of an air conditioner or a car engine, and creates an inverse sound wave to cancel it out. As a result, you don’t hear as much of the outside world, so you can focus on whatever you’re listening to.
Transparency mode, on the other hand, is a safety feature that uses the microphones to enhance outside ambient noise, so you can clearly listen for passing cars, or hear when someone’s talking to you. Transparency mode is important for runners and cyclists who may not hear oncoming traffic if they’re too dialed in with headphones that block out street noise.
Onboard Controls
Many earbuds feature some onboard controls, either on the charging case or on the earbuds themselves, like starting and stopping your music, taking a call, and controlling volume, so you don’t have to take a phone or use a smartwatch.
Some earbuds will also pause an active track when you remove your earbuds and start it again when you put them back in. In addition to basic actions, many high-end headphones and ear buds also provide advanced customization features and other settings through their connected smartphone apps.
Battery Life
Having a pair of wireless earbuds that will last through your workout is obviously very important. True wireless earbuds, including most of the options on this list, feature a two-tiered battery life. The buds themselves can last for a decent amount of time–usually between 4-8 hours. The battery case, which comes with the buds, will charge them whenever you put them away, extending the battery life of the buds to an average of 25-40 hours before you need to recharge both the buds and case.
How We Selected The Best Workout Headphones
To find the best headphones for working out, we interviewed treadmill runners, marathoners, joggers, and trail runners to find out what features they look for in headphones. We researched the recommended workout headphones on the market, analyzed expert reviews, consumer ratings, and the testing performed by the Runner’s World test team to find the best earbuds. Then, we evaluated each headphone by durability, water and sweat resistance, battery life, fit, sound and call quality, ease of use, noise cancellation, and warranty coverage.
use the shoes for hiking is an award-winning travel journalist and veteran gear tester for Outside Magazine, Popular Mechanics, REI, Runner's World, Sierra Magazine, and Travel+Leisure. She believes that having a stress-free or comfortable experience outdoors depends on the quality of your gear. She's tested fly fishing gear beneath a waterfall in Iceland, canyoneering kits in Jordan's Wadi Mujib and Old Town, and Ocean Kayak pedal kayaks in Puerto Rico's bioluminescent waters. Leslie has a degrees in biology, ethnobotany, and an MFA in creative nonfiction, as well as a public health degree from Harvard.
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