{"id":716916,"date":"2026-06-21T06:46:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T06:46:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/716916\/"},"modified":"2026-06-21T06:46:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T06:46:13","slug":"audiobooks-for-workouts-habit-getting-aussies-in-the-gym-and-keeping-them-there-longer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/716916\/","title":{"rendered":"Audiobooks for workouts: Habit getting Aussies in the gym and keeping them there longer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Books are getting Australians into the gym<\/a> and keeping them there longer, and the benefits of this emerging health trend<\/a> aren\u2019t just physical \u2013 they\u2019re mental too.<\/a><\/p>\n

Listening to audiobooks and podcasts helped Yvonne Kong, 41, and her husband get back into fitness<\/a> after becoming parents and lose a combined 50 kilos. <\/p>\n

\"Yvonne<\/p>\n

Yvonne Kong, 41, used podcasts to get back into exercise and stay motivated.\u00a0Yvonne Kong<\/p>\n

It also helped them broaden their minds and carve out a bit of \u201cme time\u201d in our busy modern world.<\/p>\n

Audiobooks and podcasts have given Aussies the chance to turn exercise into a vehicle for learning, training their minds and bodies simultaneously. Some are even taking their e-readers and paperbacks to the gym (more on that later).<\/p>\n

\u201cListening to a story while working out actually helped me stay motivated and more consistent,\u201d Kong told nine.com.au.<\/p>\n

Like many Aussies, she used to dread hitting the treadmill<\/a> and constantly found herself counting down the minutes until her session was over.<\/p>\n

That changed when she hit play on a true-crime podcast during a workout.<\/p>\n

Kong got so caught up in the story she forgot about the timer on her treadmill until her workout was over.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did an hour treadmill course and actually finished it without noticing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Have you got a story? Contact\u00a0reporter Maddison Skipper at\u00a0mleach@nine.com.au<\/a><\/p>\n

Since then, she\u2019s found herself looking forward to exercising because it gives her an hour of dedicated listening time. <\/p>\n

Her husband does the same while running; he took up listening to audiobooks because it motivated him to run longer and more often so he could get through the story.<\/p>\n

The benefits of reading\/listening while exercising<\/p>\n

About one in three Aussies now listen to audiobooks when they exercise, according to data from Audible.<\/p>\n

More than a third of them exercise for longer because of it, one quarter work out more often, and half experience better mood during exercise.<\/p>\n

Data released exclusively to nine.com.au revealed both men and women reported these positive experiences at an almost identical rate, despite often having different workout routines and attitudes towards exercise.<\/p>\n

Audiobooks are particularly popular with runners, more than a third of whom say they feel more focused on their run while listening.<\/p>\n

Personal trainer Ben Lucas is one of them; he started listening while running to make time pass quickly and train his mind as well as his body.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re out there anyway, so you may as well be learning something valuable while you do it,\u201d he told nine.com.au.<\/p>\n

What the experts think<\/p>\n

Mindfulness<\/a> expert Luke McLeod told nine.com.au there has even been some research into how exercise increases blood flow to the brain, which helps information retention.<\/p>\n

Lucas devours business and personal development audiobooks like Atomic Habits\u00a0by James Clear while working out, a trend which has become known as \u2018personal development\/PD stacking\u2019. <\/p>\n

The goal is to \u201cdouble-up of some type of personal development like listening to an e-book, which works out the mind, while also working out the body,\u201d McLeod said.<\/p>\n

\"Luke<\/p>\n

‘PD stacking’ is the new health optimisation trend, according to Luke McLeod.\u00a0Luke McLeod<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all about optimising time in our busy world, which is particularly appealing to Aussies who are time-poor; like new parents trying to juggle work and a baby.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I\u2019m with [my daughter], I\u2019m trying to be present for her, so I\u2019m not going to be listening to podcasts or anything,\u201d Kong said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I exercise, that\u2019s my time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ben<\/p>\n

Personal trainer Ben Lucas has been using audiobooks to stay on track with his running.\u00a0Ben Lucas<\/p>\n

McLeod agreed that reading or listening while working out can be a great form of self-care for some Aussies.<\/p>\n

The only pitfall is that not every workout is suited<\/a> to it.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to keep up with an audiobook or podcast if you\u2019re trying to count reps while strength training, and there\u2019s no way to read an e-book on a rowing machine.<\/p>\n

\u201cI find podcasts and audiobooks work best during longer, slower cardio sessions,\u201d Lucas said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether it\u2019s an easy run, walk, or long ride, you can relax into the session, tune out a little, and focus on what you\u2019re listening to while still getting the work done.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also warned Aussies to stay aware of their surroundings and hazards like traffic, cyclists, other pedestrians, or uneven paths if they listen while exercising outdoors.<\/p>\n

McLeod added that stacking habits<\/a> like exercise and reading isn\u2019t worth it if one interrupts the other.<\/p>\n

Road testing reading at the gym<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been in and out of the gym a lot over the last decade, jumping from strength training, to reformer Pilates, and other programs in between.<\/p>\n

But my favourite way to exercise is to hop on a treadmill with my Kindle.<\/p>\n

I rest it on the console, set a slight incline and a moderate speed and lose myself for an hour. No workout has ever felt faster or easier.<\/p>\n

\"Reporter<\/p>\n

My Kindle fits perfectly into the little divot on the treadmill console meant for a phone or tablet.\u00a0Maddison Skipper<\/p>\n

The pros: Focusing on what I\u2019m reading takes my mind off the clock and get through an hour of cardio without getting bored or losing motivation.<\/p>\n

Reading at the gym also helps me stay consistent because it\u2019s one of the few places I can just switch off and focus on my book without interruptions, so I want to keep coming back.<\/p>\n

That hour of dedicated reading time has also been great for my mental health because it forces me to slow down and focus on something completely removed from any stress in my own life. <\/p>\n

The cons: It did take a few sessions to get used to reading while moving, but raising the brightness on my Kindle and setting it to a larger font really helped.<\/p>\n

Those who prefer to listen don\u2019t have to worry about any of that though; just download an audiobook and you\u2019re good to go.<\/p>\n

I also invested in a pair of noise-cancelling headphones to muffle the dance music that plays over my gym\u2019s loudspeakers, which made it much easier to focus.<\/p>\n

\"Reporter<\/p>\n

Reading at the gym allows Aussies like me to work on my physical and mental fitness simultaneously.\u00a0Maddison Skipper<\/p>\n

Now the only downside to reading at the gym that I sometimes hit a slump after I finish a really good book because I don\u2019t want to hit the gym again until I find something new to read.<\/p>\n

The verdict: It\u2019s not for everyone, but I have found that reading at the gym has been the best way for me to stay motivated and consistent.<\/p>\n

I feel good about taking the time to work on both my body and my mind a few times a week, and I\u2019ve been able to check some amazing books off my \u2018to be read\u2019 list while working out.<\/p>\n

Audiobooks make it even easier for Aussies who want to exercise without the hassle of a physical book or e-reader, or who have different accessibility needs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Books are getting Australians into the gym and keeping them there longer, and the benefits of this emerging…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":716917,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[337,97],"class_list":["post-716916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-fitness","tag-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=716916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716916\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/716917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=716916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=716916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=716916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}