Eat your heart out, Richard Simmons. “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” has been left in the dust.
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee recently launched the first health insurance-sponsored Pandora music station, providing preprogrammed Internet listening options at three energy levels.
“We’re having to look for different ways to engage our members,” said Ginger Pettway, advertising manager for the company’s brand strategy and new media department. “This is a tool to provide assistance for working out.”
Listening to high-energy music while exercising can increase endurance and speed, according to a study published in the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. When compared to a no-music control group, the study indicated the motivational synchronized music led to a 15 percent improvement in endurance.
HOW TO ACCESSMembers and nonmembers can access the BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Pandora music station by typing in BCBST on the Internet Facebook page. On the BCBST page, click on MVMT and then click on the Listen Now link under Pandora. You then can choose among the three music substations.
Pandora is an Internet radio service that allows users to create customized stations based on individual preferences. It has a catalog of more than 700,000 songs and is used by 42 million people.
The BCBST station, which was launched in the summer but has been active since December, already has logged 7,000 songs played and 5,700 hours of listening.
The insurer’s station is divided into three substations, 100 Percent Exertion, Music for Moving, and Mellow Beats, according to Pettway.
The songs on the three stations, she said, range from ideal workout music for younger people to background music for people preparing a healthy meal or winding down.
“It’s primarily geared toward exercise,” Pettway said, “but more about giving [listeners] a healthy feeling overall.”
A recent listening sample played songs by Three Days Grace, Linkin Park and Staind on the 100 Percent Exertion Station; Lady Gaga, Britney Spears and T.I. on the Music for Moving substation; and Maxwell, Musiq Soulchild and Floetry on the Mellow Beats substation.
Pettway said BCBST officials, as is traditional with Pandora, selected some seed songs. Then, based on the selections and on feedback, additional songs are automatically added.
What is played, officials said, is expected to be a broad mix of songs from hip-hop and rock to indie and dance genres that will appeal to all tastes.
Mary Thompson, a spokeswoman for BCBST, said many people have constant access to Pandora – and the exercise stations – through their mobile devices.
“Wherever you go, your music will travel with you,” she said. “That way, you will be motivated to move and stay healthy.”
Contact Clint Cooper at ccooper@timesfreepress.com or
423-757-6497.