So you're doing great for yourself by getting to the gym, flipping on some tunes (or videos) and listening and watching while you exercise.

For some people, this is a way to stay engaged, even through hour long (boring) exercises. For others, it's a way to multi-task: accomplishing a couple activities at the same time. But what does watching TV or listening to audiobooks do for your workout?

Answer: That depends. Research has shown that for some people, distractions are helpful, for others, they are not. If watching TV or listening to music is the only way you'll exercise, then, by all means, keep exercising to the Ipod.

If though, you're training for peak performance, you may need to ditch the headphones and focus solely on your body.

Some types of exercise (yoga, qi-gong, pilates, for example) demand that you maintain a strong mind-body connection. This can be tough to do when there is a lot of noise in your head, such as from a movie, song, or video.

So the bottom line? Exercise to music, TV or video if this is the only way you'll exercise. Skip the distractions if you're training for peak performance.

Looking for audiobooks to accelerate your workout? Check out our recommended source for audiobooks.