There are many motivating ways to train harder, and exercising with music is one of them. With the start of the new year, gyms are at their busiest. Many people try oneDevelop training routineto improve their health. Gaining an advantage through easier, more effective training could be the difference between success and a guilty return to the warm embrace of the couch. What if you could get a benefit from only listening to a certain type of music?
Combine sport with music
A new study from “Frontiers in Psychology” shows for the first time that listening to music at a higher tempo reduces the perceived effort of exercise and increases its benefits. These effects were greater for endurance exercise, such as walking, than for high-intensity exercise, such as weight lifting. The researchers hope the results could help people improve their exercise habits.
Many people listen to music while exercising and previous studies have documented some of the benefits. For example, music can distract from fatigue and discomfort and increase participation in exercise. However, how we experience sport with music is highly subjective. Cultural factors and personal preferences play a role in the impact on the individual. The melodies are varied and offer different aspects such as rhythm and lyrics that add to the experience.
Until now, researchers have not understood the specific properties of music that affect us during exercise. This includes the types of music that are best for enhancing certain types of workouts. So understanding these peculiarities could help realize the full potential of music as a practice amplifier. The scientists set out to study the effect of the tempo of a piece of music on female subjects who either performed an endurance exercise (Walking on a treadmill) or perform a high-intensity exercise (using a leg press machine).
Research results
The volunteers completed the exercises in silence or while listening to pop music at different tempos. The researchers recorded a variety of parameters. This included the volunteers' opinions on the effort required to carry out the exercises. They also recorded their heart rate during exercise. A higher heart rhythm would mean that exercise would be more beneficial for physical fitness.
“We found that listening to high-tempo music during exercise resulted in the highest heart rate and lowest perceived exertion compared to not listening to music.” This was explained by Professor Luca P. Ardigò from the University of Verona in Italy. “This means that the exercise appeared to be less strenuous but more beneficial in terms of improving physical fitness.”
These effects were more noticeable in volunteers who did endurance training than in subjects who did intense exercise, suggesting that people who do endurance training such as walking or running may get the most benefit from listening to high-tempo music.
The researchers hope these results provide a simple way to improve physical activity. While the current study involved a small group of volunteers, larger studies will be needed in the future to examine the nuances of how music influences our workouts. So, you can try playing music at a fast tempo the next time you work out at the gym. Otherwise, you might hear a knock on your foot while you're sitting on the couch eating chocolate.
“In the current study“We have studied the effect of music tempo on training, but in the future we would also like to study the effects of other music characteristics such as genre, melody or lyrics on endurance and high-intensity training,” he told Ardigò.
