The effects of listening to workout music while exercising has been of high interest within Psychology and Physiology for the past decade. It’s a superb way of distracting oneself from fatigue and pain, while at the same time giving rise to an increasing effect on endurance and strength. When listening to music, studies have shown that people are able to run farther, swim faster and lift heavier.
A study done on a smaller sample of 50 people, with a male-female ratio of 1:1, demonstrated a clear distinction for the total duration of exercise, between two different trials of the same sample. The trials occurred on separate days, where the first round was either with or without music. The exercise duration in minutes was recorded for every candidate.
Results
The sample mean of the durations
No Data Found
A t-test was performed using the variance with a resulting P-value < 0.01, which indicates a significant result. The study also demonstrated a somewhat increased hearth rate for the music listening trial, which can be linked to the on-going discussion on how this phenomena is explained by the collaborative dance between the mind and the body.
The Type of Workout Music
So does this signalise that any music will have this promising effect? Not quite.
What type, genre and style of the selected music is actually one of the most important factors, as well as personal preferences which will be mentioned in a moment.
Multiple studies point out that music within a specific BPM has more positive effect than other. Although 120-140 BPM is the optimal interval, more features within the song are important in the mix of eliciting the desired outcome.
The immense question arises: How do you find the music with greatest effect on your workouts?
Fortunately for you, we actively curate one of the largest workout playlists, only with music that will boost your workouts to your preferred level. Available on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
Music Preferences Matter
According to a somewhat recent paper (2021), multiple studies have shown that music preference might matter even more than the music itself. Both psychological and physiological mechanisms are responsible for the ergogenic effects when working out and listening to music.
The trend in a particular study shows that the rate of perceived exertion (RPE), which is a quantity of measure of the intensity of exercise, were somewhat reduced when the participants listened to music that they preferred. This was shown, in contrast with the participants that listened to music they did not prefer or no music at all. Furthermore, music preference exhibited a clear increase in exercise enjoyment and interest.