Use Music to Up Your Exercise Game
Exercise and music: Listening to music while running may be an essential way to improve your game. This is the conclusion of the first study to look at the effect of listening to music playlists on endurance running performance when mentally tired.
Here’s what researchers at the University of Edinburgh did: They performed two tests. The first test examined the effects of music on interval running capacity in nine physically active participants. The subjects alternated between high-intensity running and lower-intensity jogging. The second test involved nine trained runners who completed a 5-kilometer time trial. Let’s look at the study in more detail.
Both groups of subjects performed a 30-minute computer-based cognitive test that put the subjects in a state of mental fatigue. The research team helped the participants choose motivational songs (using a pre-test questionnaire that asked the subjects to rate style, rhythm, tempo, melody, sound, and the beat of the music). They then performed high-intensity exercises with or without self-selected music.
The exercising subjects had assessments at several points during physical activity, focusing on heart rate and rating of perceived exertion (RPE). RPE: The Three Letters You Need to Know for Optimizing Your Workout
RATE OF PERCEIVED EXERTION (RPE) can be a valuable tool to track your effort for physical activity. Today we explore…medium.com
The results are clear: Interval running capacity among the mentally fatigued exercisers who used music appeared higher (compared with those who did not use music). The music users also had exercise capacity compared to when the subjects had not been mentally fatigued. The 5K runners also had time-trial performances that improved slightly with music.
The researchers postulate that the positive effects of music may be secondary to an altered perception of effort when we listen to tunes. Personally, when I have mental fatigue, it affects activities such as exercise. I love that music serves as an effective way to reduce this influence.
Listening to self-selected motivational music may help active folks improve their endurance running performance when mentally tired. I look forward to hearing more about how music works in various settings. Thank you for joining me today for this brief look at how you can use music to improve your exercise game.
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