If you’re like most people you enjoy listening to music, even when you’re working out. You might think that music soothes your brain as you push through a tough workout. It’s a good distractor as well. According to some studies, listening to upbeat music has other benefits as well. No doubt – music is mentally stimulating but can it actually lead to increased performance when you train with weights?
What Science Shows about Strength Training and Music
One of the earlier studies looking at the effect of music on strength training was in 1996. In this study, researchers measured grip strength before and after 25 males and 25 females listened to music. The participants listened to three different types of music – tunes with a sedating effect, stimulating music, and no music at all. Both types of music were linked with improvements in grip strength over no music at all, while the greatest boost in strength was enjoyed by participants who listened to stimulating music.
Does Musical Preference Matter?
We all have music preferences. Some people enjoy stimulating music while others prefer more sedate musical selections. It’s not hard to imagine how listening to music you love versus tunes that you hate could affect strength-training performance.
To look at this issue, researchers asked a group of 20 men who resistance trained regularly to do three sets of bench press at 75% of their one-rep max followed by a squat jump. The guys choose the music they listened to based on their preferences. The guys did one round while listening to their preferred music and another with no music.
The results? Their performance was similar on a bench press, regardless of whether they listened to music or not. However, on the squat jump, the men generated more velocity on take-off and had a higher rate of force development after listening to the music they selected. This suggests that listening to music you enjoy may enhance power performance.
Yet another study found that males who listened to self-selected motivational music while performing an isometric hold were able to hold the weight longer with music in the background than when they were exposed to white noise. The music led to the greatest improvement when they listened to it while doing the isometric hold as opposed to hearing it beforehand.
Taken as a whole, these studies suggest that listening to motivational or stimulating music that you choose and enjoy may enhance muscle endurance and power performance, and, possibly strength.
Is Music a Performance Enhancer?
Based on the above research, music does seem to impact exercise performance. In fact, the impact is strong enough that some experts call it the ultimate legal, performance-enhancing drug. So, HOW does music boost performance in the weight room? One theory is music has a rhythm and tempo that you synchronize your movements with. When you’re able to do this, it improves work output and performance. With synchronization, your movements become more efficient and you waste less energy performing them.
Another way in which music might improve strength, power or endurance is by helping you dissociate from the discomfort you feel when you do an exercise. When pleasant tunes are hitting your ears, you focus more on the pleasure of the music and less on the burning you’re feeling as you eke out another rep. When you play a fast-paced or upbeat tune, music may also act as a mild stimulant that helps you perform better. For example, upbeat, stimulating music activates the sympathetic nervous system. Such activation makes you more alert, increases heart rate, and directs more blood flow to your muscles to enhance performance. In that respect, listening to sedate music might theoretically reduce performance since this type of music has the opposite effect, it slows the heart rate and breathing rate.
Listening to sedating music may not have the same performance-enhancing effects that stimulating or motivating music does but it could work in your favor if you compete. Soaking up soft, placid tunes beforehand may help tame the pre-performance jitters. Furthermore, research shows music reduces anxiety and the perception of pain. Is it possible that sedating music also enhances exercise performance by making the process feel less painful? More research is needed. Based on the studies that are out there, listening to upbeat, fast-paced, motivational music that you enjoy is your best bet.
Music and High-Intensity Interval Training
Another type of anaerobic exercise that targets fast-twitch muscle fibers is high-intensity interval training or HIIT. HIIT alternates periods of high-intensity, sometimes all-out exercise, with recovery periods. This time-expedient way of burning fat and improving aerobic and anaerobic fitness is skyrocketing in popularity and at least one study shows music is beneficial for this type of training too.
A study carried out by the University of British Columbia Okanagan campus showed newbies with respect to high-intensity interval training enjoyed HIIT more and felt more positive when they listened to music during HIIT sessions. Of course, fast-paced, upbeat music would be ideal for this purpose. You could even use a change in the tempo to mark the transition from active exercise to recovery.
Even more encouragingly, a study found that participants who listened to music while doing high-intensity interval training displayed greater power output than when they did their sessions without music. One thing that didn’t change was their perception of the experience – they still found high-intensity interval training to be challenging!
The Bottom Line
The limited studies that are out there suggest that listening to stimulating music, especially tunes you enjoy may enhance muscle endurance and power output when you lift weights. It may also make HIIT training more enjoyable. While results are conflicting about the impact music has on strength, there are reasons to believe that it may be beneficial – synchronization to the tempo of the music and a reduction in the perception of pain and effort. So, when you lift, pick out upbeat tunes that motivate you and that you enjoy.
References:
The Strength Athlete “Lose Yourself in the Music: Music’s Effect on Strength Training”
The Health Sciences Academy. “4 Remarkable Ways Music Can Enhance Athletic Performance”
Heart. 2006; 92:445–452.
J Clin Diagn Res. 2016 May; 10(5): CC09–CC11.
Science Daily. “Music may help make high-intensity interval training viable option for the average person”
Journal of Sports Sciences, 2016; 1 DOI: 10.1080/02640414.2016.1242764.
New York Times Well. “How Music Can Boost a High-Intensity Workout”
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