Music can be a powerful factor while exercising. A recent Italian research, published in the Frontiers in Psychology, revealed that listening to high tempo music reduces the perceived effort in exercising and increases its benefits. These benefits were more enhanced for endurance exercises than high-intensity workouts. [1]
To understand the impact of exercising the researchers analyzed the exercise pattern of 19 women (average age 26.4 years) for a little over two and a half years. They were analyzed during both endurance and high-intensity workouts. The team picked walking on a treadmill for endurance exercise and leg press for a high-intensity workout. The volunteers were assessed under four different conditions, without music, with low tempo music (90 – 110 bpm), medium tempo music (130 – 150 bpm) and high tempo music (170 – 190 bpm).
Listening to music can also help in reducing stress levels in the body. Photo Credit: Shutterstock
For measuring the impact of the exercise, the team assessed factors like heart rate and perceived exertion. The impact of different tempos of music was observed for both types of exercises. The rate of perceived exertion changed by a significant 11 percent for endurance exercises when compared to the 6.5 percent of high-intensity workouts from no-music to high tempo music. The team found that metabolic demand also increased, indicating the effectiveness of the high-tempo aided workout.
