The music you love improves your workout
If the manager of your gym consistently plays music that you don't like, then consider training with earphones in the future - allowing you to listen to music that you do appreciate. It will significantly improve the intensity and quality of your workouts, American sports scientists at Samford University discovered.
Study
The researchers got 12 male students, who had been training with weights for quite some time, on different occasions to bench press with 75 percent of the load with which they could just make 1 rep. The students had to bench press to failure.
The students had told which music genre they appreciated the most, and which genre the least. The students could choose from 6 genres: rock, hip hop, pop, R&B, country and dance. Most of the students preferred to listen to hip hop, and had the least appreciation for country.
On one occasion the students listened during the bench press to the music genre they most liked. On another occasion, during bench press, they listened to the genre that they actually valued the least.
Results
When the students listened to their favorite music [Pref], they made 1.7 more reps than when they listened to their least favorite music [Non-Pref]. You can see this below left.
Click on the figure for a larger version.
At the top right you can see how exactly music that can get your approval increases your sporting performance: listening to music that you appreciate increases your motivation.
Conclusion
"Music is commonly played over community speakers in gym and locker rooms", says lead author Christopher Ballmann in an interview with the website of Samford University. [samford.edu]
"While some athletes may prefer the music being played, there are chances that some athletes may not. Based off our data, the athletes that do not prefer the music may perform worse which could impact adaptations. Thus, individuals looking to optimize performance should consider listening to music they prefer while they train."
Source:
J Strength Cond Res. 2018 Dec 7. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000002981. [Epub ahead of print].
More:
Music with 190 bpm improves your workouts 02.03.2020
You run faster on the treadmill if you watch music videos 19.06.2013
Music improves sports performance 17.06.2013
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