Exercising with music is different than exercising in silence. Whether you exercise alone with a personal music player attached to your arm or attend a group fitness class with high-octane music pumping, music with a regular beat helps keep you engaged and active throughout your workout session. Consult your doctor before starting any new exercise regimen, and limit the volume to avoid damaging your hearing.
Pacing and Cadence
In rhythmic exercise such as jogging, running or cycling, listening to music helps you estimate and maintain a certain cadence or pace. Each sport has an optimum cadence for energy efficiency and speed. Music will help you maintain your target cadence or pace for a specific length of time. For example, 90 revolutions/min is an optimum cycling cadence for trained triathletes. Cycle training with music at a tempo of either 180 or 90 beats/min can help you achieve and maintain this cadence.
Risk of Injury
Music affects your risk of injury during exercise in different ways. Exercising with earphones generally decreases your safety if you become less aware of your surroundings and nearby vehicular traffic. However, in the scenario of a group exercise class, music reduces injury risk. MedlinePlus references a 2010 study of seniors exercising in a group class over a six-month period. The use of music in the class was found to reduce the incidence of falls and injuries among class participants. Music with steady rhythm helps you perform rhythmic movements with greater coordination and balance.
Preferred Music
If you listen to music you like while you work out you will probably work out longer or faster, covering a greater overall distance and burning more calories. According to a February 2010 report in the journal "Perceptual and Motor Skills," listening to preferred music pushed study participants to go further overall during a high-intensity cycle workout. Participants listening to nonpreferred music worked out at the same intensity as those listening to preferred music, but overestimated the distance traveled.
Motivation and Mood
Music has the ability to affect your mood and motivation during exercise. Peppy, exciting music will give you an energy boost and put you in the mood to exercise and keep going once you start to feel tired. Music that means something to you gives you an emotional connection to the exercise activity or the people you workout with. Equally, music that irritates you can act as a demotivating factor and worsen your mood during exercise.
References
- "Perceptual and Motor Skills"; Effects of Preferred and Nonpreferred Music on Continuous Cycling Exercise Performance; P.M. Nakamura et al.; February 2010
- MedlinePlus: Music-based Exercise Class Cuts Seniors' Fall Risk
- "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research"; Incidence of Injury in Kickboxing Participation; L.J. Romaine et al.; August 2003
- "Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology"; Effect of Exercise Duration on Optimal Pedaling Rate Choice in Triathletes; F. Vercruyssen et al.; February 2001
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