Pumping up the music while training boosts performance
Pumping up your favourite music adds extra motivation while exercising, especially strengthening workouts, a study from the University of Western Ontario in Canada has found. Participants in the study picked their favourite "pump-up" song, then undertook a series of exercise routines while listening to the tunes at differing levels, including in silence.
Study author Janet McMordie noted: “Music seemed to help participants push through the psychological aspect of the test that is telling them that ‘it’s too hard’ or ‘just quit,’ as well as push a little extra through the pain caused by lactic acid build-up [in the muscles].
She also explained that with strength-training, the louder music had the greatest effect. Women could perform more repetitions before fatiguing when the music was louder than when it was softer or they weren’t listening to any music. “They performed a lot better and were happier,” McMordie added.