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how turning on and tuning in can boost your motivation and aid your workout.

Any serious athlete recognises the importance of regular physical training to prepare the body for
competition. But even the most dedicated among them experience dips in their motivation and long for
something to relieve the boredom of repetitive training sessions. In fact, sport and exercise
psychologists have demonstrated a strong association between boredom and exercise dropout rates.
Whatever your performance level, enjoyment is a key motivator for adherence and output during
training. And these days more and more sportsmen and women are turning to music as a source of
inspiration that can aid their performance in both training and competition. Barry Cowen, the British
tennis player, was spotted listening to a personal stereo system during his match with Pete Sampras at
Wimbledon 2001. And Cowen later partly attributed his excellent performance to the inspirational
music he was listening to during the change of ends. In athletics, Ethiopia’s Haile Gebreselassie set an
indoor world record for 2,000 metres while his favourite song was playing in the Birmingham Indoor
Arena. The athlete suggested that the music gave him a rhythm that matched the required pace of the
run. In a longitudinal study of Russian weightlifters, participants found that their training quality,
volume and intensity improved substantially when music accompanied weightlifting sessions. In
activities that require high levels of arousal, including weightlifting and boxing, music can also be
useful as part of a pre-performance routine to promote optimal arousal.

Can music really benefit athletes?

Sport psychologists studying the effects of music on athletic performance have discovered a number of
potential uses. The work of Costas Karageorghis and colleagues at Brunel University has provided a
framework for understanding how music can benefit performers (1). First, it seems that music can
provide an athlete with an appropriate focus of attention that can relieve boredom and decrease the
sense of effort. Our attentional system has a limited capacity and essentially music works by
distracting the athlete from feelings of pain or fatigue. Research into the use of music in exercise has
shown that, at a given exercise intensity, participants often report a reduced sense of effort (measured
as rate of perceived exertion – RPE) when exercising with music. There is widespread support for the
theory that music occupies attentional channels, thus temporarily delaying the processing of pain-
related cues. We are bombarded with incoming sensory information but, to avoid being overwhelmed,
our attention system selects only the most pertinent information. Some researchers have suggested
that listening to music during exercise produces an altered state of consciousness, commonly termed
‘flow’. This state is characterised by complete immersion in the activity and a sense of effortlessness
that can be associated with a distorted sense of time. However, as exercise intensity increases, pain-
related symptoms will inevitably begin to dominate focal awareness and the impact of music as an
attentional distraction will diminish. Scientific studies support this assertion, since music appears to be
most influential during submaximal exercise.

Music can also affect arousal levels, by helping athletes to either ‘psych-up’ or ‘calm-down’ as
appropriate. In one study comparing the effects of ‘stimulative’ music, ‘sedative’ music or no music at
all (control) on maximal grip strength, researchers found that stimulative music yielded significantly
higher force readings for a single maximal exertion than control. By contrast, sedative music was
associated with significantly lower force than the control condition (2). The most consistent finding
from research is that music enhances work output by synchronising movement with music to provide an
effective training pace. The classic example of this theory in action is an aerobic step class, where the
pace of stepping matches the beat of the music. With careful planning, music can be matched to most
aerobic activities. Additionally, some music appears to be able to trigger positive emotions, creating a
pleasant working and learning environment.

My own research, conducted over the past three years, has consistently shown that exercisers persist
longer with progressive exercise testing, and exercise at higher work rates with music than they do
without it. This finding is consistent for varying modes of exercise, including treadmill testing, indoor
rowing and isometric strength endurance tasks. Despite differing modes of exercise and outcome
measures, performance appears to be improved by approximately 5-7%. Furthermore, in all cases this
increased work output has corresponded with higher final heart rate readings, suggesting the subjects
were motivated to push themselves harder. Like many other scientific studies, my research suggests
that music has a positive impact on mood states measured both during and after an exercise bout.
Interestingly, my results suggest that the influence of music on performance may be determined by a
performers’ personalities – particularly the extent to which they are influenced by emotional factors.
And it is important to note that not everyone enjoys working out to music, and some will even find it a
turn-off. Although defining motivation can be a tricky business, it is well established that music has
motivational properties. Scientists are also agreed that motivation is not an unchangeable personal
attribute, but is influenced by changing situations and environments. In industrial settings, production
managers have successfully used music as a way of manipulating the environment to encourage greater
work output. Music is also well established as a useful tool in therapeutic settings. Research supports
the idea that music has the combined effect of enabling people to gain increased pleasure from their
work or training, while working/training with increased efficiency and productivity. Although no one
fully understands how music acts as an ergogenic aid, it is highly likely that the known effects overlap
to some extent. For example, by attending to music the athlete’s attentional focus can become narrow
and external, so restricting the processing of internal fatigue-related symptoms. However, to maintain
such a focus in higher intensity work the music must be sufficiently arousing to work as a distraction,
while also stimulating more positive emotions and interpretations of the situation.

How to choose the ‘right’ music for you

To experience beneficial and avoid disappointment, you must be careful to choose the ‘right’ music.
To do this, you need to take account of your own personal characteristics.

Firstly, consider you personal goals. What do you want to achieve by listening to music? A field athlete,
for example, may want to use it as a pre-performance strategy to ‘psych-up’ in preparation for a single
maximal exertion. A high-board diver may need it as a source of relaxation between dives, while a
distance runner may be looking for something to relieve the boredom of monotonous training mileage.
The field athlete should select music that inspires and stimulates increases in arousal, such as a lively
piece with a driving rhythm, or something with positive emotional connotations. For the diver, a ‘chill-
out’ track would suffice (although he/she should bear in mind that becoming too relaxed prior to
maximal strength tasks can be detrimental). The distance runner would select music to match the
desired training goal, such as a strong rhythm or even a relaxing one if that is the desired state. If you
want to benefit from synchronising movement with music, it is best to go for pieces with a strong
rhythm that match the desired cadence. For a cyclist wishing to train at 120 revolutions per minute,
music with a tempo of 120 beats per minute would be the best choice. Some researchers stress the
significance of tempo and argue that rhythm response is the most important source of musical
motivation during exercise. Take care to select music that triggers positive emotions; depressing and
melancholy music might be very lovely to listen to but is unlikely to provide a positive focus.
Additionally, songs that have associations with sport, or with positive experiences, are a good source of
inspiration. Music associated with sport, such as the theme from the film Rocky, has been shown to
produce positive nostalgic feelings. Also, songs with lyrics that inspire physical activity, such as ‘move
your body’ or ‘keep on moving’ may well enhance the effects and lead to motivational self-talk
(internal dialogue) that combats self-doubt. It’s important that you play the music loud enough to
block out other auditory distractions so that the music becomes a central focus of your attention. Try
to listen actively to the lyrics and the beat while you exercise. Music may not have the same impact if
it is used as passive background noise.

However, it is not advisable to use music while running in busy urban areas as this may reduce your
awareness of dangers in the external environment, such as traffic. And music may not be an
appropriate tool if you need to monitor your physiological state, concentrate on technique, listen to
instructions from your coach or use complex skills, when it could become a negative distraction. The
type of music you select should reflect your own personal tastes: studies have shown a wide variety of
musical styles are capable of enhancing performance, ranging from pop to classical music. Many people
believe that variety is the spice of life, and it is certainly essential to our attention system. If you
employ the same musical selections time after time, your sensory system may well adapt by switching-
off – a process known to psychologists as ‘sensory adaptation’. So be sure to vary your selections if you
want to benefit from the distracting effects of music.

Finally…

Unfortunately some coaches, and even some sport psychologists, may be horrified by the thought of
their performer being ‘distracted’ by music. But it is important for them to be aware that music is not
just a source of distraction but of positive focus and motivation for an athlete. High levels of
concentration place great demands on athletes, and it is unrealistic to expect 100% focus over long
periods. Although some people are very good at controlling their thoughts during exercise bouts, others
struggle, and without a positive focus negative thoughts, feelings or perceptions may predominate,
undermining performance and enjoyment. Carefully selected music can not only provide motivation but
also inspire positive self-talk, images and feelings. This is especially important when an athlete needs
that little motivational boost to inspire more effort and persistence, particularly when a coach is not
there to give verbal encouragement. Not everyone will want to use music while training or exercising.
Some may find it a negative distraction and prefer to focus internally on thoughts or feelings. However,
music does offer many potential benefits, so why not give it a try: turn up the volume, tune in to the
rhythm, and you might experience a more enjoyable workout.

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