Music in Workouts

This week, we want to take a look at a conversation that a lot of people have had in recent years and see what existing research says about it. So, are there any actual, real world benefits to the use of music while you are working out or training?

Research:

Hallett and Lamont seem to be the experts in this field and have published several papers about this topic. In 2017 they published a study which found that 70% of people reported that their performances during workouts were considerably better. They also found that preferred genres of music for these people tended to be heavy metal or electronic music.

Halley and Lamont also published a paper in 2019 that found that the demographic of people who most use music while working out was 26-50 year old men. It was also discussed that it was difficult to find common songs that bring increased performances out of people and that it is primarily down to the individuality and preferences of the person themselves.

In terms of a practical example, it was found by Bartolomei and Michele (2015) that the bench press weight and strength endurance of a person drastically improved when they were allowed to select their own music, versus the music that was just playing in the background of the gym.

Conclusion:

If listening to your own music is not something you have tried, it may be worth giving it a go to test out these theories. While some people claim that it takes away their focus during their workouts, it is clear in the research that the majority of people state that it is of some benefit to them.

 

Daniel 

Team PTI