Music Tempo Influences Perception but not Performance of Exercise
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47611/jsr.v14i1.2912Keywords:
swimming, ergogenic aids, music, performanceAbstract
Music is an ergogenic aid often used in exercise and has been shown to have positive impacts on performance. Six male recreational (REC) (Age: 20.5 ± 1.2yr, Ht: 177.5 ± 1.3cm, Mass: 75.0 ± 6.9kg, BF: 15.3 ± 4.8%) and 6 competitive (CMP) female swimmers (Age: 20.0 ± 1.4yr, Ht: 165.9 ± 7.0cm, Mass: 66.6 ± 4.9kg, BF: 28.0 ± 7.7%) completed a self-directed warmup of up to 10 minutes, followed by four 200-yd swims during which they were exposed to 4 conditions: fast-tempo music (FT;160 bpm), slow-tempo music (ST;80 bpm), control (C; no music), and metronome (M:160 bpm). Subjects were exposed to each for 4 minutes before and during each 200-yd trial. Swim times, RPE, exercise enjoyment (EE), and the musical qualities (MQ) impact on the exercise bout were collected after each trial. No significant differences were found in times (FT: 3.3±1.0, ST: 3.3±1.1, C:3.3±1.0, M: 3.3±1.0; p = 0.685) or RPE (FT:14.2± 2.5, ST:13.2±3.0, C:13.9±2.8 M:14.6±3.4; p=0.132); an interaction effect was found between competition status and RPE (F(3,30) = 4.373; p = .013). CMP swimmers had higher RPE (FT:13.8±3.3, ST:12.3±3.7, C:13.5±3.5, M:12.7±4.0) for FT compared to ST (p=.017), and higher RPE for FT compared to M (p=.013). There was a significant difference in EE (FT:4.6±1.3, ST:4.7±1.1, C:1.8±1.6, M 4.1±1.5, p=0.022). There were higher MQ scores for FT and ST (p<.001, p=0.001) compared to C and M (p<.001, p<.001), indicating higher motivation in FT and ST conditions. In conclusion, different music conditions impacted perception of exercise but not performance.
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