I got a free copy of Men’s Fitness magazine the other day and was glancing through it. I came across a small paragraph about a recent stuff on the effects of music on strength.
This comes from a study at California State University Fullerton. I dug up the complete paper here.
I’ve selected some key points to showcase below. This study was done using the bench press and squat jumps as the exercises. There were a number of effects and data points that were looked at.
There has been much investigation into the use of music as an ergogenic aid to facilitate physical performance. However, previous studies have primarily focused on predetermined music and aerobic exercise. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of self-selected music (SSM) vs. those of no music (NM) on the mood and performance of the athletes performing bench press and squat jump.
Our study demonstrates that SSM alters mood state, and it increases acute explosive performance but provides no change in strength training.
You can dig into a lot more details in the study itself. Just thought it was worth highlighting here. I’ve gone back and forth over the years about training with music or no music. What I believe is that depending on what you’re doing you’re going to be better suited to one versus the other.
But if there is going to be music, it’s best that it’s something you want to listen to.
Comments
Very interesting. Not unexpected that you are no stronger.
I love to listen to music while I train. If it is something I want to listen to; I find that I actually don’t hear it at all. The music just seems to fill in the background and allows me to be with my thoughts.
@Anthony: Thanks for sharing. Like I’ve mentioned before I go back and forth on the music issue. Sometimes I love listening while training. Other times I want silence.
Same for me. Must be a first name thing LOL. I can listen to the same song for the whole workout and not hear a thing.