The beneficial effect that music has on boosting exercise performance has been well established, and has been used to enhance various types of exercise and exercise classes.

A recent study by Dr Costas Karageorghis of Brunel University’s School of Sport and Education, has focused on the use of rock/pop music, including tracks by Queen, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Madonna to demonstrate the link between music and cardiovascular exercise performance.

Thirty volunteers kept time to music while exercising on a treadmill. The results of the study demonstrated that when scientifically selected, music enhances exercise endurance by 15% and also making exercise less of a task and more pleasurable. The music also helped keep exercisers more positive during intensive exercise close to physical exhaustion.

The study is the latest from a 20-year program of work into the motivational qualities of music in sport and exercise, and is due to be published in the prestigious US periodical Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology.

This study highlights the sporting event due to take place on 5th October in Greenwich, London. The Sony Ericsson Run To The Beat half-marathon will be the first to provide scientifically-selected live musical accompaniment along the entire length of the course. Over 30 bands will be performing, and Dr Karageorghis has selected and coordinated the music.

Dr Karageorghis’s latest research findings are particularly noteworthy for public health practitioners, given that treadmill-based exercise such as walking and running is often incorporated into the rehabilitation programs of those in a primary care settings (e.g. cardiac patients and those suffering from obesity). Music has the power to make a considerable impact in the fight against public inactivity. Moreover, the effects of music on mood and emotions open up the possibility that it can be used to improve compliance to exercise and therefore help people achieve their long-term health and fitness goals.
Source:
Dr Karageorghis. Brunel University research reveals strong link between music and cardiovascular exercise performance. Brunel University’s School of Sport and Education. October 2008.