Effects of listening to different music on sprint performance and psychological aspects

Exercise performance may be improved by listening to high-tempo and motivational music prior to exercise. However, the effects of the combination of “tempo” and “motivational factors other than tempo” of music on exercise performance have not been examined in detail. We examined whether listening to music before exercise affects repetitive sprint performance and psychological responses in healthy young men. Twenty-one healthy men performed two consecutive sets of 20-second sprint cycling with a 120-second rest period between sets. Five types of music were used during the warm-up and rest periods: no music (Con), high-tempo music that subjects judged to be motivating (MH, 130~140 bpm), high-tempo music that subjects judged to be unmotivating (UMH, 130~140 bpm), low-tempo music that subjects judged to be motivating (ML, 70~80 bpm), and low-tempo music that judged to be unmotivating (UML, 70~80 bpm). Motivation, pleasure-displeasure and arousal-sleepiness, and rate of perceived exertion were investigated using a questionnaire. The maximum power per body weight during sprint cycling was significantly higher in ML than in Con, and MH tended to be higher than in Con. Motivation increased significantly from “After Warm-up” to “After Recovery” for MH and ML, but did not change significantly for Con, UMH, and UML. These results suggest that listening to motivational music, regardless of tempo, improves the maximum power of sprint cycling.