(16) EFFECT OF MUSIC TYPE ON PERFORMANCE AND PERCEPTION DURING RESISTANCE TRAINING

Purpose: To investigate the effect of different types of music on performance and perception during a resistance training workout in men and women.

Methods: Twelve resistance-trained men (n=5) and women (n=7) completed this counterbalanced, crossover study. On the first visit, subjects were assessed for body composition, completed a warm-up, and were estimated for 1-repetition maximum (1RM) on squat, bench press, deadlift, and bent over rows using the Brzycki equation. Subjects also created their 5-song self-selected music (SSM) playlist and selected their least preferred genre to generate a non-preferred playlist (NON). All songs were at least 120 bpm, and the two playlists were matched for bpm. On two subsequent visits, subjects completed a warm-up followed by three sets to failure of each exercise with two minutes of rest between sets while listening to SSM or NON on noise cancelling headphones. After each set, repetitions completed and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were assessed. Before the warm-up, each exercise, and after completion of the session subjects were assessed for blood lactate and visual analog scale for focus, energy, fatigue, motivation, and enjoyment. Repetitions completed and RPE data were analyze using trial×exercise×gender ANOVA. Lactate, Focus, Energy, Fatigue, Motivation, and Enjoyment data were assessed with trial×time×gender ANOVA. All significant interactions were followed with post hoc pairwise comparisons. Alpha level was set to p< 0.05. All data are presented as mean±standard deviation.

Results: A significant trial×exercise interaction (p=0.025) was observed for repetitions completed. Post hoc tests revealed significantly greater repetitions for squat (37.8±17.7 reps vs 30.1±11.6 reps; p=0.024) and deadlift (34.1±12.2 reps vs 26.1±10.7 reps; p=0.007) during SSM when compared to NON. No significant trial×exercise interaction (p=0.925) or main effect of trial was noted for RPE (p=0.284). A significant trial×gender interaction (p=0.034) was noted for lactate with men producing greater overall lactate during SSM when compared to NON. No significant interactions or main effect of trial were noted for fatigue. A significant trial×time interaction was observed for energy (p=0.007), motivation (p=0.004), and enjoyment (p=0.034). During SSM, Energy (Pre: 5.9±2.4 cm, Post: 5.8±2.2 cm), Motivation (Pre: 6.0±1.5 cm, Post: 6.3±2.3 cm), and Enjoyment (Pre: 6.0±2.4 cm, Post: 5.8±3.2 cm) did not significantly change (p=1.000) from Pre- to Post- Exercise; however, significant decreases were observed from Pre- to Post-Exercise during NON for Energy (Pre: 5.8±2.0 cm, Post: 3.3±2.9 cm, p=< 0.001), Motivation (Pre: 6.4±1.9 cm, Post: 4.2±3.0 cm, p=0.001), and Enjoyment (Pre: 6.5±2.1 cm, Post: 4.5±3.0 cm, p=0.015). There was also a main effect of trial for focus (p=0.015) favoring SSM. Music during the SSM trial (36.5±5.6 AU) was rated as significantly (p< 0.001) more motivational than the NON trial (19.9±9.4 AU).

Conclusions: Listening to SSM during resistance exercise resulted in more repetitions completed without increasing RPE or fatigue when compared to NON. Furthermore, subjects reported higher levels of focus, energy, enjoyment, and motivation with SSM. Practical Applications: Practitioners should consider the positive effects of allowing individuals to choose the music to listen to during resistance exercise. SSM may improve total work completed during a training session with effecting individual fatigue.

Acknowledgements: None