Does music help you run faster?

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The idea of using music as a kind of doping on a treadmill is quite new in sports psychology and physiology. However, there is already scientific work on the effect of music on running performance. We will talk about some of them in this article.

Most runners have one thing in common - the player. In the fitness center, on city streets and even in the forest, many people prefer to run with music on their headphones. This is especially helpful for those who are not so fond of running, distracting from fatigue and annoying sounds around. But even in professional competitions, you will see many athletes listening to music before the race. How does it affect the process itself?

Workouts with and without music

Music has a positive effect on the effectiveness of cardio training. This is evidenced by the results, during which 16 participants made two 10-kilometer runs on a stationary bike. The first one - with rather loud electronic music (87 dB, 142 bpm), the second - without music. All subjects showed great speed when listening to music. The most interesting thing is that the effect is especially noticeable in the first kilometers and at the very end of the workout. But in the middle of the distance (5-9 km), the indicators in both races were approximately the same.

Music volume and tempo

The influence of music on a person can be judged by different parameters. Therefore, it is rather difficult to compare different music. You can select at least two criteria: speed (bpm - beats per minute) and loudness (dB).

Influence of speed and loudness of music by J. Edworthy and H. Waring. In the experiment, 30 participants did five 10-minute runs on a treadmill:

to fast loud music;
to fast quiet music;
to slow loud music;
to slow quiet music;
without music.

The researchers then compared the subjects' running speed, heart rate, and feeling of tension. The results were not unexpected: loud and fast music has a positive effect on running speed. At the same time, the participants did not notice much tension or fatigue.

Music as motivation

Motivation, whether it's good weather, pleasant company, or expectation of a reward, plays a decisive role in training. Kelly Brooks and Crystal Brooks point out that music can have both positive and negative effects. A slow and sad melody is unlikely to help you run faster. Preference should be given to positive rhythmic compositions.

Music in training and competition

For those who run regularly, music has less of an impact than for beginners. Most likely, in the case of a real competition, music will not play a serious role.

In sports psychology, it is generally accepted that the ideal form for competition is when the athlete has not trained too little, but not too much. With insufficient preparation, everything is clear: it is not a fact that you will be able to give your maximum. But too hard preparation can be harmful, causing unnecessary anxiety.

It's the same with music. The excitement from her can help during the preparation phase, but it is useless on the day of the race, when the situation is already quite tense.

Running safety while listening to music

It's better to run outdoors without headphones

As soon as you leave the room on the street, headphones are not such a safe accessory: you may not hear cyclists, cars or any other sources of danger.

However, there is good news for those who are used to running to the music: the listening effect does not stop as soon as you remove the headphones. There is evidence that after a 10-minute warm-up to music, your run may perform better overall.

While this research is not very accurate, it still makes sense to use the player during the warm-up to at least cheer yourself up.

conclusions

The main impact of music is primarily related to mood and motivation enhancement. However, there is still room for research in this area and finding the perfect music that will directly affect speed and endurance. Running is growing in popularity every year, and it is hoped that more research will be done to help runners achieve better results. In the meantime, we have the opportunity to run and empirically select the soundtrack, based on our own tastes.