Blogpost 5: Music and its Effects on Exercise

Many I am sure have asked: “How does music affect exercise and the one exercising?” A review of the literature on the subject which looks at this effect at the physiological level, was based on the investigating the evidence-based findings of a certain Dr. Len Kravitz and Nicole Harmon, written on drlenkravitz.com, wherein they found how different types of music affect physical results, such as strength, gait, endurance, performance and motor skill acquisition. In this blog, I will try look at things at a slightly different perspective, reviewing the ergogenic or enhancement of the physical performance and the psychophysical which is a branch of Psychology that studies the effects of physical stimuli and its effects on the sensory level, particularly on music, in an attempt to understand how this may enable the one exercising to achieve better results.

According to International Quarterly of Sport Science, written by the Faculty of Education and Psychology, Institute for Health Promotion and Sport Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary. The fact is that music facilitates exercise performance by reducing the sensation of fatigue, while increasing psychological arousal, promoting relaxation and improving motor coordination and at the same time motivates in exercisers performance. I believe this to be true speaking based on my personal experience. But the more I put into the research aspect of writing this blog the more I realize that there have been some researchers that have made studies on the role that music might play in enabling exercisers to increase their workloads or their times to exhaustion. The standing theory that is out there is that music has an effect of preventing exercisers from focusing on specific physical sensations of fatigue, although some research suggests that this mechanism may be more effective at lower exercise intensities than at higher intensities, where the body’s internal cues of fatigue have a greater influence.

But on a personal note, I believe that music helps me attain a slightly higher exercise workload than without it and I can truly say that the difference was quite significant. Based on the studies suggested that state that music may temporarily distract exercisers according to them is mainly caused by fatigue. I believe on the latter, I believe and this backed up by source that I found online on 3fatchicks.com, states that music in fact fights fatigue caused by workout. In fact, music not only helps fight workout fatigue at the psychological level, but more so the effect of music on the brain which is our body’s main control system affects the body greater physiological way as well. That's why I make sure that when I play or workout, I chose the best and angriest sounds that I have in my playlist, I always get better results with it.