moBeat: Using Interactive Music to Guide and Motivate Users During Aerobic Exercising

Abstract

An increasing number of people are having trouble staying fit and maintaining a healthy bodyweight because of lack of physical activity. Getting people to exercise is crucial. However, many struggle with developing healthy exercising habits, due to hurdles like having to leave the house and the boring character of endurance exercising. In this paper, we report on a design project that explores the use of audio to motivate and provide feedback and guidance during exercising in a home environment. We developed moBeat, a system that provides intensity-based coaching while exercising, giving real-time feedback on training pace and intensity by means of interactive music. We conducted a within-subject comparison between our moBeat system and a commercially available heart rate watch. With moBeat, we achieved a comparable success rate: our system has a significant, positive influence on intrinsic motivation and attentional focus, but we did not see significant differences with regard to either perceived exertion or effectiveness. Although promising, future research is needed.

The Power of Auditory-Motor Synchronization in Sports: Enhancing Running Performance by Coupling Cadence with the Right Beats

“…The potential scope of auditory-motor synchronization as a performance enhancement tool has been demonstrated by the recent development of products that help attune musical content to the actual or desired work rate during running, cycling, rowing, and circuit-class training (e.g., [14], [15], [16], [17]) as well as by recent scientific findings in the context of sports or exercises (i.e., [18], [19], [20], [21]). Specifically, Simpson and Karageorghis demonstrated superior performance (i.e., faster times) of 400 m sprints completed in a synchronous music condition in comparison to a no-music control condition [20].…”

Musical feedback during exercise machine workout enhances mood

“…It probably has an activating effect on the immune system, as evidenced by measuring Salivary Immunoglobulin A (SlgA) during instrument playing or singing, in comparison to passive music listening ( Kuhn, 2002 ; Kreutz et al, 2004 ), and an increase of cortisol levels during choir singing. Furthermore, it could be shown that music can increase perceived movement motivation and experienced mood ( van der Vlist et al, 2011 ).…”

Efecto de la intensidad de la música en el rendimiento durante la realización de ejercicio Ad Libitum en cicloergómetro.

“…Conforme pasan los años, para las personas resulta más tedioso realizar actividad física debido a la falta de motivación intrínseca y extrínseca, por consiguiente, tener un peso corporal saludable es bastante complicado (van der Vlist, Bartneck & Mäueler, 2011). Muchas personas ven el realizar ejercicio aeróbico como un trabajo aburrido y desagradable, por lo tanto, para poder practicar dicha actividad es necesario mantener constantemente una motivación intrínseca.…”