Psychological, psychophysical, and ergogenic effects of music in swimming

Abstract

Highlights We assess the effects of asynchronous music in a swimming time trial. We had two contrasting music conditions and a no-music control. Participants swam significantly faster when exposed to either music condition. Both music conditions led to significantly higher state motivation. Use of asynchronous music had an ergogenic effect in the order of 2%. Music and Swimming 3 AbstractObjectives: Existing work using dry land exercise-related activities has shown that the careful application of music can lead to a range of benefits that include enhanced affect, lower perceived exertion, greater energy efficiency, and faster time trial performances. The purpose of this study was to assess the psychological, psychophysical, and ergogenic effects of asynchronous music in swimming using a mixed-methods approach.Design: A mixed-model design was employed wherein there was a within-subjects factor (two experimental conditions and a control) and a between-subjects factor (gender). The experimental component of the study was supplemented by qualitative data that were analysed using inductive content analysis.Methods: Twenty six participants (M age = 20.0 years, age range: 18-23 years) underwent a period of habituation with Speedo Aquabeat MP3 players prior to the experimental phase.They were then administered two experimental trials (motivational and oudeterous music at 130 bpm) and a no-music control, during which they engaged in a 200-m freestyle swimming time trial.Results: Participants swam significantly faster when exposed to either music condition relative to control (p = .022,  p 2 = .18). Moreover, the music conditions were associated with higher state motivation (p = .016,  p 2 = .16) and more dissociative thoughts (p = .014,  p 2 = .16). Conclusions:Findings supported the hypothesis that the use of asynchronous music during a high-intensity task can have an ergogenic effect; this was in the order of 2% when averaged out across the two experimental conditions. The use of music, regardless of its motivational qualities, resulted in higher self-reported motivation as well as more dissociative thoughts. behavior. Psychophysical effects concern the reduction of perceptions of physical effort, which, in the music-related literature, are most often assessed using ratings of perceived exertion (RPE). Ergogenic effects relate to the use of music to improve physical performance by either delaying fatigue or increasing work capacity; this results in higher-than-expected levels of endurance, power, productivity, or strength (see Terry & Karageorghis, 2011).Extant work has shown that music use is not effective for some people under certain circumstances (e.g., while learning new skills) and might even be contraindicated in some instances (e.g., when it might distract users from safety-relevant information, such as on public roads; see Karageorghis & Priest, 2012a, 2012b for a review). Also, a "vitamin model" wherein a particular piece of music can be prescribed to engender certain perceptual, cognitive, or emotion...

Moderating Influence of Dominant Attentional Style and Exercise Intensity on Responses to Asynchronous Music

“…Motivational music, that is music with a fast tempo (> 120 beats per minute [bpm]) and strong rhythmic qualities that stimulates or inspires physical activity (Karageorghis, Terry, & Lane, 1999), has been shown to improve exercise-induced feeling states when compared to oudeterous (motivationally "neutral"; see Karageorghis et al, 1999) music and no-music control conditions (Karageorghis et al, 2009(Karageorghis et al, , 2013. Analogous findings were reported by Terry, Karageorghis, Mecozzi Saha, and D'Auria (2012) who compared affective valence scores across four exercise intensities (76%, 82%, 87%, and 99% VO 2 peak) and reported more positive affect in response to the motivational music condition compared to the oudeterous music and control conditions; a difference that was most pronounced at the highest exercise intensity.…”

Physical Activity in the Water Accompanied by Music

“…Currently, athletes listen to music during athletic, rowing or cycling training [30,31,29]. Due to the development of waterproof MP3 players it is possible to benefit from listening to music also while swimming [20].…”

“…However, its properties have begun to be appreciated in many other domains of life: especially physical activity. Due to advances in technology, music is able to be successfully implemented into sport and physical recreation [19,20].…”

Refining Music Tempo for an Ergogenic Effect on Stationary Cycling Exercise

“…Durante as seguintes visitas ao laboratório, os participantes mantiveram uma cadência de sua preferência e uma resistência constante (70% da carga máxima) dentro de uma sala de clima controlado (28.6±0.5°C e 65±3%HR) por 30 minutos em três dias diferentes, sem música (NM), com música de ritmo moderado (MT-120bpm) ou música de ritmo rápido Music, the art of combining sounds in harmony to elicit an aesthetic experience in listeners, is also a motivational stimulus for the human body (Harmon & Kravitz, 2007;Yanguas, 2006). According to several studies, this stimulus facilitates exercise, reducing fatigue, increasing intensity and improving efficiency while increasing emotional excitement, promoting relaxation, and improving coordination (Aragón-Vargas & Marín-Hernández, 2002;Elliott, Carr & Orme, 2005;Karageorghis et al, 2013;Szabo, Small & Leigth, 1999).…”