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Applying Music in Exercise and Sport
264 Pages
Music has been intertwined with exercise and sport for many decades, and recent advancements in digital technology and personal listening devices have significantly strengthened that bond. Applying Music in Exercise and Sport combines contemporary research, evidence-based practice, and specific recommendations to help exercise and sport professionals, coaches, students, researchers, and enthusiasts use music to enhance enjoyment, motivation, and performance of physical activity. Readers will explore the psychological and physiological effects of music and learn how to apply scientific principles to personal workouts, group exercise classes, and both individual and team sport settings.
Globally known authority and author Costas I. Karageorghis draws from contemporary research in an emerging field of academic study, exploring the application of music in the domain of exercise and sport. Respected psychologist and consultant for major organizations such as British Athletics, England Rugby, Nike, Red Bull, Spotify, IMG, Sony, and Universal Music, Karageorghis incorporates his unique experiences as a performer, researcher, and practitioner in music and sport to create a groundbreaking text that provides readers with an understanding of how music can play an important role in enhancing the experience of exercisers and athletes.
Though Applying Music in Exercise and Sport is grounded in scientific research, content is presented in a way that is easy to comprehend and apply. Readers benefit from tools such as these:
• Recommended playlists for a variety of exercise- and sport-specific settings that provide a guide to selecting and segueing music tracks
• Tip boxes that help readers determine which track to play to promote or suppress certain emotions
• Case studies that illustrate the process of identifying a goal, selecting an appropriate music program, and evaluating outcomes
Applying Music in Exercise and Sport presents an interdisciplinary approach to selecting, integrating, and studying music in physical activity settings. Part I introduces the science of how music can help in exercise and sport and how it can be used to influence specific behaviors and emotions. Legal considerations regarding the use of music in exercise and sport environments are also covered. A range of assessment methods are provided for exercise and sport professionals that will enable them to select music and measure its effectiveness when used in individual, group, or team settings.
Part II focuses on using music to enhance the exercise experience in both individual and group settings. Individual exercise types that are examined include flexibility, aerobic, and strength workouts, while group exercise activities include popular fitness classes such as Spinning, yoga, and circuit training. Part III focuses on how music can enhance sport training and performance, providing rich insight for coaches and competitive athletes participating in individual sports such as cycling, golf, gymnastics, martial arts, and tennis and in team sports such as basketball, soccer, baseball, and American football.
Applying Music in Exercise and Sport facilitates creation of effective playlists, empowers music-related interventions, and enables assessment of the effects of music in the field. Collectively, these music-related skills promote purposeful selection of tracks, optimize psychological responses, and enhance performance.
Part I: How and Why Music Can Help Us in Exercise and Sport
Chapter 1. Music in Exercise and Sport
Music and Human Societies Through the Ages
The Music and Exercise Revolution
Music and the Olympic Games
What Is Music?
Music Use in Exercise and Sport
Main Effects of Music
How Music Is Used
Music Use and the Law
Summary
Chapter 2. The Science Behind the Music–Performance Connection
Why Certain Tunes Resonate With Us
Factors Influencing Responses to Music: A New Theoretical Model
Summary
Chapter 3. Assessing Music and Measuring Its Effects
Using Psychometrics in the Field
Selecting Music for Exercise and Sport
Assessing the Effects of Music During a Task
Assessing the Effects of Music After a Task
Summary
Summary Points for Part I
Part II: Using Music to Enhance Exercise and Workouts
Chapter 4. Using Music to Enhance Exercise and Workouts
Pre-Workout Preparation
Strength-Based Workouts
Cardiorespiratory Workouts
Using Music in Personal Training
Cool-Down
Summary
Chapter 5. Group Exercise and Workouts
Classes With Choreographed Movements
Classes and Group Activities With Asynchronous Music
Summary
Chapter 6. Case Studies and Playlists
Case Study 1: Mom of Three Sophie Who Wants to Rekindle the Exercise Habit
Case Study 2: Ambitious Exercise-to-Music Instructor Marino Supercharges His Classes
Summary Points for Part II
Part III: Using Music to Enhance Sport Training and Performance
Chapter 7. Individual Sport Training and Performance
Serve-and-Return Sports
Endurance-Based Sports
Subjectively Scored Sports With an Artistic Component
Power-Based Sports and Events
Ice Track Sports
Combat Sports
Aerial and Water-Based Sports
Motorsports
Aiming and Shooting Sports
Summary
Chapter 8. Team Sport Training and Performance
Serve-and-Return Sports
Paddle Sports
High-Contact Field Sports
Subjectively Scored Team Sports
Bat-and-Ball Team Sports
Court-Based Ball Games
Aiming Sports
Interactive Team Sports
Team Sailing
Miscellaneous Category
Summary
Chapter 9. Case Studies and Playlists
Case Study 1: Frieda’s Run for Freedom
Case Study 2: Coach Anderson Seeks New “Sound System”
Summary Points for Part III
What Do You Now Know About Music in Exercise and Sport?
Answers to Quizzes
Costas I. Karageorghis, PhD, CPsychol, CSci, FBASES, AFBPsS, is a reader in sport psychology in the department of life sciences at Brunel University London, UK. He is internationally renowned for his research on the effects of music in the realm of exercise and sport. Karageorghis is a chartered member of the British Psychological Society, a chartered member of the Science Council, and a double-accredited member of the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences, which elected him a fellow in 2010.
Karageorghis is coauthor of the popular text Inside Sport Psychology (2011), which has been translated into three languages. He has also published 10 book chapters, 75 peer-reviewed journal articles, and 100 professional papers in sport and exercise psychology. His music-related research has been featured in media outlets such as the Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Sydney Morning Herald, ESPN The Magazine, and National Geographic. He has presented his research at conferences throughout the world, serving eight times as a keynote speaker. Karageorghis has worked with numerous international athletes and sport organizations as well as international corporations such as Nike, Spotify, International Management Group, Red Bull, Speedo, and Sony.
From 2007 to 2011, Karageorghis served as head coach of the Great Britain Students track and field team. He has also managed and coached the Brunel University London track and field team since the early 1990s, leading it to seven British Universities championships.
Find the motivation for routine physical activity
To overcome the almost overwhelming array of potentially negative external forces that inhibit progress toward their goals, people require tight routines, considerable self-discipline, and regular social support. Music can play a critical role by forming part of a routine and creating a mind-set associated with exercise and physical activity.
Music as a Prime
To overcome the almost overwhelming array of potentially negative external forces that inhibit progress toward their goals, people require tight routines, considerable self-discipline, and regular social support. Music can play a critical role by forming part of a routine and creating a mind-set associated with exercise and physical activity. Research shows that music can have a priming effect, meaning that it can activate the mind automatically (i.e., without conscious effort) and increase the motivation to exercise and take part in physical activity (e.g., Goerlich et al., 2012; Loizou & Karageorghis, 2015; Loizou, Karageorghis, & Bishop, 2014). Music can help elevate us; it can be a bridge to our higher purposes and goals.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, priming is a psychological technique popularized and refined by people in marketing. Back in the mid-1950s, market researcher James Vicary contrived an intriguing experiment in which the phrases Drink Coca-Cola and Eat popcorn were flashed on movie screens for just 0.03 seconds during the first half of movies (Vicary, 1957, cited in Radford, 2007). The viewers were not consciously aware of these visual primes (they appeared for too short a time to be registered), but they apparently led to an 18 percent increase in sales of Coca-Cola, and a whopping 58 percent increase in sales of popcorn during the interval.
Considerable controversy surrounded Vicary's claims and persists to the present day, but U.S. government legislators were quick to prevent companies from using such techniques to promote the purchase of consumer products. Despite the ban, similar techniques - now applied with a staggering degree of sophistication - are used routinely by advertisers. Apparently, the priming police have no teeth!
Research has demonstrated that people are largely unaware of the processes underlying their perceptions, pursuits, and behaviors (Levesque & Pelletier, 2003). Given that such processes play a pivotal role in health-related behaviors, taking some control over them through the measured application of pre-exercise music can create a pattern of thoughts and feelings that lead to the initiation of exercise-related behaviors. Music activates the emotional and movement-related segments of the brain such as the amygdala, temporal lobe, and cerebellum (see figure 2.2 in chapter 2) and can therefore greatly facilitate the mental preparation for exercise.
Scientists maintain that music has a particularly strong influence on the brain's unconscious processes (e.g., Levitin & Tirovolas, 2009; Scherer & Zentner, 2001). As noted in chapter 2, studies investigating high-intensity exercise have shown that well-selected music can enhance how people generally feel (affect), although it has little influence on their perceived exertion (RPE; Hutchinson & Karageorghis, 2013; Karageorghis et al. 2009). To a degree, such findings support the notion that the brain processes music at a subcortical, or automatic, level without conscious effort. It is precisely this apparent lack of a need for conscious processing that can make music an ideal form of prime for people who want to create an exercise habit. We do not have to think very much for music to influence our behaviors or feelings.
As discussed in chapter 2, both stimulative and calming music can prepare people mentally for exercise. Stimulating music can promote the entrainment of brain waves, the heartbeat, and the breathing rate, whereas calming music with strong extramusical associations can conjure the right type of mental imagery or thought processes (e.g., heroic images, thoughts of overcoming adversity, motion-related thoughts). Table 4.1 lists examples of musical works that function particularly well as preparatory tracks for physical activity programs. The tracks are arranged in three categories: those that are intrinsically stimulating (i.e., upbeat and energetic), those that are relatively slow in tempo but have strong extramusical associations, and those that both are stimulating and have strong extramusical associations.
Situations and circumstances will determine which category in table 4.1 you might wish to dip into for a pre-exercise track (consider also the theoretical model in figure 2.8). The first category, intrinsically stimulating, works particularly well for diverse groups of exercisers who do not necessarily have common cultural reference points (e.g., a physiotherapy rehabilitation class with a mix of age groups and ethnicities).
The second category, slow tempo with strong extramusical associations, would serve individuals or small groups of exercisers with common cultural reference points (e.g., they enjoy similar movies, have similar musical tastes, frequent the same social venues). The key consideration is that the exerciser(s) do not require a great deal of bodily activation but more mental stimulation, perhaps as a precursor to engaging in a stretching, yoga, or Pilates session. Older people and introverts tend not to like highly stimulative music; therefore, the second category might be ideal for them. This is a general rule that certainly does not hold in all instances; if you happen to be working with a 74-year-old grandma who's into Led Zeppelin played at high amplitude, you'd better pander to her tastes!
The third category is for individuals or groups with common cultural points of reference who are about to engage in vigorous and demanding physical activity (e.g., a high-intensity run or a step class). Here the goal is to activate or stimulate both the mind and body to a high degree. Younger and more extroverted exercisers tend to report a preference for more stimulative music as well. You might wonder why there is no fourth category of slow-tempo music without extramusical associations (i.e., sedative music). Well, we know from research, and to a certain degree common sense, that such a category has no meaningful role to play in preparing people for exercise (Karageorghis & Priest, 2012a). It can, however, play a role in preparing people for sport (see chapter 7).
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Learn more about Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
The role of music in circuit training: Includes a sample playlist
Circuit training has grown considerably in popularity recently because it is an intense workout that can deliver relatively fast results in anaerobic endurance, muscle tone, and cardiorespiratory fitness.
Circuit Training
Circuit training has grown considerably in popularity recently because it is an intense workout that can deliver relatively fast results in anaerobic endurance, muscle tone, and cardiorespiratory fitness. As the name circuit suggests, exercises and activities are organized in a circular formation; people exercise at each station for a set period (e.g., 25 seconds) before recovering for a set period (e.g., 20 seconds) and moving to the next station during the recovery. Once all of the stations have been completed (i.e., the circuit is completed), there is a longer period of recovery (normally two to five minutes). A typical workout consists of three or four circuits of 15 to 20 stations.
Circuit training is a hybrid fitness activity that includes muscular endurance, strength, mobility, plyometric, and speed components. Some instructors include coordination activities (e.g., skipping drills over plastic hurdles) to encourage participants to think while under physical stress. Given the repetitive and almost regimented nature of a circuit, people generally love to have music playing in the background. Even highly-trained participants express a preference for music. The activity is usually performed to asynchronous music, although lab-based research showed that coordinating circuit exercises with music in a synchronous manner particularly benefitted women in terms of the number of repetitions completed and how positive they felt (see figure 5.1 for performance data) (Karageorghis et al., 2010).
Gender differences in circuit training performance accompanied by synchronous music (motivational and oudeterous) and a metronome control.
Adapted from Psychology of Sport and Exercise 11(6), C.I. Karageorghis, D.L. Priest, L.S. Williams, R.M. Hirani, K.M. Lannon, and B.J. Bates, "Ergogenic and psychological effects of synchronous music during circuit-type exercise," 551-559, 2010, with permission from Elsevier.
Interestingly, the men in this research appeared to derive no performance benefit from synchronous music when the two music conditions (motivational and oudeterous) were compared to a bleeping metronome that served as a control. In explaining their findings, the authors reflected on the experiences males and females have with music during their formative years. They explained that girls are more likely to engage in movement to music-based activities and demonstrate a greater desire to engage in dance-related activity (Karageorghis et al., 2010). The findings also showed that women were, on the whole, more adept than their male counterparts at keeping in sync with the musical beat. Despite the potential benefits for women that this study demonstrates, the mix of activities in a real-life circuit and their physical demands means that the use of asynchronous music generally works best.
There are opportunities for synchronization during parts of a circuit, but this is often done on an ad hoc basis. For example, if an exerciser is performing bench dips, the background music is playing at 140 bpm, and her dipping rate is 35 reps per minute, she can either flex or extend the elbow joint with each two beats of music in 4/4 time to sync with it. There are musical ways to boost a circuits class. First, the music should be motivational and uplifting (see chapter 2 and the discussion of the BMRI-3 in chapter 3) and in a tempo range of 120 to 145 bpm. Second, the lower end of that tempo range should be used for the first circuit and gradually be built up toward the top end of the range for the final circuit, when the class needs the most stimulation. Taking this principle a step further, music may not be used at all for the first circuit and introduced in the second circuit. Third, a soundtrack for a circuits class can punctuate work and recovery periods. This can be done by having periods of silence for the recovery periods to signal when people need to stop and move to the next station, or by including bleeps on the soundtrack - perhaps a high-pitched bleep to start and a low-pitched bleep to stop.
As an unassuming undergraduate, my first scientific research into the effects of music on human performance entailed examining how stimulative and sedative music programs influenced the number of repetitions performed. The stimulative music produced superior performance levels when compared to sedative music and a no-music control (Karageorghis, 1991).Since that time, I have used music for a Monday night circuits class at my university. During the last 25 years, I have compiled many playlists (at least one a term) and have often asked participants for selections that I subsequently incorporate. For table 5.6, I have trawled through these playlists from the last quarter century to produce my all-time circuits playlist. Each mini-set (i.e., tracks for a single circuit) uses music from a distinct musical era to give the playlist greater coherence.
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Discover the role music plays in Zumba, spinning, yoga, and more in Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
Olympic athlete soothes performance anxiety with music
Music is used in three main ways within sport and exercise: synchronous, asynchronous, and pre-task. The synchronous application of music is typified by the use of the rhythmic, or temporal, aspects of music as a type of metronome that regulates movement patterns.
How Music Is Used
Music is used in three main ways within sport and exercise: synchronous, asynchronous, and pre-task. The synchronous application of music is typified by the use of the rhythmic, or temporal, aspects of music as a type of metronome that regulates movement patterns. For example, in synchronized swimming, the athletes strive to keep their aquatic dance routines in perfect time with the accompanying music. As discussed in chapter 6, this approach can yield a particularly strong ergogenic effect when used to regulate endurance-type activities such as walking and cycling, thereby increasing their efficiency. As the term implies, the asynchronous use of music entails the absence of conscious synchronization. Music can also be used pre-task to arouse, relax, or regulate the mood of an individual or a team or exercise group prior to a competition or activity. Generally, fast, loud music has a stimulative effect, so it can be used as part of a psych-up routine; soft, slow music has a sedative effect, which means that it can be used as a sedative or relaxant. Most coaches believe that the role of music is always to arouse the athlete; however, given how extremely activated athletes can feel before competition, the ability of a well-selected piece to calm and deactivate the athlete is often discounted.
A good example of an athlete using music to psych down involves my former student, Audley Harrison, MBE. In 1998 he brazenly told fellow students that he was going to become the Olympic super-heavyweight boxing champion at the upcoming Sydney Games. However, when he got to the qualifying rounds and began to progress, nervousness set in. Years later he told me:
Nothing had prepared me for the pressure cooker that was the Olympic Games - not even winning the Commonwealth title two years earlier in Kuala Lumpur. I really felt the weight of public expectation back home as well as the expectation of my family and support team. I needed something to calm me down and put me in the right frame of mind to give the performance of my life.
To soothe his anxiety, he listened to Japanese classical music.
Read more in Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
Music for swimmers
Over the last decade, advances in underwater MP3 technology have led to the popularization of music use in swimming. This sport demands a regular motor pattern and highly rhythmic limb movements and breathing patterns.
Over the last decade, advances in underwater MP3 technology have led to the popularization of music use in swimming. This sport demands a regular motor pattern and highly rhythmic limb movements and breathing patterns. Rhythmic music can help swimmers set a good rhythm while also distracting them from the monotony of grinding out repetitive lengths in the pool. In partnership with Speedo, my group sought to measure the psychological and ergogenic (work-enhancing) effects of music in an all-out 200-meter freestyle task (Karageorghis et al., 2013). We found that both motivational ("Sexy And I Know It" by LMFAO) and oudeterous ("Howl" by Florence and the Machine) tracks enhanced swimmers' perceptions of state motivation and time trial performance when compared to a no-music control (see figure 7.2). This suggests that, during all-out efforts, athletes may tune in only to the rhythmic qualities of music (Terry et al., 2012). Athletes in all rhythmic endurance sports (e.g., cross-country skiing, rowing, running) can benefit from music, and a strong body of scientific evidence (for reviews, see Karageorghis, 2016; Karageorghis & Priest, 2012a, 2012b) has inspired new types of sporting events (see the sidebar The Run to the Beat Phenomenon).
Time trial performance and state motivation during a 200-meter freestyle task.
Adapted from Psychology of Sport and Exercise 14(4), C.I. Karageorghis, J.C. Hutchinson, L. Jones, H.L. Farmer, M.S. Ayhan, R.C. Wilson, J. Rance, C.J. Hepworth, and S.G. Bailey, "Psychological, psychophysical, and ergogenic effects of music in swimming," 560-568, 2013, with permission from Elsevier.
Save
Save
Find more recommended playlists for a variety of exercise- and sport-specific settings in Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
Find the motivation for routine physical activity
To overcome the almost overwhelming array of potentially negative external forces that inhibit progress toward their goals, people require tight routines, considerable self-discipline, and regular social support. Music can play a critical role by forming part of a routine and creating a mind-set associated with exercise and physical activity.
Music as a Prime
To overcome the almost overwhelming array of potentially negative external forces that inhibit progress toward their goals, people require tight routines, considerable self-discipline, and regular social support. Music can play a critical role by forming part of a routine and creating a mind-set associated with exercise and physical activity. Research shows that music can have a priming effect, meaning that it can activate the mind automatically (i.e., without conscious effort) and increase the motivation to exercise and take part in physical activity (e.g., Goerlich et al., 2012; Loizou & Karageorghis, 2015; Loizou, Karageorghis, & Bishop, 2014). Music can help elevate us; it can be a bridge to our higher purposes and goals.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, priming is a psychological technique popularized and refined by people in marketing. Back in the mid-1950s, market researcher James Vicary contrived an intriguing experiment in which the phrases Drink Coca-Cola and Eat popcorn were flashed on movie screens for just 0.03 seconds during the first half of movies (Vicary, 1957, cited in Radford, 2007). The viewers were not consciously aware of these visual primes (they appeared for too short a time to be registered), but they apparently led to an 18 percent increase in sales of Coca-Cola, and a whopping 58 percent increase in sales of popcorn during the interval.
Considerable controversy surrounded Vicary's claims and persists to the present day, but U.S. government legislators were quick to prevent companies from using such techniques to promote the purchase of consumer products. Despite the ban, similar techniques - now applied with a staggering degree of sophistication - are used routinely by advertisers. Apparently, the priming police have no teeth!
Research has demonstrated that people are largely unaware of the processes underlying their perceptions, pursuits, and behaviors (Levesque & Pelletier, 2003). Given that such processes play a pivotal role in health-related behaviors, taking some control over them through the measured application of pre-exercise music can create a pattern of thoughts and feelings that lead to the initiation of exercise-related behaviors. Music activates the emotional and movement-related segments of the brain such as the amygdala, temporal lobe, and cerebellum (see figure 2.2 in chapter 2) and can therefore greatly facilitate the mental preparation for exercise.
Scientists maintain that music has a particularly strong influence on the brain's unconscious processes (e.g., Levitin & Tirovolas, 2009; Scherer & Zentner, 2001). As noted in chapter 2, studies investigating high-intensity exercise have shown that well-selected music can enhance how people generally feel (affect), although it has little influence on their perceived exertion (RPE; Hutchinson & Karageorghis, 2013; Karageorghis et al. 2009). To a degree, such findings support the notion that the brain processes music at a subcortical, or automatic, level without conscious effort. It is precisely this apparent lack of a need for conscious processing that can make music an ideal form of prime for people who want to create an exercise habit. We do not have to think very much for music to influence our behaviors or feelings.
As discussed in chapter 2, both stimulative and calming music can prepare people mentally for exercise. Stimulating music can promote the entrainment of brain waves, the heartbeat, and the breathing rate, whereas calming music with strong extramusical associations can conjure the right type of mental imagery or thought processes (e.g., heroic images, thoughts of overcoming adversity, motion-related thoughts). Table 4.1 lists examples of musical works that function particularly well as preparatory tracks for physical activity programs. The tracks are arranged in three categories: those that are intrinsically stimulating (i.e., upbeat and energetic), those that are relatively slow in tempo but have strong extramusical associations, and those that both are stimulating and have strong extramusical associations.
Situations and circumstances will determine which category in table 4.1 you might wish to dip into for a pre-exercise track (consider also the theoretical model in figure 2.8). The first category, intrinsically stimulating, works particularly well for diverse groups of exercisers who do not necessarily have common cultural reference points (e.g., a physiotherapy rehabilitation class with a mix of age groups and ethnicities).
The second category, slow tempo with strong extramusical associations, would serve individuals or small groups of exercisers with common cultural reference points (e.g., they enjoy similar movies, have similar musical tastes, frequent the same social venues). The key consideration is that the exerciser(s) do not require a great deal of bodily activation but more mental stimulation, perhaps as a precursor to engaging in a stretching, yoga, or Pilates session. Older people and introverts tend not to like highly stimulative music; therefore, the second category might be ideal for them. This is a general rule that certainly does not hold in all instances; if you happen to be working with a 74-year-old grandma who's into Led Zeppelin played at high amplitude, you'd better pander to her tastes!
The third category is for individuals or groups with common cultural points of reference who are about to engage in vigorous and demanding physical activity (e.g., a high-intensity run or a step class). Here the goal is to activate or stimulate both the mind and body to a high degree. Younger and more extroverted exercisers tend to report a preference for more stimulative music as well. You might wonder why there is no fourth category of slow-tempo music without extramusical associations (i.e., sedative music). Well, we know from research, and to a certain degree common sense, that such a category has no meaningful role to play in preparing people for exercise (Karageorghis & Priest, 2012a). It can, however, play a role in preparing people for sport (see chapter 7).
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Learn more about Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
The role of music in circuit training: Includes a sample playlist
Circuit training has grown considerably in popularity recently because it is an intense workout that can deliver relatively fast results in anaerobic endurance, muscle tone, and cardiorespiratory fitness.
Circuit Training
Circuit training has grown considerably in popularity recently because it is an intense workout that can deliver relatively fast results in anaerobic endurance, muscle tone, and cardiorespiratory fitness. As the name circuit suggests, exercises and activities are organized in a circular formation; people exercise at each station for a set period (e.g., 25 seconds) before recovering for a set period (e.g., 20 seconds) and moving to the next station during the recovery. Once all of the stations have been completed (i.e., the circuit is completed), there is a longer period of recovery (normally two to five minutes). A typical workout consists of three or four circuits of 15 to 20 stations.
Circuit training is a hybrid fitness activity that includes muscular endurance, strength, mobility, plyometric, and speed components. Some instructors include coordination activities (e.g., skipping drills over plastic hurdles) to encourage participants to think while under physical stress. Given the repetitive and almost regimented nature of a circuit, people generally love to have music playing in the background. Even highly-trained participants express a preference for music. The activity is usually performed to asynchronous music, although lab-based research showed that coordinating circuit exercises with music in a synchronous manner particularly benefitted women in terms of the number of repetitions completed and how positive they felt (see figure 5.1 for performance data) (Karageorghis et al., 2010).
Gender differences in circuit training performance accompanied by synchronous music (motivational and oudeterous) and a metronome control.
Adapted from Psychology of Sport and Exercise 11(6), C.I. Karageorghis, D.L. Priest, L.S. Williams, R.M. Hirani, K.M. Lannon, and B.J. Bates, "Ergogenic and psychological effects of synchronous music during circuit-type exercise," 551-559, 2010, with permission from Elsevier.
Interestingly, the men in this research appeared to derive no performance benefit from synchronous music when the two music conditions (motivational and oudeterous) were compared to a bleeping metronome that served as a control. In explaining their findings, the authors reflected on the experiences males and females have with music during their formative years. They explained that girls are more likely to engage in movement to music-based activities and demonstrate a greater desire to engage in dance-related activity (Karageorghis et al., 2010). The findings also showed that women were, on the whole, more adept than their male counterparts at keeping in sync with the musical beat. Despite the potential benefits for women that this study demonstrates, the mix of activities in a real-life circuit and their physical demands means that the use of asynchronous music generally works best.
There are opportunities for synchronization during parts of a circuit, but this is often done on an ad hoc basis. For example, if an exerciser is performing bench dips, the background music is playing at 140 bpm, and her dipping rate is 35 reps per minute, she can either flex or extend the elbow joint with each two beats of music in 4/4 time to sync with it. There are musical ways to boost a circuits class. First, the music should be motivational and uplifting (see chapter 2 and the discussion of the BMRI-3 in chapter 3) and in a tempo range of 120 to 145 bpm. Second, the lower end of that tempo range should be used for the first circuit and gradually be built up toward the top end of the range for the final circuit, when the class needs the most stimulation. Taking this principle a step further, music may not be used at all for the first circuit and introduced in the second circuit. Third, a soundtrack for a circuits class can punctuate work and recovery periods. This can be done by having periods of silence for the recovery periods to signal when people need to stop and move to the next station, or by including bleeps on the soundtrack - perhaps a high-pitched bleep to start and a low-pitched bleep to stop.
As an unassuming undergraduate, my first scientific research into the effects of music on human performance entailed examining how stimulative and sedative music programs influenced the number of repetitions performed. The stimulative music produced superior performance levels when compared to sedative music and a no-music control (Karageorghis, 1991).Since that time, I have used music for a Monday night circuits class at my university. During the last 25 years, I have compiled many playlists (at least one a term) and have often asked participants for selections that I subsequently incorporate. For table 5.6, I have trawled through these playlists from the last quarter century to produce my all-time circuits playlist. Each mini-set (i.e., tracks for a single circuit) uses music from a distinct musical era to give the playlist greater coherence.
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Discover the role music plays in Zumba, spinning, yoga, and more in Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
Olympic athlete soothes performance anxiety with music
Music is used in three main ways within sport and exercise: synchronous, asynchronous, and pre-task. The synchronous application of music is typified by the use of the rhythmic, or temporal, aspects of music as a type of metronome that regulates movement patterns.
How Music Is Used
Music is used in three main ways within sport and exercise: synchronous, asynchronous, and pre-task. The synchronous application of music is typified by the use of the rhythmic, or temporal, aspects of music as a type of metronome that regulates movement patterns. For example, in synchronized swimming, the athletes strive to keep their aquatic dance routines in perfect time with the accompanying music. As discussed in chapter 6, this approach can yield a particularly strong ergogenic effect when used to regulate endurance-type activities such as walking and cycling, thereby increasing their efficiency. As the term implies, the asynchronous use of music entails the absence of conscious synchronization. Music can also be used pre-task to arouse, relax, or regulate the mood of an individual or a team or exercise group prior to a competition or activity. Generally, fast, loud music has a stimulative effect, so it can be used as part of a psych-up routine; soft, slow music has a sedative effect, which means that it can be used as a sedative or relaxant. Most coaches believe that the role of music is always to arouse the athlete; however, given how extremely activated athletes can feel before competition, the ability of a well-selected piece to calm and deactivate the athlete is often discounted.
A good example of an athlete using music to psych down involves my former student, Audley Harrison, MBE. In 1998 he brazenly told fellow students that he was going to become the Olympic super-heavyweight boxing champion at the upcoming Sydney Games. However, when he got to the qualifying rounds and began to progress, nervousness set in. Years later he told me:
Nothing had prepared me for the pressure cooker that was the Olympic Games - not even winning the Commonwealth title two years earlier in Kuala Lumpur. I really felt the weight of public expectation back home as well as the expectation of my family and support team. I needed something to calm me down and put me in the right frame of mind to give the performance of my life.
To soothe his anxiety, he listened to Japanese classical music.
Read more in Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
Music for swimmers
Over the last decade, advances in underwater MP3 technology have led to the popularization of music use in swimming. This sport demands a regular motor pattern and highly rhythmic limb movements and breathing patterns.
Over the last decade, advances in underwater MP3 technology have led to the popularization of music use in swimming. This sport demands a regular motor pattern and highly rhythmic limb movements and breathing patterns. Rhythmic music can help swimmers set a good rhythm while also distracting them from the monotony of grinding out repetitive lengths in the pool. In partnership with Speedo, my group sought to measure the psychological and ergogenic (work-enhancing) effects of music in an all-out 200-meter freestyle task (Karageorghis et al., 2013). We found that both motivational ("Sexy And I Know It" by LMFAO) and oudeterous ("Howl" by Florence and the Machine) tracks enhanced swimmers' perceptions of state motivation and time trial performance when compared to a no-music control (see figure 7.2). This suggests that, during all-out efforts, athletes may tune in only to the rhythmic qualities of music (Terry et al., 2012). Athletes in all rhythmic endurance sports (e.g., cross-country skiing, rowing, running) can benefit from music, and a strong body of scientific evidence (for reviews, see Karageorghis, 2016; Karageorghis & Priest, 2012a, 2012b) has inspired new types of sporting events (see the sidebar The Run to the Beat Phenomenon).
Time trial performance and state motivation during a 200-meter freestyle task.
Adapted from Psychology of Sport and Exercise 14(4), C.I. Karageorghis, J.C. Hutchinson, L. Jones, H.L. Farmer, M.S. Ayhan, R.C. Wilson, J. Rance, C.J. Hepworth, and S.G. Bailey, "Psychological, psychophysical, and ergogenic effects of music in swimming," 560-568, 2013, with permission from Elsevier.
Save
Save
Find more recommended playlists for a variety of exercise- and sport-specific settings in Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
Find the motivation for routine physical activity
To overcome the almost overwhelming array of potentially negative external forces that inhibit progress toward their goals, people require tight routines, considerable self-discipline, and regular social support. Music can play a critical role by forming part of a routine and creating a mind-set associated with exercise and physical activity.
Music as a Prime
To overcome the almost overwhelming array of potentially negative external forces that inhibit progress toward their goals, people require tight routines, considerable self-discipline, and regular social support. Music can play a critical role by forming part of a routine and creating a mind-set associated with exercise and physical activity. Research shows that music can have a priming effect, meaning that it can activate the mind automatically (i.e., without conscious effort) and increase the motivation to exercise and take part in physical activity (e.g., Goerlich et al., 2012; Loizou & Karageorghis, 2015; Loizou, Karageorghis, & Bishop, 2014). Music can help elevate us; it can be a bridge to our higher purposes and goals.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, priming is a psychological technique popularized and refined by people in marketing. Back in the mid-1950s, market researcher James Vicary contrived an intriguing experiment in which the phrases Drink Coca-Cola and Eat popcorn were flashed on movie screens for just 0.03 seconds during the first half of movies (Vicary, 1957, cited in Radford, 2007). The viewers were not consciously aware of these visual primes (they appeared for too short a time to be registered), but they apparently led to an 18 percent increase in sales of Coca-Cola, and a whopping 58 percent increase in sales of popcorn during the interval.
Considerable controversy surrounded Vicary's claims and persists to the present day, but U.S. government legislators were quick to prevent companies from using such techniques to promote the purchase of consumer products. Despite the ban, similar techniques - now applied with a staggering degree of sophistication - are used routinely by advertisers. Apparently, the priming police have no teeth!
Research has demonstrated that people are largely unaware of the processes underlying their perceptions, pursuits, and behaviors (Levesque & Pelletier, 2003). Given that such processes play a pivotal role in health-related behaviors, taking some control over them through the measured application of pre-exercise music can create a pattern of thoughts and feelings that lead to the initiation of exercise-related behaviors. Music activates the emotional and movement-related segments of the brain such as the amygdala, temporal lobe, and cerebellum (see figure 2.2 in chapter 2) and can therefore greatly facilitate the mental preparation for exercise.
Scientists maintain that music has a particularly strong influence on the brain's unconscious processes (e.g., Levitin & Tirovolas, 2009; Scherer & Zentner, 2001). As noted in chapter 2, studies investigating high-intensity exercise have shown that well-selected music can enhance how people generally feel (affect), although it has little influence on their perceived exertion (RPE; Hutchinson & Karageorghis, 2013; Karageorghis et al. 2009). To a degree, such findings support the notion that the brain processes music at a subcortical, or automatic, level without conscious effort. It is precisely this apparent lack of a need for conscious processing that can make music an ideal form of prime for people who want to create an exercise habit. We do not have to think very much for music to influence our behaviors or feelings.
As discussed in chapter 2, both stimulative and calming music can prepare people mentally for exercise. Stimulating music can promote the entrainment of brain waves, the heartbeat, and the breathing rate, whereas calming music with strong extramusical associations can conjure the right type of mental imagery or thought processes (e.g., heroic images, thoughts of overcoming adversity, motion-related thoughts). Table 4.1 lists examples of musical works that function particularly well as preparatory tracks for physical activity programs. The tracks are arranged in three categories: those that are intrinsically stimulating (i.e., upbeat and energetic), those that are relatively slow in tempo but have strong extramusical associations, and those that both are stimulating and have strong extramusical associations.
Situations and circumstances will determine which category in table 4.1 you might wish to dip into for a pre-exercise track (consider also the theoretical model in figure 2.8). The first category, intrinsically stimulating, works particularly well for diverse groups of exercisers who do not necessarily have common cultural reference points (e.g., a physiotherapy rehabilitation class with a mix of age groups and ethnicities).
The second category, slow tempo with strong extramusical associations, would serve individuals or small groups of exercisers with common cultural reference points (e.g., they enjoy similar movies, have similar musical tastes, frequent the same social venues). The key consideration is that the exerciser(s) do not require a great deal of bodily activation but more mental stimulation, perhaps as a precursor to engaging in a stretching, yoga, or Pilates session. Older people and introverts tend not to like highly stimulative music; therefore, the second category might be ideal for them. This is a general rule that certainly does not hold in all instances; if you happen to be working with a 74-year-old grandma who's into Led Zeppelin played at high amplitude, you'd better pander to her tastes!
The third category is for individuals or groups with common cultural points of reference who are about to engage in vigorous and demanding physical activity (e.g., a high-intensity run or a step class). Here the goal is to activate or stimulate both the mind and body to a high degree. Younger and more extroverted exercisers tend to report a preference for more stimulative music as well. You might wonder why there is no fourth category of slow-tempo music without extramusical associations (i.e., sedative music). Well, we know from research, and to a certain degree common sense, that such a category has no meaningful role to play in preparing people for exercise (Karageorghis & Priest, 2012a). It can, however, play a role in preparing people for sport (see chapter 7).
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Learn more about Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
The role of music in circuit training: Includes a sample playlist
Circuit training has grown considerably in popularity recently because it is an intense workout that can deliver relatively fast results in anaerobic endurance, muscle tone, and cardiorespiratory fitness.
Circuit Training
Circuit training has grown considerably in popularity recently because it is an intense workout that can deliver relatively fast results in anaerobic endurance, muscle tone, and cardiorespiratory fitness. As the name circuit suggests, exercises and activities are organized in a circular formation; people exercise at each station for a set period (e.g., 25 seconds) before recovering for a set period (e.g., 20 seconds) and moving to the next station during the recovery. Once all of the stations have been completed (i.e., the circuit is completed), there is a longer period of recovery (normally two to five minutes). A typical workout consists of three or four circuits of 15 to 20 stations.
Circuit training is a hybrid fitness activity that includes muscular endurance, strength, mobility, plyometric, and speed components. Some instructors include coordination activities (e.g., skipping drills over plastic hurdles) to encourage participants to think while under physical stress. Given the repetitive and almost regimented nature of a circuit, people generally love to have music playing in the background. Even highly-trained participants express a preference for music. The activity is usually performed to asynchronous music, although lab-based research showed that coordinating circuit exercises with music in a synchronous manner particularly benefitted women in terms of the number of repetitions completed and how positive they felt (see figure 5.1 for performance data) (Karageorghis et al., 2010).
Gender differences in circuit training performance accompanied by synchronous music (motivational and oudeterous) and a metronome control.
Adapted from Psychology of Sport and Exercise 11(6), C.I. Karageorghis, D.L. Priest, L.S. Williams, R.M. Hirani, K.M. Lannon, and B.J. Bates, "Ergogenic and psychological effects of synchronous music during circuit-type exercise," 551-559, 2010, with permission from Elsevier.
Interestingly, the men in this research appeared to derive no performance benefit from synchronous music when the two music conditions (motivational and oudeterous) were compared to a bleeping metronome that served as a control. In explaining their findings, the authors reflected on the experiences males and females have with music during their formative years. They explained that girls are more likely to engage in movement to music-based activities and demonstrate a greater desire to engage in dance-related activity (Karageorghis et al., 2010). The findings also showed that women were, on the whole, more adept than their male counterparts at keeping in sync with the musical beat. Despite the potential benefits for women that this study demonstrates, the mix of activities in a real-life circuit and their physical demands means that the use of asynchronous music generally works best.
There are opportunities for synchronization during parts of a circuit, but this is often done on an ad hoc basis. For example, if an exerciser is performing bench dips, the background music is playing at 140 bpm, and her dipping rate is 35 reps per minute, she can either flex or extend the elbow joint with each two beats of music in 4/4 time to sync with it. There are musical ways to boost a circuits class. First, the music should be motivational and uplifting (see chapter 2 and the discussion of the BMRI-3 in chapter 3) and in a tempo range of 120 to 145 bpm. Second, the lower end of that tempo range should be used for the first circuit and gradually be built up toward the top end of the range for the final circuit, when the class needs the most stimulation. Taking this principle a step further, music may not be used at all for the first circuit and introduced in the second circuit. Third, a soundtrack for a circuits class can punctuate work and recovery periods. This can be done by having periods of silence for the recovery periods to signal when people need to stop and move to the next station, or by including bleeps on the soundtrack - perhaps a high-pitched bleep to start and a low-pitched bleep to stop.
As an unassuming undergraduate, my first scientific research into the effects of music on human performance entailed examining how stimulative and sedative music programs influenced the number of repetitions performed. The stimulative music produced superior performance levels when compared to sedative music and a no-music control (Karageorghis, 1991).Since that time, I have used music for a Monday night circuits class at my university. During the last 25 years, I have compiled many playlists (at least one a term) and have often asked participants for selections that I subsequently incorporate. For table 5.6, I have trawled through these playlists from the last quarter century to produce my all-time circuits playlist. Each mini-set (i.e., tracks for a single circuit) uses music from a distinct musical era to give the playlist greater coherence.
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Discover the role music plays in Zumba, spinning, yoga, and more in Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
Olympic athlete soothes performance anxiety with music
Music is used in three main ways within sport and exercise: synchronous, asynchronous, and pre-task. The synchronous application of music is typified by the use of the rhythmic, or temporal, aspects of music as a type of metronome that regulates movement patterns.
How Music Is Used
Music is used in three main ways within sport and exercise: synchronous, asynchronous, and pre-task. The synchronous application of music is typified by the use of the rhythmic, or temporal, aspects of music as a type of metronome that regulates movement patterns. For example, in synchronized swimming, the athletes strive to keep their aquatic dance routines in perfect time with the accompanying music. As discussed in chapter 6, this approach can yield a particularly strong ergogenic effect when used to regulate endurance-type activities such as walking and cycling, thereby increasing their efficiency. As the term implies, the asynchronous use of music entails the absence of conscious synchronization. Music can also be used pre-task to arouse, relax, or regulate the mood of an individual or a team or exercise group prior to a competition or activity. Generally, fast, loud music has a stimulative effect, so it can be used as part of a psych-up routine; soft, slow music has a sedative effect, which means that it can be used as a sedative or relaxant. Most coaches believe that the role of music is always to arouse the athlete; however, given how extremely activated athletes can feel before competition, the ability of a well-selected piece to calm and deactivate the athlete is often discounted.
A good example of an athlete using music to psych down involves my former student, Audley Harrison, MBE. In 1998 he brazenly told fellow students that he was going to become the Olympic super-heavyweight boxing champion at the upcoming Sydney Games. However, when he got to the qualifying rounds and began to progress, nervousness set in. Years later he told me:
Nothing had prepared me for the pressure cooker that was the Olympic Games - not even winning the Commonwealth title two years earlier in Kuala Lumpur. I really felt the weight of public expectation back home as well as the expectation of my family and support team. I needed something to calm me down and put me in the right frame of mind to give the performance of my life.
To soothe his anxiety, he listened to Japanese classical music.
Read more in Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
Music for swimmers
Over the last decade, advances in underwater MP3 technology have led to the popularization of music use in swimming. This sport demands a regular motor pattern and highly rhythmic limb movements and breathing patterns.
Over the last decade, advances in underwater MP3 technology have led to the popularization of music use in swimming. This sport demands a regular motor pattern and highly rhythmic limb movements and breathing patterns. Rhythmic music can help swimmers set a good rhythm while also distracting them from the monotony of grinding out repetitive lengths in the pool. In partnership with Speedo, my group sought to measure the psychological and ergogenic (work-enhancing) effects of music in an all-out 200-meter freestyle task (Karageorghis et al., 2013). We found that both motivational ("Sexy And I Know It" by LMFAO) and oudeterous ("Howl" by Florence and the Machine) tracks enhanced swimmers' perceptions of state motivation and time trial performance when compared to a no-music control (see figure 7.2). This suggests that, during all-out efforts, athletes may tune in only to the rhythmic qualities of music (Terry et al., 2012). Athletes in all rhythmic endurance sports (e.g., cross-country skiing, rowing, running) can benefit from music, and a strong body of scientific evidence (for reviews, see Karageorghis, 2016; Karageorghis & Priest, 2012a, 2012b) has inspired new types of sporting events (see the sidebar The Run to the Beat Phenomenon).
Time trial performance and state motivation during a 200-meter freestyle task.
Adapted from Psychology of Sport and Exercise 14(4), C.I. Karageorghis, J.C. Hutchinson, L. Jones, H.L. Farmer, M.S. Ayhan, R.C. Wilson, J. Rance, C.J. Hepworth, and S.G. Bailey, "Psychological, psychophysical, and ergogenic effects of music in swimming," 560-568, 2013, with permission from Elsevier.
Save
Save
Find more recommended playlists for a variety of exercise- and sport-specific settings in Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
Find the motivation for routine physical activity
To overcome the almost overwhelming array of potentially negative external forces that inhibit progress toward their goals, people require tight routines, considerable self-discipline, and regular social support. Music can play a critical role by forming part of a routine and creating a mind-set associated with exercise and physical activity.
Music as a Prime
To overcome the almost overwhelming array of potentially negative external forces that inhibit progress toward their goals, people require tight routines, considerable self-discipline, and regular social support. Music can play a critical role by forming part of a routine and creating a mind-set associated with exercise and physical activity. Research shows that music can have a priming effect, meaning that it can activate the mind automatically (i.e., without conscious effort) and increase the motivation to exercise and take part in physical activity (e.g., Goerlich et al., 2012; Loizou & Karageorghis, 2015; Loizou, Karageorghis, & Bishop, 2014). Music can help elevate us; it can be a bridge to our higher purposes and goals.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, priming is a psychological technique popularized and refined by people in marketing. Back in the mid-1950s, market researcher James Vicary contrived an intriguing experiment in which the phrases Drink Coca-Cola and Eat popcorn were flashed on movie screens for just 0.03 seconds during the first half of movies (Vicary, 1957, cited in Radford, 2007). The viewers were not consciously aware of these visual primes (they appeared for too short a time to be registered), but they apparently led to an 18 percent increase in sales of Coca-Cola, and a whopping 58 percent increase in sales of popcorn during the interval.
Considerable controversy surrounded Vicary's claims and persists to the present day, but U.S. government legislators were quick to prevent companies from using such techniques to promote the purchase of consumer products. Despite the ban, similar techniques - now applied with a staggering degree of sophistication - are used routinely by advertisers. Apparently, the priming police have no teeth!
Research has demonstrated that people are largely unaware of the processes underlying their perceptions, pursuits, and behaviors (Levesque & Pelletier, 2003). Given that such processes play a pivotal role in health-related behaviors, taking some control over them through the measured application of pre-exercise music can create a pattern of thoughts and feelings that lead to the initiation of exercise-related behaviors. Music activates the emotional and movement-related segments of the brain such as the amygdala, temporal lobe, and cerebellum (see figure 2.2 in chapter 2) and can therefore greatly facilitate the mental preparation for exercise.
Scientists maintain that music has a particularly strong influence on the brain's unconscious processes (e.g., Levitin & Tirovolas, 2009; Scherer & Zentner, 2001). As noted in chapter 2, studies investigating high-intensity exercise have shown that well-selected music can enhance how people generally feel (affect), although it has little influence on their perceived exertion (RPE; Hutchinson & Karageorghis, 2013; Karageorghis et al. 2009). To a degree, such findings support the notion that the brain processes music at a subcortical, or automatic, level without conscious effort. It is precisely this apparent lack of a need for conscious processing that can make music an ideal form of prime for people who want to create an exercise habit. We do not have to think very much for music to influence our behaviors or feelings.
As discussed in chapter 2, both stimulative and calming music can prepare people mentally for exercise. Stimulating music can promote the entrainment of brain waves, the heartbeat, and the breathing rate, whereas calming music with strong extramusical associations can conjure the right type of mental imagery or thought processes (e.g., heroic images, thoughts of overcoming adversity, motion-related thoughts). Table 4.1 lists examples of musical works that function particularly well as preparatory tracks for physical activity programs. The tracks are arranged in three categories: those that are intrinsically stimulating (i.e., upbeat and energetic), those that are relatively slow in tempo but have strong extramusical associations, and those that both are stimulating and have strong extramusical associations.
Situations and circumstances will determine which category in table 4.1 you might wish to dip into for a pre-exercise track (consider also the theoretical model in figure 2.8). The first category, intrinsically stimulating, works particularly well for diverse groups of exercisers who do not necessarily have common cultural reference points (e.g., a physiotherapy rehabilitation class with a mix of age groups and ethnicities).
The second category, slow tempo with strong extramusical associations, would serve individuals or small groups of exercisers with common cultural reference points (e.g., they enjoy similar movies, have similar musical tastes, frequent the same social venues). The key consideration is that the exerciser(s) do not require a great deal of bodily activation but more mental stimulation, perhaps as a precursor to engaging in a stretching, yoga, or Pilates session. Older people and introverts tend not to like highly stimulative music; therefore, the second category might be ideal for them. This is a general rule that certainly does not hold in all instances; if you happen to be working with a 74-year-old grandma who's into Led Zeppelin played at high amplitude, you'd better pander to her tastes!
The third category is for individuals or groups with common cultural points of reference who are about to engage in vigorous and demanding physical activity (e.g., a high-intensity run or a step class). Here the goal is to activate or stimulate both the mind and body to a high degree. Younger and more extroverted exercisers tend to report a preference for more stimulative music as well. You might wonder why there is no fourth category of slow-tempo music without extramusical associations (i.e., sedative music). Well, we know from research, and to a certain degree common sense, that such a category has no meaningful role to play in preparing people for exercise (Karageorghis & Priest, 2012a). It can, however, play a role in preparing people for sport (see chapter 7).
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Learn more about Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
The role of music in circuit training: Includes a sample playlist
Circuit training has grown considerably in popularity recently because it is an intense workout that can deliver relatively fast results in anaerobic endurance, muscle tone, and cardiorespiratory fitness.
Circuit Training
Circuit training has grown considerably in popularity recently because it is an intense workout that can deliver relatively fast results in anaerobic endurance, muscle tone, and cardiorespiratory fitness. As the name circuit suggests, exercises and activities are organized in a circular formation; people exercise at each station for a set period (e.g., 25 seconds) before recovering for a set period (e.g., 20 seconds) and moving to the next station during the recovery. Once all of the stations have been completed (i.e., the circuit is completed), there is a longer period of recovery (normally two to five minutes). A typical workout consists of three or four circuits of 15 to 20 stations.
Circuit training is a hybrid fitness activity that includes muscular endurance, strength, mobility, plyometric, and speed components. Some instructors include coordination activities (e.g., skipping drills over plastic hurdles) to encourage participants to think while under physical stress. Given the repetitive and almost regimented nature of a circuit, people generally love to have music playing in the background. Even highly-trained participants express a preference for music. The activity is usually performed to asynchronous music, although lab-based research showed that coordinating circuit exercises with music in a synchronous manner particularly benefitted women in terms of the number of repetitions completed and how positive they felt (see figure 5.1 for performance data) (Karageorghis et al., 2010).
Gender differences in circuit training performance accompanied by synchronous music (motivational and oudeterous) and a metronome control.
Adapted from Psychology of Sport and Exercise 11(6), C.I. Karageorghis, D.L. Priest, L.S. Williams, R.M. Hirani, K.M. Lannon, and B.J. Bates, "Ergogenic and psychological effects of synchronous music during circuit-type exercise," 551-559, 2010, with permission from Elsevier.
Interestingly, the men in this research appeared to derive no performance benefit from synchronous music when the two music conditions (motivational and oudeterous) were compared to a bleeping metronome that served as a control. In explaining their findings, the authors reflected on the experiences males and females have with music during their formative years. They explained that girls are more likely to engage in movement to music-based activities and demonstrate a greater desire to engage in dance-related activity (Karageorghis et al., 2010). The findings also showed that women were, on the whole, more adept than their male counterparts at keeping in sync with the musical beat. Despite the potential benefits for women that this study demonstrates, the mix of activities in a real-life circuit and their physical demands means that the use of asynchronous music generally works best.
There are opportunities for synchronization during parts of a circuit, but this is often done on an ad hoc basis. For example, if an exerciser is performing bench dips, the background music is playing at 140 bpm, and her dipping rate is 35 reps per minute, she can either flex or extend the elbow joint with each two beats of music in 4/4 time to sync with it. There are musical ways to boost a circuits class. First, the music should be motivational and uplifting (see chapter 2 and the discussion of the BMRI-3 in chapter 3) and in a tempo range of 120 to 145 bpm. Second, the lower end of that tempo range should be used for the first circuit and gradually be built up toward the top end of the range for the final circuit, when the class needs the most stimulation. Taking this principle a step further, music may not be used at all for the first circuit and introduced in the second circuit. Third, a soundtrack for a circuits class can punctuate work and recovery periods. This can be done by having periods of silence for the recovery periods to signal when people need to stop and move to the next station, or by including bleeps on the soundtrack - perhaps a high-pitched bleep to start and a low-pitched bleep to stop.
As an unassuming undergraduate, my first scientific research into the effects of music on human performance entailed examining how stimulative and sedative music programs influenced the number of repetitions performed. The stimulative music produced superior performance levels when compared to sedative music and a no-music control (Karageorghis, 1991).Since that time, I have used music for a Monday night circuits class at my university. During the last 25 years, I have compiled many playlists (at least one a term) and have often asked participants for selections that I subsequently incorporate. For table 5.6, I have trawled through these playlists from the last quarter century to produce my all-time circuits playlist. Each mini-set (i.e., tracks for a single circuit) uses music from a distinct musical era to give the playlist greater coherence.
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Discover the role music plays in Zumba, spinning, yoga, and more in Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
Olympic athlete soothes performance anxiety with music
Music is used in three main ways within sport and exercise: synchronous, asynchronous, and pre-task. The synchronous application of music is typified by the use of the rhythmic, or temporal, aspects of music as a type of metronome that regulates movement patterns.
How Music Is Used
Music is used in three main ways within sport and exercise: synchronous, asynchronous, and pre-task. The synchronous application of music is typified by the use of the rhythmic, or temporal, aspects of music as a type of metronome that regulates movement patterns. For example, in synchronized swimming, the athletes strive to keep their aquatic dance routines in perfect time with the accompanying music. As discussed in chapter 6, this approach can yield a particularly strong ergogenic effect when used to regulate endurance-type activities such as walking and cycling, thereby increasing their efficiency. As the term implies, the asynchronous use of music entails the absence of conscious synchronization. Music can also be used pre-task to arouse, relax, or regulate the mood of an individual or a team or exercise group prior to a competition or activity. Generally, fast, loud music has a stimulative effect, so it can be used as part of a psych-up routine; soft, slow music has a sedative effect, which means that it can be used as a sedative or relaxant. Most coaches believe that the role of music is always to arouse the athlete; however, given how extremely activated athletes can feel before competition, the ability of a well-selected piece to calm and deactivate the athlete is often discounted.
A good example of an athlete using music to psych down involves my former student, Audley Harrison, MBE. In 1998 he brazenly told fellow students that he was going to become the Olympic super-heavyweight boxing champion at the upcoming Sydney Games. However, when he got to the qualifying rounds and began to progress, nervousness set in. Years later he told me:
Nothing had prepared me for the pressure cooker that was the Olympic Games - not even winning the Commonwealth title two years earlier in Kuala Lumpur. I really felt the weight of public expectation back home as well as the expectation of my family and support team. I needed something to calm me down and put me in the right frame of mind to give the performance of my life.
To soothe his anxiety, he listened to Japanese classical music.
Read more in Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
Music for swimmers
Over the last decade, advances in underwater MP3 technology have led to the popularization of music use in swimming. This sport demands a regular motor pattern and highly rhythmic limb movements and breathing patterns.
Over the last decade, advances in underwater MP3 technology have led to the popularization of music use in swimming. This sport demands a regular motor pattern and highly rhythmic limb movements and breathing patterns. Rhythmic music can help swimmers set a good rhythm while also distracting them from the monotony of grinding out repetitive lengths in the pool. In partnership with Speedo, my group sought to measure the psychological and ergogenic (work-enhancing) effects of music in an all-out 200-meter freestyle task (Karageorghis et al., 2013). We found that both motivational ("Sexy And I Know It" by LMFAO) and oudeterous ("Howl" by Florence and the Machine) tracks enhanced swimmers' perceptions of state motivation and time trial performance when compared to a no-music control (see figure 7.2). This suggests that, during all-out efforts, athletes may tune in only to the rhythmic qualities of music (Terry et al., 2012). Athletes in all rhythmic endurance sports (e.g., cross-country skiing, rowing, running) can benefit from music, and a strong body of scientific evidence (for reviews, see Karageorghis, 2016; Karageorghis & Priest, 2012a, 2012b) has inspired new types of sporting events (see the sidebar The Run to the Beat Phenomenon).
Time trial performance and state motivation during a 200-meter freestyle task.
Adapted from Psychology of Sport and Exercise 14(4), C.I. Karageorghis, J.C. Hutchinson, L. Jones, H.L. Farmer, M.S. Ayhan, R.C. Wilson, J. Rance, C.J. Hepworth, and S.G. Bailey, "Psychological, psychophysical, and ergogenic effects of music in swimming," 560-568, 2013, with permission from Elsevier.
Save
Save
Find more recommended playlists for a variety of exercise- and sport-specific settings in Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
Find the motivation for routine physical activity
To overcome the almost overwhelming array of potentially negative external forces that inhibit progress toward their goals, people require tight routines, considerable self-discipline, and regular social support. Music can play a critical role by forming part of a routine and creating a mind-set associated with exercise and physical activity.
Music as a Prime
To overcome the almost overwhelming array of potentially negative external forces that inhibit progress toward their goals, people require tight routines, considerable self-discipline, and regular social support. Music can play a critical role by forming part of a routine and creating a mind-set associated with exercise and physical activity. Research shows that music can have a priming effect, meaning that it can activate the mind automatically (i.e., without conscious effort) and increase the motivation to exercise and take part in physical activity (e.g., Goerlich et al., 2012; Loizou & Karageorghis, 2015; Loizou, Karageorghis, & Bishop, 2014). Music can help elevate us; it can be a bridge to our higher purposes and goals.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, priming is a psychological technique popularized and refined by people in marketing. Back in the mid-1950s, market researcher James Vicary contrived an intriguing experiment in which the phrases Drink Coca-Cola and Eat popcorn were flashed on movie screens for just 0.03 seconds during the first half of movies (Vicary, 1957, cited in Radford, 2007). The viewers were not consciously aware of these visual primes (they appeared for too short a time to be registered), but they apparently led to an 18 percent increase in sales of Coca-Cola, and a whopping 58 percent increase in sales of popcorn during the interval.
Considerable controversy surrounded Vicary's claims and persists to the present day, but U.S. government legislators were quick to prevent companies from using such techniques to promote the purchase of consumer products. Despite the ban, similar techniques - now applied with a staggering degree of sophistication - are used routinely by advertisers. Apparently, the priming police have no teeth!
Research has demonstrated that people are largely unaware of the processes underlying their perceptions, pursuits, and behaviors (Levesque & Pelletier, 2003). Given that such processes play a pivotal role in health-related behaviors, taking some control over them through the measured application of pre-exercise music can create a pattern of thoughts and feelings that lead to the initiation of exercise-related behaviors. Music activates the emotional and movement-related segments of the brain such as the amygdala, temporal lobe, and cerebellum (see figure 2.2 in chapter 2) and can therefore greatly facilitate the mental preparation for exercise.
Scientists maintain that music has a particularly strong influence on the brain's unconscious processes (e.g., Levitin & Tirovolas, 2009; Scherer & Zentner, 2001). As noted in chapter 2, studies investigating high-intensity exercise have shown that well-selected music can enhance how people generally feel (affect), although it has little influence on their perceived exertion (RPE; Hutchinson & Karageorghis, 2013; Karageorghis et al. 2009). To a degree, such findings support the notion that the brain processes music at a subcortical, or automatic, level without conscious effort. It is precisely this apparent lack of a need for conscious processing that can make music an ideal form of prime for people who want to create an exercise habit. We do not have to think very much for music to influence our behaviors or feelings.
As discussed in chapter 2, both stimulative and calming music can prepare people mentally for exercise. Stimulating music can promote the entrainment of brain waves, the heartbeat, and the breathing rate, whereas calming music with strong extramusical associations can conjure the right type of mental imagery or thought processes (e.g., heroic images, thoughts of overcoming adversity, motion-related thoughts). Table 4.1 lists examples of musical works that function particularly well as preparatory tracks for physical activity programs. The tracks are arranged in three categories: those that are intrinsically stimulating (i.e., upbeat and energetic), those that are relatively slow in tempo but have strong extramusical associations, and those that both are stimulating and have strong extramusical associations.
Situations and circumstances will determine which category in table 4.1 you might wish to dip into for a pre-exercise track (consider also the theoretical model in figure 2.8). The first category, intrinsically stimulating, works particularly well for diverse groups of exercisers who do not necessarily have common cultural reference points (e.g., a physiotherapy rehabilitation class with a mix of age groups and ethnicities).
The second category, slow tempo with strong extramusical associations, would serve individuals or small groups of exercisers with common cultural reference points (e.g., they enjoy similar movies, have similar musical tastes, frequent the same social venues). The key consideration is that the exerciser(s) do not require a great deal of bodily activation but more mental stimulation, perhaps as a precursor to engaging in a stretching, yoga, or Pilates session. Older people and introverts tend not to like highly stimulative music; therefore, the second category might be ideal for them. This is a general rule that certainly does not hold in all instances; if you happen to be working with a 74-year-old grandma who's into Led Zeppelin played at high amplitude, you'd better pander to her tastes!
The third category is for individuals or groups with common cultural points of reference who are about to engage in vigorous and demanding physical activity (e.g., a high-intensity run or a step class). Here the goal is to activate or stimulate both the mind and body to a high degree. Younger and more extroverted exercisers tend to report a preference for more stimulative music as well. You might wonder why there is no fourth category of slow-tempo music without extramusical associations (i.e., sedative music). Well, we know from research, and to a certain degree common sense, that such a category has no meaningful role to play in preparing people for exercise (Karageorghis & Priest, 2012a). It can, however, play a role in preparing people for sport (see chapter 7).
Save
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Learn more about Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
The role of music in circuit training: Includes a sample playlist
Circuit training has grown considerably in popularity recently because it is an intense workout that can deliver relatively fast results in anaerobic endurance, muscle tone, and cardiorespiratory fitness.
Circuit Training
Circuit training has grown considerably in popularity recently because it is an intense workout that can deliver relatively fast results in anaerobic endurance, muscle tone, and cardiorespiratory fitness. As the name circuit suggests, exercises and activities are organized in a circular formation; people exercise at each station for a set period (e.g., 25 seconds) before recovering for a set period (e.g., 20 seconds) and moving to the next station during the recovery. Once all of the stations have been completed (i.e., the circuit is completed), there is a longer period of recovery (normally two to five minutes). A typical workout consists of three or four circuits of 15 to 20 stations.
Circuit training is a hybrid fitness activity that includes muscular endurance, strength, mobility, plyometric, and speed components. Some instructors include coordination activities (e.g., skipping drills over plastic hurdles) to encourage participants to think while under physical stress. Given the repetitive and almost regimented nature of a circuit, people generally love to have music playing in the background. Even highly-trained participants express a preference for music. The activity is usually performed to asynchronous music, although lab-based research showed that coordinating circuit exercises with music in a synchronous manner particularly benefitted women in terms of the number of repetitions completed and how positive they felt (see figure 5.1 for performance data) (Karageorghis et al., 2010).
Gender differences in circuit training performance accompanied by synchronous music (motivational and oudeterous) and a metronome control.
Adapted from Psychology of Sport and Exercise 11(6), C.I. Karageorghis, D.L. Priest, L.S. Williams, R.M. Hirani, K.M. Lannon, and B.J. Bates, "Ergogenic and psychological effects of synchronous music during circuit-type exercise," 551-559, 2010, with permission from Elsevier.
Interestingly, the men in this research appeared to derive no performance benefit from synchronous music when the two music conditions (motivational and oudeterous) were compared to a bleeping metronome that served as a control. In explaining their findings, the authors reflected on the experiences males and females have with music during their formative years. They explained that girls are more likely to engage in movement to music-based activities and demonstrate a greater desire to engage in dance-related activity (Karageorghis et al., 2010). The findings also showed that women were, on the whole, more adept than their male counterparts at keeping in sync with the musical beat. Despite the potential benefits for women that this study demonstrates, the mix of activities in a real-life circuit and their physical demands means that the use of asynchronous music generally works best.
There are opportunities for synchronization during parts of a circuit, but this is often done on an ad hoc basis. For example, if an exerciser is performing bench dips, the background music is playing at 140 bpm, and her dipping rate is 35 reps per minute, she can either flex or extend the elbow joint with each two beats of music in 4/4 time to sync with it. There are musical ways to boost a circuits class. First, the music should be motivational and uplifting (see chapter 2 and the discussion of the BMRI-3 in chapter 3) and in a tempo range of 120 to 145 bpm. Second, the lower end of that tempo range should be used for the first circuit and gradually be built up toward the top end of the range for the final circuit, when the class needs the most stimulation. Taking this principle a step further, music may not be used at all for the first circuit and introduced in the second circuit. Third, a soundtrack for a circuits class can punctuate work and recovery periods. This can be done by having periods of silence for the recovery periods to signal when people need to stop and move to the next station, or by including bleeps on the soundtrack - perhaps a high-pitched bleep to start and a low-pitched bleep to stop.
As an unassuming undergraduate, my first scientific research into the effects of music on human performance entailed examining how stimulative and sedative music programs influenced the number of repetitions performed. The stimulative music produced superior performance levels when compared to sedative music and a no-music control (Karageorghis, 1991).Since that time, I have used music for a Monday night circuits class at my university. During the last 25 years, I have compiled many playlists (at least one a term) and have often asked participants for selections that I subsequently incorporate. For table 5.6, I have trawled through these playlists from the last quarter century to produce my all-time circuits playlist. Each mini-set (i.e., tracks for a single circuit) uses music from a distinct musical era to give the playlist greater coherence.
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Discover the role music plays in Zumba, spinning, yoga, and more in Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
Olympic athlete soothes performance anxiety with music
Music is used in three main ways within sport and exercise: synchronous, asynchronous, and pre-task. The synchronous application of music is typified by the use of the rhythmic, or temporal, aspects of music as a type of metronome that regulates movement patterns.
How Music Is Used
Music is used in three main ways within sport and exercise: synchronous, asynchronous, and pre-task. The synchronous application of music is typified by the use of the rhythmic, or temporal, aspects of music as a type of metronome that regulates movement patterns. For example, in synchronized swimming, the athletes strive to keep their aquatic dance routines in perfect time with the accompanying music. As discussed in chapter 6, this approach can yield a particularly strong ergogenic effect when used to regulate endurance-type activities such as walking and cycling, thereby increasing their efficiency. As the term implies, the asynchronous use of music entails the absence of conscious synchronization. Music can also be used pre-task to arouse, relax, or regulate the mood of an individual or a team or exercise group prior to a competition or activity. Generally, fast, loud music has a stimulative effect, so it can be used as part of a psych-up routine; soft, slow music has a sedative effect, which means that it can be used as a sedative or relaxant. Most coaches believe that the role of music is always to arouse the athlete; however, given how extremely activated athletes can feel before competition, the ability of a well-selected piece to calm and deactivate the athlete is often discounted.
A good example of an athlete using music to psych down involves my former student, Audley Harrison, MBE. In 1998 he brazenly told fellow students that he was going to become the Olympic super-heavyweight boxing champion at the upcoming Sydney Games. However, when he got to the qualifying rounds and began to progress, nervousness set in. Years later he told me:
Nothing had prepared me for the pressure cooker that was the Olympic Games - not even winning the Commonwealth title two years earlier in Kuala Lumpur. I really felt the weight of public expectation back home as well as the expectation of my family and support team. I needed something to calm me down and put me in the right frame of mind to give the performance of my life.
To soothe his anxiety, he listened to Japanese classical music.
Read more in Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
Music for swimmers
Over the last decade, advances in underwater MP3 technology have led to the popularization of music use in swimming. This sport demands a regular motor pattern and highly rhythmic limb movements and breathing patterns.
Over the last decade, advances in underwater MP3 technology have led to the popularization of music use in swimming. This sport demands a regular motor pattern and highly rhythmic limb movements and breathing patterns. Rhythmic music can help swimmers set a good rhythm while also distracting them from the monotony of grinding out repetitive lengths in the pool. In partnership with Speedo, my group sought to measure the psychological and ergogenic (work-enhancing) effects of music in an all-out 200-meter freestyle task (Karageorghis et al., 2013). We found that both motivational ("Sexy And I Know It" by LMFAO) and oudeterous ("Howl" by Florence and the Machine) tracks enhanced swimmers' perceptions of state motivation and time trial performance when compared to a no-music control (see figure 7.2). This suggests that, during all-out efforts, athletes may tune in only to the rhythmic qualities of music (Terry et al., 2012). Athletes in all rhythmic endurance sports (e.g., cross-country skiing, rowing, running) can benefit from music, and a strong body of scientific evidence (for reviews, see Karageorghis, 2016; Karageorghis & Priest, 2012a, 2012b) has inspired new types of sporting events (see the sidebar The Run to the Beat Phenomenon).
Time trial performance and state motivation during a 200-meter freestyle task.
Adapted from Psychology of Sport and Exercise 14(4), C.I. Karageorghis, J.C. Hutchinson, L. Jones, H.L. Farmer, M.S. Ayhan, R.C. Wilson, J. Rance, C.J. Hepworth, and S.G. Bailey, "Psychological, psychophysical, and ergogenic effects of music in swimming," 560-568, 2013, with permission from Elsevier.
Save
Save
Find more recommended playlists for a variety of exercise- and sport-specific settings in Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
Find the motivation for routine physical activity
To overcome the almost overwhelming array of potentially negative external forces that inhibit progress toward their goals, people require tight routines, considerable self-discipline, and regular social support. Music can play a critical role by forming part of a routine and creating a mind-set associated with exercise and physical activity.
Music as a Prime
To overcome the almost overwhelming array of potentially negative external forces that inhibit progress toward their goals, people require tight routines, considerable self-discipline, and regular social support. Music can play a critical role by forming part of a routine and creating a mind-set associated with exercise and physical activity. Research shows that music can have a priming effect, meaning that it can activate the mind automatically (i.e., without conscious effort) and increase the motivation to exercise and take part in physical activity (e.g., Goerlich et al., 2012; Loizou & Karageorghis, 2015; Loizou, Karageorghis, & Bishop, 2014). Music can help elevate us; it can be a bridge to our higher purposes and goals.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, priming is a psychological technique popularized and refined by people in marketing. Back in the mid-1950s, market researcher James Vicary contrived an intriguing experiment in which the phrases Drink Coca-Cola and Eat popcorn were flashed on movie screens for just 0.03 seconds during the first half of movies (Vicary, 1957, cited in Radford, 2007). The viewers were not consciously aware of these visual primes (they appeared for too short a time to be registered), but they apparently led to an 18 percent increase in sales of Coca-Cola, and a whopping 58 percent increase in sales of popcorn during the interval.
Considerable controversy surrounded Vicary's claims and persists to the present day, but U.S. government legislators were quick to prevent companies from using such techniques to promote the purchase of consumer products. Despite the ban, similar techniques - now applied with a staggering degree of sophistication - are used routinely by advertisers. Apparently, the priming police have no teeth!
Research has demonstrated that people are largely unaware of the processes underlying their perceptions, pursuits, and behaviors (Levesque & Pelletier, 2003). Given that such processes play a pivotal role in health-related behaviors, taking some control over them through the measured application of pre-exercise music can create a pattern of thoughts and feelings that lead to the initiation of exercise-related behaviors. Music activates the emotional and movement-related segments of the brain such as the amygdala, temporal lobe, and cerebellum (see figure 2.2 in chapter 2) and can therefore greatly facilitate the mental preparation for exercise.
Scientists maintain that music has a particularly strong influence on the brain's unconscious processes (e.g., Levitin & Tirovolas, 2009; Scherer & Zentner, 2001). As noted in chapter 2, studies investigating high-intensity exercise have shown that well-selected music can enhance how people generally feel (affect), although it has little influence on their perceived exertion (RPE; Hutchinson & Karageorghis, 2013; Karageorghis et al. 2009). To a degree, such findings support the notion that the brain processes music at a subcortical, or automatic, level without conscious effort. It is precisely this apparent lack of a need for conscious processing that can make music an ideal form of prime for people who want to create an exercise habit. We do not have to think very much for music to influence our behaviors or feelings.
As discussed in chapter 2, both stimulative and calming music can prepare people mentally for exercise. Stimulating music can promote the entrainment of brain waves, the heartbeat, and the breathing rate, whereas calming music with strong extramusical associations can conjure the right type of mental imagery or thought processes (e.g., heroic images, thoughts of overcoming adversity, motion-related thoughts). Table 4.1 lists examples of musical works that function particularly well as preparatory tracks for physical activity programs. The tracks are arranged in three categories: those that are intrinsically stimulating (i.e., upbeat and energetic), those that are relatively slow in tempo but have strong extramusical associations, and those that both are stimulating and have strong extramusical associations.
Situations and circumstances will determine which category in table 4.1 you might wish to dip into for a pre-exercise track (consider also the theoretical model in figure 2.8). The first category, intrinsically stimulating, works particularly well for diverse groups of exercisers who do not necessarily have common cultural reference points (e.g., a physiotherapy rehabilitation class with a mix of age groups and ethnicities).
The second category, slow tempo with strong extramusical associations, would serve individuals or small groups of exercisers with common cultural reference points (e.g., they enjoy similar movies, have similar musical tastes, frequent the same social venues). The key consideration is that the exerciser(s) do not require a great deal of bodily activation but more mental stimulation, perhaps as a precursor to engaging in a stretching, yoga, or Pilates session. Older people and introverts tend not to like highly stimulative music; therefore, the second category might be ideal for them. This is a general rule that certainly does not hold in all instances; if you happen to be working with a 74-year-old grandma who's into Led Zeppelin played at high amplitude, you'd better pander to her tastes!
The third category is for individuals or groups with common cultural points of reference who are about to engage in vigorous and demanding physical activity (e.g., a high-intensity run or a step class). Here the goal is to activate or stimulate both the mind and body to a high degree. Younger and more extroverted exercisers tend to report a preference for more stimulative music as well. You might wonder why there is no fourth category of slow-tempo music without extramusical associations (i.e., sedative music). Well, we know from research, and to a certain degree common sense, that such a category has no meaningful role to play in preparing people for exercise (Karageorghis & Priest, 2012a). It can, however, play a role in preparing people for sport (see chapter 7).
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Learn more about Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
The role of music in circuit training: Includes a sample playlist
Circuit training has grown considerably in popularity recently because it is an intense workout that can deliver relatively fast results in anaerobic endurance, muscle tone, and cardiorespiratory fitness.
Circuit Training
Circuit training has grown considerably in popularity recently because it is an intense workout that can deliver relatively fast results in anaerobic endurance, muscle tone, and cardiorespiratory fitness. As the name circuit suggests, exercises and activities are organized in a circular formation; people exercise at each station for a set period (e.g., 25 seconds) before recovering for a set period (e.g., 20 seconds) and moving to the next station during the recovery. Once all of the stations have been completed (i.e., the circuit is completed), there is a longer period of recovery (normally two to five minutes). A typical workout consists of three or four circuits of 15 to 20 stations.
Circuit training is a hybrid fitness activity that includes muscular endurance, strength, mobility, plyometric, and speed components. Some instructors include coordination activities (e.g., skipping drills over plastic hurdles) to encourage participants to think while under physical stress. Given the repetitive and almost regimented nature of a circuit, people generally love to have music playing in the background. Even highly-trained participants express a preference for music. The activity is usually performed to asynchronous music, although lab-based research showed that coordinating circuit exercises with music in a synchronous manner particularly benefitted women in terms of the number of repetitions completed and how positive they felt (see figure 5.1 for performance data) (Karageorghis et al., 2010).
Gender differences in circuit training performance accompanied by synchronous music (motivational and oudeterous) and a metronome control.
Adapted from Psychology of Sport and Exercise 11(6), C.I. Karageorghis, D.L. Priest, L.S. Williams, R.M. Hirani, K.M. Lannon, and B.J. Bates, "Ergogenic and psychological effects of synchronous music during circuit-type exercise," 551-559, 2010, with permission from Elsevier.
Interestingly, the men in this research appeared to derive no performance benefit from synchronous music when the two music conditions (motivational and oudeterous) were compared to a bleeping metronome that served as a control. In explaining their findings, the authors reflected on the experiences males and females have with music during their formative years. They explained that girls are more likely to engage in movement to music-based activities and demonstrate a greater desire to engage in dance-related activity (Karageorghis et al., 2010). The findings also showed that women were, on the whole, more adept than their male counterparts at keeping in sync with the musical beat. Despite the potential benefits for women that this study demonstrates, the mix of activities in a real-life circuit and their physical demands means that the use of asynchronous music generally works best.
There are opportunities for synchronization during parts of a circuit, but this is often done on an ad hoc basis. For example, if an exerciser is performing bench dips, the background music is playing at 140 bpm, and her dipping rate is 35 reps per minute, she can either flex or extend the elbow joint with each two beats of music in 4/4 time to sync with it. There are musical ways to boost a circuits class. First, the music should be motivational and uplifting (see chapter 2 and the discussion of the BMRI-3 in chapter 3) and in a tempo range of 120 to 145 bpm. Second, the lower end of that tempo range should be used for the first circuit and gradually be built up toward the top end of the range for the final circuit, when the class needs the most stimulation. Taking this principle a step further, music may not be used at all for the first circuit and introduced in the second circuit. Third, a soundtrack for a circuits class can punctuate work and recovery periods. This can be done by having periods of silence for the recovery periods to signal when people need to stop and move to the next station, or by including bleeps on the soundtrack - perhaps a high-pitched bleep to start and a low-pitched bleep to stop.
As an unassuming undergraduate, my first scientific research into the effects of music on human performance entailed examining how stimulative and sedative music programs influenced the number of repetitions performed. The stimulative music produced superior performance levels when compared to sedative music and a no-music control (Karageorghis, 1991).Since that time, I have used music for a Monday night circuits class at my university. During the last 25 years, I have compiled many playlists (at least one a term) and have often asked participants for selections that I subsequently incorporate. For table 5.6, I have trawled through these playlists from the last quarter century to produce my all-time circuits playlist. Each mini-set (i.e., tracks for a single circuit) uses music from a distinct musical era to give the playlist greater coherence.
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Discover the role music plays in Zumba, spinning, yoga, and more in Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
Olympic athlete soothes performance anxiety with music
Music is used in three main ways within sport and exercise: synchronous, asynchronous, and pre-task. The synchronous application of music is typified by the use of the rhythmic, or temporal, aspects of music as a type of metronome that regulates movement patterns.
How Music Is Used
Music is used in three main ways within sport and exercise: synchronous, asynchronous, and pre-task. The synchronous application of music is typified by the use of the rhythmic, or temporal, aspects of music as a type of metronome that regulates movement patterns. For example, in synchronized swimming, the athletes strive to keep their aquatic dance routines in perfect time with the accompanying music. As discussed in chapter 6, this approach can yield a particularly strong ergogenic effect when used to regulate endurance-type activities such as walking and cycling, thereby increasing their efficiency. As the term implies, the asynchronous use of music entails the absence of conscious synchronization. Music can also be used pre-task to arouse, relax, or regulate the mood of an individual or a team or exercise group prior to a competition or activity. Generally, fast, loud music has a stimulative effect, so it can be used as part of a psych-up routine; soft, slow music has a sedative effect, which means that it can be used as a sedative or relaxant. Most coaches believe that the role of music is always to arouse the athlete; however, given how extremely activated athletes can feel before competition, the ability of a well-selected piece to calm and deactivate the athlete is often discounted.
A good example of an athlete using music to psych down involves my former student, Audley Harrison, MBE. In 1998 he brazenly told fellow students that he was going to become the Olympic super-heavyweight boxing champion at the upcoming Sydney Games. However, when he got to the qualifying rounds and began to progress, nervousness set in. Years later he told me:
Nothing had prepared me for the pressure cooker that was the Olympic Games - not even winning the Commonwealth title two years earlier in Kuala Lumpur. I really felt the weight of public expectation back home as well as the expectation of my family and support team. I needed something to calm me down and put me in the right frame of mind to give the performance of my life.
To soothe his anxiety, he listened to Japanese classical music.
Read more in Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
Music for swimmers
Over the last decade, advances in underwater MP3 technology have led to the popularization of music use in swimming. This sport demands a regular motor pattern and highly rhythmic limb movements and breathing patterns.
Over the last decade, advances in underwater MP3 technology have led to the popularization of music use in swimming. This sport demands a regular motor pattern and highly rhythmic limb movements and breathing patterns. Rhythmic music can help swimmers set a good rhythm while also distracting them from the monotony of grinding out repetitive lengths in the pool. In partnership with Speedo, my group sought to measure the psychological and ergogenic (work-enhancing) effects of music in an all-out 200-meter freestyle task (Karageorghis et al., 2013). We found that both motivational ("Sexy And I Know It" by LMFAO) and oudeterous ("Howl" by Florence and the Machine) tracks enhanced swimmers' perceptions of state motivation and time trial performance when compared to a no-music control (see figure 7.2). This suggests that, during all-out efforts, athletes may tune in only to the rhythmic qualities of music (Terry et al., 2012). Athletes in all rhythmic endurance sports (e.g., cross-country skiing, rowing, running) can benefit from music, and a strong body of scientific evidence (for reviews, see Karageorghis, 2016; Karageorghis & Priest, 2012a, 2012b) has inspired new types of sporting events (see the sidebar The Run to the Beat Phenomenon).
Time trial performance and state motivation during a 200-meter freestyle task.
Adapted from Psychology of Sport and Exercise 14(4), C.I. Karageorghis, J.C. Hutchinson, L. Jones, H.L. Farmer, M.S. Ayhan, R.C. Wilson, J. Rance, C.J. Hepworth, and S.G. Bailey, "Psychological, psychophysical, and ergogenic effects of music in swimming," 560-568, 2013, with permission from Elsevier.
Save
Save
Find more recommended playlists for a variety of exercise- and sport-specific settings in Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
Find the motivation for routine physical activity
To overcome the almost overwhelming array of potentially negative external forces that inhibit progress toward their goals, people require tight routines, considerable self-discipline, and regular social support. Music can play a critical role by forming part of a routine and creating a mind-set associated with exercise and physical activity.
Music as a Prime
To overcome the almost overwhelming array of potentially negative external forces that inhibit progress toward their goals, people require tight routines, considerable self-discipline, and regular social support. Music can play a critical role by forming part of a routine and creating a mind-set associated with exercise and physical activity. Research shows that music can have a priming effect, meaning that it can activate the mind automatically (i.e., without conscious effort) and increase the motivation to exercise and take part in physical activity (e.g., Goerlich et al., 2012; Loizou & Karageorghis, 2015; Loizou, Karageorghis, & Bishop, 2014). Music can help elevate us; it can be a bridge to our higher purposes and goals.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, priming is a psychological technique popularized and refined by people in marketing. Back in the mid-1950s, market researcher James Vicary contrived an intriguing experiment in which the phrases Drink Coca-Cola and Eat popcorn were flashed on movie screens for just 0.03 seconds during the first half of movies (Vicary, 1957, cited in Radford, 2007). The viewers were not consciously aware of these visual primes (they appeared for too short a time to be registered), but they apparently led to an 18 percent increase in sales of Coca-Cola, and a whopping 58 percent increase in sales of popcorn during the interval.
Considerable controversy surrounded Vicary's claims and persists to the present day, but U.S. government legislators were quick to prevent companies from using such techniques to promote the purchase of consumer products. Despite the ban, similar techniques - now applied with a staggering degree of sophistication - are used routinely by advertisers. Apparently, the priming police have no teeth!
Research has demonstrated that people are largely unaware of the processes underlying their perceptions, pursuits, and behaviors (Levesque & Pelletier, 2003). Given that such processes play a pivotal role in health-related behaviors, taking some control over them through the measured application of pre-exercise music can create a pattern of thoughts and feelings that lead to the initiation of exercise-related behaviors. Music activates the emotional and movement-related segments of the brain such as the amygdala, temporal lobe, and cerebellum (see figure 2.2 in chapter 2) and can therefore greatly facilitate the mental preparation for exercise.
Scientists maintain that music has a particularly strong influence on the brain's unconscious processes (e.g., Levitin & Tirovolas, 2009; Scherer & Zentner, 2001). As noted in chapter 2, studies investigating high-intensity exercise have shown that well-selected music can enhance how people generally feel (affect), although it has little influence on their perceived exertion (RPE; Hutchinson & Karageorghis, 2013; Karageorghis et al. 2009). To a degree, such findings support the notion that the brain processes music at a subcortical, or automatic, level without conscious effort. It is precisely this apparent lack of a need for conscious processing that can make music an ideal form of prime for people who want to create an exercise habit. We do not have to think very much for music to influence our behaviors or feelings.
As discussed in chapter 2, both stimulative and calming music can prepare people mentally for exercise. Stimulating music can promote the entrainment of brain waves, the heartbeat, and the breathing rate, whereas calming music with strong extramusical associations can conjure the right type of mental imagery or thought processes (e.g., heroic images, thoughts of overcoming adversity, motion-related thoughts). Table 4.1 lists examples of musical works that function particularly well as preparatory tracks for physical activity programs. The tracks are arranged in three categories: those that are intrinsically stimulating (i.e., upbeat and energetic), those that are relatively slow in tempo but have strong extramusical associations, and those that both are stimulating and have strong extramusical associations.
Situations and circumstances will determine which category in table 4.1 you might wish to dip into for a pre-exercise track (consider also the theoretical model in figure 2.8). The first category, intrinsically stimulating, works particularly well for diverse groups of exercisers who do not necessarily have common cultural reference points (e.g., a physiotherapy rehabilitation class with a mix of age groups and ethnicities).
The second category, slow tempo with strong extramusical associations, would serve individuals or small groups of exercisers with common cultural reference points (e.g., they enjoy similar movies, have similar musical tastes, frequent the same social venues). The key consideration is that the exerciser(s) do not require a great deal of bodily activation but more mental stimulation, perhaps as a precursor to engaging in a stretching, yoga, or Pilates session. Older people and introverts tend not to like highly stimulative music; therefore, the second category might be ideal for them. This is a general rule that certainly does not hold in all instances; if you happen to be working with a 74-year-old grandma who's into Led Zeppelin played at high amplitude, you'd better pander to her tastes!
The third category is for individuals or groups with common cultural points of reference who are about to engage in vigorous and demanding physical activity (e.g., a high-intensity run or a step class). Here the goal is to activate or stimulate both the mind and body to a high degree. Younger and more extroverted exercisers tend to report a preference for more stimulative music as well. You might wonder why there is no fourth category of slow-tempo music without extramusical associations (i.e., sedative music). Well, we know from research, and to a certain degree common sense, that such a category has no meaningful role to play in preparing people for exercise (Karageorghis & Priest, 2012a). It can, however, play a role in preparing people for sport (see chapter 7).
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Learn more about Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
The role of music in circuit training: Includes a sample playlist
Circuit training has grown considerably in popularity recently because it is an intense workout that can deliver relatively fast results in anaerobic endurance, muscle tone, and cardiorespiratory fitness.
Circuit Training
Circuit training has grown considerably in popularity recently because it is an intense workout that can deliver relatively fast results in anaerobic endurance, muscle tone, and cardiorespiratory fitness. As the name circuit suggests, exercises and activities are organized in a circular formation; people exercise at each station for a set period (e.g., 25 seconds) before recovering for a set period (e.g., 20 seconds) and moving to the next station during the recovery. Once all of the stations have been completed (i.e., the circuit is completed), there is a longer period of recovery (normally two to five minutes). A typical workout consists of three or four circuits of 15 to 20 stations.
Circuit training is a hybrid fitness activity that includes muscular endurance, strength, mobility, plyometric, and speed components. Some instructors include coordination activities (e.g., skipping drills over plastic hurdles) to encourage participants to think while under physical stress. Given the repetitive and almost regimented nature of a circuit, people generally love to have music playing in the background. Even highly-trained participants express a preference for music. The activity is usually performed to asynchronous music, although lab-based research showed that coordinating circuit exercises with music in a synchronous manner particularly benefitted women in terms of the number of repetitions completed and how positive they felt (see figure 5.1 for performance data) (Karageorghis et al., 2010).
Gender differences in circuit training performance accompanied by synchronous music (motivational and oudeterous) and a metronome control.
Adapted from Psychology of Sport and Exercise 11(6), C.I. Karageorghis, D.L. Priest, L.S. Williams, R.M. Hirani, K.M. Lannon, and B.J. Bates, "Ergogenic and psychological effects of synchronous music during circuit-type exercise," 551-559, 2010, with permission from Elsevier.
Interestingly, the men in this research appeared to derive no performance benefit from synchronous music when the two music conditions (motivational and oudeterous) were compared to a bleeping metronome that served as a control. In explaining their findings, the authors reflected on the experiences males and females have with music during their formative years. They explained that girls are more likely to engage in movement to music-based activities and demonstrate a greater desire to engage in dance-related activity (Karageorghis et al., 2010). The findings also showed that women were, on the whole, more adept than their male counterparts at keeping in sync with the musical beat. Despite the potential benefits for women that this study demonstrates, the mix of activities in a real-life circuit and their physical demands means that the use of asynchronous music generally works best.
There are opportunities for synchronization during parts of a circuit, but this is often done on an ad hoc basis. For example, if an exerciser is performing bench dips, the background music is playing at 140 bpm, and her dipping rate is 35 reps per minute, she can either flex or extend the elbow joint with each two beats of music in 4/4 time to sync with it. There are musical ways to boost a circuits class. First, the music should be motivational and uplifting (see chapter 2 and the discussion of the BMRI-3 in chapter 3) and in a tempo range of 120 to 145 bpm. Second, the lower end of that tempo range should be used for the first circuit and gradually be built up toward the top end of the range for the final circuit, when the class needs the most stimulation. Taking this principle a step further, music may not be used at all for the first circuit and introduced in the second circuit. Third, a soundtrack for a circuits class can punctuate work and recovery periods. This can be done by having periods of silence for the recovery periods to signal when people need to stop and move to the next station, or by including bleeps on the soundtrack - perhaps a high-pitched bleep to start and a low-pitched bleep to stop.
As an unassuming undergraduate, my first scientific research into the effects of music on human performance entailed examining how stimulative and sedative music programs influenced the number of repetitions performed. The stimulative music produced superior performance levels when compared to sedative music and a no-music control (Karageorghis, 1991).Since that time, I have used music for a Monday night circuits class at my university. During the last 25 years, I have compiled many playlists (at least one a term) and have often asked participants for selections that I subsequently incorporate. For table 5.6, I have trawled through these playlists from the last quarter century to produce my all-time circuits playlist. Each mini-set (i.e., tracks for a single circuit) uses music from a distinct musical era to give the playlist greater coherence.
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Discover the role music plays in Zumba, spinning, yoga, and more in Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
Olympic athlete soothes performance anxiety with music
Music is used in three main ways within sport and exercise: synchronous, asynchronous, and pre-task. The synchronous application of music is typified by the use of the rhythmic, or temporal, aspects of music as a type of metronome that regulates movement patterns.
How Music Is Used
Music is used in three main ways within sport and exercise: synchronous, asynchronous, and pre-task. The synchronous application of music is typified by the use of the rhythmic, or temporal, aspects of music as a type of metronome that regulates movement patterns. For example, in synchronized swimming, the athletes strive to keep their aquatic dance routines in perfect time with the accompanying music. As discussed in chapter 6, this approach can yield a particularly strong ergogenic effect when used to regulate endurance-type activities such as walking and cycling, thereby increasing their efficiency. As the term implies, the asynchronous use of music entails the absence of conscious synchronization. Music can also be used pre-task to arouse, relax, or regulate the mood of an individual or a team or exercise group prior to a competition or activity. Generally, fast, loud music has a stimulative effect, so it can be used as part of a psych-up routine; soft, slow music has a sedative effect, which means that it can be used as a sedative or relaxant. Most coaches believe that the role of music is always to arouse the athlete; however, given how extremely activated athletes can feel before competition, the ability of a well-selected piece to calm and deactivate the athlete is often discounted.
A good example of an athlete using music to psych down involves my former student, Audley Harrison, MBE. In 1998 he brazenly told fellow students that he was going to become the Olympic super-heavyweight boxing champion at the upcoming Sydney Games. However, when he got to the qualifying rounds and began to progress, nervousness set in. Years later he told me:
Nothing had prepared me for the pressure cooker that was the Olympic Games - not even winning the Commonwealth title two years earlier in Kuala Lumpur. I really felt the weight of public expectation back home as well as the expectation of my family and support team. I needed something to calm me down and put me in the right frame of mind to give the performance of my life.
To soothe his anxiety, he listened to Japanese classical music.
Read more in Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
Music for swimmers
Over the last decade, advances in underwater MP3 technology have led to the popularization of music use in swimming. This sport demands a regular motor pattern and highly rhythmic limb movements and breathing patterns.
Over the last decade, advances in underwater MP3 technology have led to the popularization of music use in swimming. This sport demands a regular motor pattern and highly rhythmic limb movements and breathing patterns. Rhythmic music can help swimmers set a good rhythm while also distracting them from the monotony of grinding out repetitive lengths in the pool. In partnership with Speedo, my group sought to measure the psychological and ergogenic (work-enhancing) effects of music in an all-out 200-meter freestyle task (Karageorghis et al., 2013). We found that both motivational ("Sexy And I Know It" by LMFAO) and oudeterous ("Howl" by Florence and the Machine) tracks enhanced swimmers' perceptions of state motivation and time trial performance when compared to a no-music control (see figure 7.2). This suggests that, during all-out efforts, athletes may tune in only to the rhythmic qualities of music (Terry et al., 2012). Athletes in all rhythmic endurance sports (e.g., cross-country skiing, rowing, running) can benefit from music, and a strong body of scientific evidence (for reviews, see Karageorghis, 2016; Karageorghis & Priest, 2012a, 2012b) has inspired new types of sporting events (see the sidebar The Run to the Beat Phenomenon).
Time trial performance and state motivation during a 200-meter freestyle task.
Adapted from Psychology of Sport and Exercise 14(4), C.I. Karageorghis, J.C. Hutchinson, L. Jones, H.L. Farmer, M.S. Ayhan, R.C. Wilson, J. Rance, C.J. Hepworth, and S.G. Bailey, "Psychological, psychophysical, and ergogenic effects of music in swimming," 560-568, 2013, with permission from Elsevier.
Save
Save
Find more recommended playlists for a variety of exercise- and sport-specific settings in Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
Find the motivation for routine physical activity
To overcome the almost overwhelming array of potentially negative external forces that inhibit progress toward their goals, people require tight routines, considerable self-discipline, and regular social support. Music can play a critical role by forming part of a routine and creating a mind-set associated with exercise and physical activity.
Music as a Prime
To overcome the almost overwhelming array of potentially negative external forces that inhibit progress toward their goals, people require tight routines, considerable self-discipline, and regular social support. Music can play a critical role by forming part of a routine and creating a mind-set associated with exercise and physical activity. Research shows that music can have a priming effect, meaning that it can activate the mind automatically (i.e., without conscious effort) and increase the motivation to exercise and take part in physical activity (e.g., Goerlich et al., 2012; Loizou & Karageorghis, 2015; Loizou, Karageorghis, & Bishop, 2014). Music can help elevate us; it can be a bridge to our higher purposes and goals.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, priming is a psychological technique popularized and refined by people in marketing. Back in the mid-1950s, market researcher James Vicary contrived an intriguing experiment in which the phrases Drink Coca-Cola and Eat popcorn were flashed on movie screens for just 0.03 seconds during the first half of movies (Vicary, 1957, cited in Radford, 2007). The viewers were not consciously aware of these visual primes (they appeared for too short a time to be registered), but they apparently led to an 18 percent increase in sales of Coca-Cola, and a whopping 58 percent increase in sales of popcorn during the interval.
Considerable controversy surrounded Vicary's claims and persists to the present day, but U.S. government legislators were quick to prevent companies from using such techniques to promote the purchase of consumer products. Despite the ban, similar techniques - now applied with a staggering degree of sophistication - are used routinely by advertisers. Apparently, the priming police have no teeth!
Research has demonstrated that people are largely unaware of the processes underlying their perceptions, pursuits, and behaviors (Levesque & Pelletier, 2003). Given that such processes play a pivotal role in health-related behaviors, taking some control over them through the measured application of pre-exercise music can create a pattern of thoughts and feelings that lead to the initiation of exercise-related behaviors. Music activates the emotional and movement-related segments of the brain such as the amygdala, temporal lobe, and cerebellum (see figure 2.2 in chapter 2) and can therefore greatly facilitate the mental preparation for exercise.
Scientists maintain that music has a particularly strong influence on the brain's unconscious processes (e.g., Levitin & Tirovolas, 2009; Scherer & Zentner, 2001). As noted in chapter 2, studies investigating high-intensity exercise have shown that well-selected music can enhance how people generally feel (affect), although it has little influence on their perceived exertion (RPE; Hutchinson & Karageorghis, 2013; Karageorghis et al. 2009). To a degree, such findings support the notion that the brain processes music at a subcortical, or automatic, level without conscious effort. It is precisely this apparent lack of a need for conscious processing that can make music an ideal form of prime for people who want to create an exercise habit. We do not have to think very much for music to influence our behaviors or feelings.
As discussed in chapter 2, both stimulative and calming music can prepare people mentally for exercise. Stimulating music can promote the entrainment of brain waves, the heartbeat, and the breathing rate, whereas calming music with strong extramusical associations can conjure the right type of mental imagery or thought processes (e.g., heroic images, thoughts of overcoming adversity, motion-related thoughts). Table 4.1 lists examples of musical works that function particularly well as preparatory tracks for physical activity programs. The tracks are arranged in three categories: those that are intrinsically stimulating (i.e., upbeat and energetic), those that are relatively slow in tempo but have strong extramusical associations, and those that both are stimulating and have strong extramusical associations.
Situations and circumstances will determine which category in table 4.1 you might wish to dip into for a pre-exercise track (consider also the theoretical model in figure 2.8). The first category, intrinsically stimulating, works particularly well for diverse groups of exercisers who do not necessarily have common cultural reference points (e.g., a physiotherapy rehabilitation class with a mix of age groups and ethnicities).
The second category, slow tempo with strong extramusical associations, would serve individuals or small groups of exercisers with common cultural reference points (e.g., they enjoy similar movies, have similar musical tastes, frequent the same social venues). The key consideration is that the exerciser(s) do not require a great deal of bodily activation but more mental stimulation, perhaps as a precursor to engaging in a stretching, yoga, or Pilates session. Older people and introverts tend not to like highly stimulative music; therefore, the second category might be ideal for them. This is a general rule that certainly does not hold in all instances; if you happen to be working with a 74-year-old grandma who's into Led Zeppelin played at high amplitude, you'd better pander to her tastes!
The third category is for individuals or groups with common cultural points of reference who are about to engage in vigorous and demanding physical activity (e.g., a high-intensity run or a step class). Here the goal is to activate or stimulate both the mind and body to a high degree. Younger and more extroverted exercisers tend to report a preference for more stimulative music as well. You might wonder why there is no fourth category of slow-tempo music without extramusical associations (i.e., sedative music). Well, we know from research, and to a certain degree common sense, that such a category has no meaningful role to play in preparing people for exercise (Karageorghis & Priest, 2012a). It can, however, play a role in preparing people for sport (see chapter 7).
Save
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Learn more about Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
The role of music in circuit training: Includes a sample playlist
Circuit training has grown considerably in popularity recently because it is an intense workout that can deliver relatively fast results in anaerobic endurance, muscle tone, and cardiorespiratory fitness.
Circuit Training
Circuit training has grown considerably in popularity recently because it is an intense workout that can deliver relatively fast results in anaerobic endurance, muscle tone, and cardiorespiratory fitness. As the name circuit suggests, exercises and activities are organized in a circular formation; people exercise at each station for a set period (e.g., 25 seconds) before recovering for a set period (e.g., 20 seconds) and moving to the next station during the recovery. Once all of the stations have been completed (i.e., the circuit is completed), there is a longer period of recovery (normally two to five minutes). A typical workout consists of three or four circuits of 15 to 20 stations.
Circuit training is a hybrid fitness activity that includes muscular endurance, strength, mobility, plyometric, and speed components. Some instructors include coordination activities (e.g., skipping drills over plastic hurdles) to encourage participants to think while under physical stress. Given the repetitive and almost regimented nature of a circuit, people generally love to have music playing in the background. Even highly-trained participants express a preference for music. The activity is usually performed to asynchronous music, although lab-based research showed that coordinating circuit exercises with music in a synchronous manner particularly benefitted women in terms of the number of repetitions completed and how positive they felt (see figure 5.1 for performance data) (Karageorghis et al., 2010).
Gender differences in circuit training performance accompanied by synchronous music (motivational and oudeterous) and a metronome control.
Adapted from Psychology of Sport and Exercise 11(6), C.I. Karageorghis, D.L. Priest, L.S. Williams, R.M. Hirani, K.M. Lannon, and B.J. Bates, "Ergogenic and psychological effects of synchronous music during circuit-type exercise," 551-559, 2010, with permission from Elsevier.
Interestingly, the men in this research appeared to derive no performance benefit from synchronous music when the two music conditions (motivational and oudeterous) were compared to a bleeping metronome that served as a control. In explaining their findings, the authors reflected on the experiences males and females have with music during their formative years. They explained that girls are more likely to engage in movement to music-based activities and demonstrate a greater desire to engage in dance-related activity (Karageorghis et al., 2010). The findings also showed that women were, on the whole, more adept than their male counterparts at keeping in sync with the musical beat. Despite the potential benefits for women that this study demonstrates, the mix of activities in a real-life circuit and their physical demands means that the use of asynchronous music generally works best.
There are opportunities for synchronization during parts of a circuit, but this is often done on an ad hoc basis. For example, if an exerciser is performing bench dips, the background music is playing at 140 bpm, and her dipping rate is 35 reps per minute, she can either flex or extend the elbow joint with each two beats of music in 4/4 time to sync with it. There are musical ways to boost a circuits class. First, the music should be motivational and uplifting (see chapter 2 and the discussion of the BMRI-3 in chapter 3) and in a tempo range of 120 to 145 bpm. Second, the lower end of that tempo range should be used for the first circuit and gradually be built up toward the top end of the range for the final circuit, when the class needs the most stimulation. Taking this principle a step further, music may not be used at all for the first circuit and introduced in the second circuit. Third, a soundtrack for a circuits class can punctuate work and recovery periods. This can be done by having periods of silence for the recovery periods to signal when people need to stop and move to the next station, or by including bleeps on the soundtrack - perhaps a high-pitched bleep to start and a low-pitched bleep to stop.
As an unassuming undergraduate, my first scientific research into the effects of music on human performance entailed examining how stimulative and sedative music programs influenced the number of repetitions performed. The stimulative music produced superior performance levels when compared to sedative music and a no-music control (Karageorghis, 1991).Since that time, I have used music for a Monday night circuits class at my university. During the last 25 years, I have compiled many playlists (at least one a term) and have often asked participants for selections that I subsequently incorporate. For table 5.6, I have trawled through these playlists from the last quarter century to produce my all-time circuits playlist. Each mini-set (i.e., tracks for a single circuit) uses music from a distinct musical era to give the playlist greater coherence.
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Discover the role music plays in Zumba, spinning, yoga, and more in Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
Olympic athlete soothes performance anxiety with music
Music is used in three main ways within sport and exercise: synchronous, asynchronous, and pre-task. The synchronous application of music is typified by the use of the rhythmic, or temporal, aspects of music as a type of metronome that regulates movement patterns.
How Music Is Used
Music is used in three main ways within sport and exercise: synchronous, asynchronous, and pre-task. The synchronous application of music is typified by the use of the rhythmic, or temporal, aspects of music as a type of metronome that regulates movement patterns. For example, in synchronized swimming, the athletes strive to keep their aquatic dance routines in perfect time with the accompanying music. As discussed in chapter 6, this approach can yield a particularly strong ergogenic effect when used to regulate endurance-type activities such as walking and cycling, thereby increasing their efficiency. As the term implies, the asynchronous use of music entails the absence of conscious synchronization. Music can also be used pre-task to arouse, relax, or regulate the mood of an individual or a team or exercise group prior to a competition or activity. Generally, fast, loud music has a stimulative effect, so it can be used as part of a psych-up routine; soft, slow music has a sedative effect, which means that it can be used as a sedative or relaxant. Most coaches believe that the role of music is always to arouse the athlete; however, given how extremely activated athletes can feel before competition, the ability of a well-selected piece to calm and deactivate the athlete is often discounted.
A good example of an athlete using music to psych down involves my former student, Audley Harrison, MBE. In 1998 he brazenly told fellow students that he was going to become the Olympic super-heavyweight boxing champion at the upcoming Sydney Games. However, when he got to the qualifying rounds and began to progress, nervousness set in. Years later he told me:
Nothing had prepared me for the pressure cooker that was the Olympic Games - not even winning the Commonwealth title two years earlier in Kuala Lumpur. I really felt the weight of public expectation back home as well as the expectation of my family and support team. I needed something to calm me down and put me in the right frame of mind to give the performance of my life.
To soothe his anxiety, he listened to Japanese classical music.
Read more in Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
Music for swimmers
Over the last decade, advances in underwater MP3 technology have led to the popularization of music use in swimming. This sport demands a regular motor pattern and highly rhythmic limb movements and breathing patterns.
Over the last decade, advances in underwater MP3 technology have led to the popularization of music use in swimming. This sport demands a regular motor pattern and highly rhythmic limb movements and breathing patterns. Rhythmic music can help swimmers set a good rhythm while also distracting them from the monotony of grinding out repetitive lengths in the pool. In partnership with Speedo, my group sought to measure the psychological and ergogenic (work-enhancing) effects of music in an all-out 200-meter freestyle task (Karageorghis et al., 2013). We found that both motivational ("Sexy And I Know It" by LMFAO) and oudeterous ("Howl" by Florence and the Machine) tracks enhanced swimmers' perceptions of state motivation and time trial performance when compared to a no-music control (see figure 7.2). This suggests that, during all-out efforts, athletes may tune in only to the rhythmic qualities of music (Terry et al., 2012). Athletes in all rhythmic endurance sports (e.g., cross-country skiing, rowing, running) can benefit from music, and a strong body of scientific evidence (for reviews, see Karageorghis, 2016; Karageorghis & Priest, 2012a, 2012b) has inspired new types of sporting events (see the sidebar The Run to the Beat Phenomenon).
Time trial performance and state motivation during a 200-meter freestyle task.
Adapted from Psychology of Sport and Exercise 14(4), C.I. Karageorghis, J.C. Hutchinson, L. Jones, H.L. Farmer, M.S. Ayhan, R.C. Wilson, J. Rance, C.J. Hepworth, and S.G. Bailey, "Psychological, psychophysical, and ergogenic effects of music in swimming," 560-568, 2013, with permission from Elsevier.
Save
Save
Find more recommended playlists for a variety of exercise- and sport-specific settings in Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
Find the motivation for routine physical activity
To overcome the almost overwhelming array of potentially negative external forces that inhibit progress toward their goals, people require tight routines, considerable self-discipline, and regular social support. Music can play a critical role by forming part of a routine and creating a mind-set associated with exercise and physical activity.
Music as a Prime
To overcome the almost overwhelming array of potentially negative external forces that inhibit progress toward their goals, people require tight routines, considerable self-discipline, and regular social support. Music can play a critical role by forming part of a routine and creating a mind-set associated with exercise and physical activity. Research shows that music can have a priming effect, meaning that it can activate the mind automatically (i.e., without conscious effort) and increase the motivation to exercise and take part in physical activity (e.g., Goerlich et al., 2012; Loizou & Karageorghis, 2015; Loizou, Karageorghis, & Bishop, 2014). Music can help elevate us; it can be a bridge to our higher purposes and goals.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, priming is a psychological technique popularized and refined by people in marketing. Back in the mid-1950s, market researcher James Vicary contrived an intriguing experiment in which the phrases Drink Coca-Cola and Eat popcorn were flashed on movie screens for just 0.03 seconds during the first half of movies (Vicary, 1957, cited in Radford, 2007). The viewers were not consciously aware of these visual primes (they appeared for too short a time to be registered), but they apparently led to an 18 percent increase in sales of Coca-Cola, and a whopping 58 percent increase in sales of popcorn during the interval.
Considerable controversy surrounded Vicary's claims and persists to the present day, but U.S. government legislators were quick to prevent companies from using such techniques to promote the purchase of consumer products. Despite the ban, similar techniques - now applied with a staggering degree of sophistication - are used routinely by advertisers. Apparently, the priming police have no teeth!
Research has demonstrated that people are largely unaware of the processes underlying their perceptions, pursuits, and behaviors (Levesque & Pelletier, 2003). Given that such processes play a pivotal role in health-related behaviors, taking some control over them through the measured application of pre-exercise music can create a pattern of thoughts and feelings that lead to the initiation of exercise-related behaviors. Music activates the emotional and movement-related segments of the brain such as the amygdala, temporal lobe, and cerebellum (see figure 2.2 in chapter 2) and can therefore greatly facilitate the mental preparation for exercise.
Scientists maintain that music has a particularly strong influence on the brain's unconscious processes (e.g., Levitin & Tirovolas, 2009; Scherer & Zentner, 2001). As noted in chapter 2, studies investigating high-intensity exercise have shown that well-selected music can enhance how people generally feel (affect), although it has little influence on their perceived exertion (RPE; Hutchinson & Karageorghis, 2013; Karageorghis et al. 2009). To a degree, such findings support the notion that the brain processes music at a subcortical, or automatic, level without conscious effort. It is precisely this apparent lack of a need for conscious processing that can make music an ideal form of prime for people who want to create an exercise habit. We do not have to think very much for music to influence our behaviors or feelings.
As discussed in chapter 2, both stimulative and calming music can prepare people mentally for exercise. Stimulating music can promote the entrainment of brain waves, the heartbeat, and the breathing rate, whereas calming music with strong extramusical associations can conjure the right type of mental imagery or thought processes (e.g., heroic images, thoughts of overcoming adversity, motion-related thoughts). Table 4.1 lists examples of musical works that function particularly well as preparatory tracks for physical activity programs. The tracks are arranged in three categories: those that are intrinsically stimulating (i.e., upbeat and energetic), those that are relatively slow in tempo but have strong extramusical associations, and those that both are stimulating and have strong extramusical associations.
Situations and circumstances will determine which category in table 4.1 you might wish to dip into for a pre-exercise track (consider also the theoretical model in figure 2.8). The first category, intrinsically stimulating, works particularly well for diverse groups of exercisers who do not necessarily have common cultural reference points (e.g., a physiotherapy rehabilitation class with a mix of age groups and ethnicities).
The second category, slow tempo with strong extramusical associations, would serve individuals or small groups of exercisers with common cultural reference points (e.g., they enjoy similar movies, have similar musical tastes, frequent the same social venues). The key consideration is that the exerciser(s) do not require a great deal of bodily activation but more mental stimulation, perhaps as a precursor to engaging in a stretching, yoga, or Pilates session. Older people and introverts tend not to like highly stimulative music; therefore, the second category might be ideal for them. This is a general rule that certainly does not hold in all instances; if you happen to be working with a 74-year-old grandma who's into Led Zeppelin played at high amplitude, you'd better pander to her tastes!
The third category is for individuals or groups with common cultural points of reference who are about to engage in vigorous and demanding physical activity (e.g., a high-intensity run or a step class). Here the goal is to activate or stimulate both the mind and body to a high degree. Younger and more extroverted exercisers tend to report a preference for more stimulative music as well. You might wonder why there is no fourth category of slow-tempo music without extramusical associations (i.e., sedative music). Well, we know from research, and to a certain degree common sense, that such a category has no meaningful role to play in preparing people for exercise (Karageorghis & Priest, 2012a). It can, however, play a role in preparing people for sport (see chapter 7).
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Learn more about Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
The role of music in circuit training: Includes a sample playlist
Circuit training has grown considerably in popularity recently because it is an intense workout that can deliver relatively fast results in anaerobic endurance, muscle tone, and cardiorespiratory fitness.
Circuit Training
Circuit training has grown considerably in popularity recently because it is an intense workout that can deliver relatively fast results in anaerobic endurance, muscle tone, and cardiorespiratory fitness. As the name circuit suggests, exercises and activities are organized in a circular formation; people exercise at each station for a set period (e.g., 25 seconds) before recovering for a set period (e.g., 20 seconds) and moving to the next station during the recovery. Once all of the stations have been completed (i.e., the circuit is completed), there is a longer period of recovery (normally two to five minutes). A typical workout consists of three or four circuits of 15 to 20 stations.
Circuit training is a hybrid fitness activity that includes muscular endurance, strength, mobility, plyometric, and speed components. Some instructors include coordination activities (e.g., skipping drills over plastic hurdles) to encourage participants to think while under physical stress. Given the repetitive and almost regimented nature of a circuit, people generally love to have music playing in the background. Even highly-trained participants express a preference for music. The activity is usually performed to asynchronous music, although lab-based research showed that coordinating circuit exercises with music in a synchronous manner particularly benefitted women in terms of the number of repetitions completed and how positive they felt (see figure 5.1 for performance data) (Karageorghis et al., 2010).
Gender differences in circuit training performance accompanied by synchronous music (motivational and oudeterous) and a metronome control.
Adapted from Psychology of Sport and Exercise 11(6), C.I. Karageorghis, D.L. Priest, L.S. Williams, R.M. Hirani, K.M. Lannon, and B.J. Bates, "Ergogenic and psychological effects of synchronous music during circuit-type exercise," 551-559, 2010, with permission from Elsevier.
Interestingly, the men in this research appeared to derive no performance benefit from synchronous music when the two music conditions (motivational and oudeterous) were compared to a bleeping metronome that served as a control. In explaining their findings, the authors reflected on the experiences males and females have with music during their formative years. They explained that girls are more likely to engage in movement to music-based activities and demonstrate a greater desire to engage in dance-related activity (Karageorghis et al., 2010). The findings also showed that women were, on the whole, more adept than their male counterparts at keeping in sync with the musical beat. Despite the potential benefits for women that this study demonstrates, the mix of activities in a real-life circuit and their physical demands means that the use of asynchronous music generally works best.
There are opportunities for synchronization during parts of a circuit, but this is often done on an ad hoc basis. For example, if an exerciser is performing bench dips, the background music is playing at 140 bpm, and her dipping rate is 35 reps per minute, she can either flex or extend the elbow joint with each two beats of music in 4/4 time to sync with it. There are musical ways to boost a circuits class. First, the music should be motivational and uplifting (see chapter 2 and the discussion of the BMRI-3 in chapter 3) and in a tempo range of 120 to 145 bpm. Second, the lower end of that tempo range should be used for the first circuit and gradually be built up toward the top end of the range for the final circuit, when the class needs the most stimulation. Taking this principle a step further, music may not be used at all for the first circuit and introduced in the second circuit. Third, a soundtrack for a circuits class can punctuate work and recovery periods. This can be done by having periods of silence for the recovery periods to signal when people need to stop and move to the next station, or by including bleeps on the soundtrack - perhaps a high-pitched bleep to start and a low-pitched bleep to stop.
As an unassuming undergraduate, my first scientific research into the effects of music on human performance entailed examining how stimulative and sedative music programs influenced the number of repetitions performed. The stimulative music produced superior performance levels when compared to sedative music and a no-music control (Karageorghis, 1991).Since that time, I have used music for a Monday night circuits class at my university. During the last 25 years, I have compiled many playlists (at least one a term) and have often asked participants for selections that I subsequently incorporate. For table 5.6, I have trawled through these playlists from the last quarter century to produce my all-time circuits playlist. Each mini-set (i.e., tracks for a single circuit) uses music from a distinct musical era to give the playlist greater coherence.
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Discover the role music plays in Zumba, spinning, yoga, and more in Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
Olympic athlete soothes performance anxiety with music
Music is used in three main ways within sport and exercise: synchronous, asynchronous, and pre-task. The synchronous application of music is typified by the use of the rhythmic, or temporal, aspects of music as a type of metronome that regulates movement patterns.
How Music Is Used
Music is used in three main ways within sport and exercise: synchronous, asynchronous, and pre-task. The synchronous application of music is typified by the use of the rhythmic, or temporal, aspects of music as a type of metronome that regulates movement patterns. For example, in synchronized swimming, the athletes strive to keep their aquatic dance routines in perfect time with the accompanying music. As discussed in chapter 6, this approach can yield a particularly strong ergogenic effect when used to regulate endurance-type activities such as walking and cycling, thereby increasing their efficiency. As the term implies, the asynchronous use of music entails the absence of conscious synchronization. Music can also be used pre-task to arouse, relax, or regulate the mood of an individual or a team or exercise group prior to a competition or activity. Generally, fast, loud music has a stimulative effect, so it can be used as part of a psych-up routine; soft, slow music has a sedative effect, which means that it can be used as a sedative or relaxant. Most coaches believe that the role of music is always to arouse the athlete; however, given how extremely activated athletes can feel before competition, the ability of a well-selected piece to calm and deactivate the athlete is often discounted.
A good example of an athlete using music to psych down involves my former student, Audley Harrison, MBE. In 1998 he brazenly told fellow students that he was going to become the Olympic super-heavyweight boxing champion at the upcoming Sydney Games. However, when he got to the qualifying rounds and began to progress, nervousness set in. Years later he told me:
Nothing had prepared me for the pressure cooker that was the Olympic Games - not even winning the Commonwealth title two years earlier in Kuala Lumpur. I really felt the weight of public expectation back home as well as the expectation of my family and support team. I needed something to calm me down and put me in the right frame of mind to give the performance of my life.
To soothe his anxiety, he listened to Japanese classical music.
Read more in Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
Music for swimmers
Over the last decade, advances in underwater MP3 technology have led to the popularization of music use in swimming. This sport demands a regular motor pattern and highly rhythmic limb movements and breathing patterns.
Over the last decade, advances in underwater MP3 technology have led to the popularization of music use in swimming. This sport demands a regular motor pattern and highly rhythmic limb movements and breathing patterns. Rhythmic music can help swimmers set a good rhythm while also distracting them from the monotony of grinding out repetitive lengths in the pool. In partnership with Speedo, my group sought to measure the psychological and ergogenic (work-enhancing) effects of music in an all-out 200-meter freestyle task (Karageorghis et al., 2013). We found that both motivational ("Sexy And I Know It" by LMFAO) and oudeterous ("Howl" by Florence and the Machine) tracks enhanced swimmers' perceptions of state motivation and time trial performance when compared to a no-music control (see figure 7.2). This suggests that, during all-out efforts, athletes may tune in only to the rhythmic qualities of music (Terry et al., 2012). Athletes in all rhythmic endurance sports (e.g., cross-country skiing, rowing, running) can benefit from music, and a strong body of scientific evidence (for reviews, see Karageorghis, 2016; Karageorghis & Priest, 2012a, 2012b) has inspired new types of sporting events (see the sidebar The Run to the Beat Phenomenon).
Time trial performance and state motivation during a 200-meter freestyle task.
Adapted from Psychology of Sport and Exercise 14(4), C.I. Karageorghis, J.C. Hutchinson, L. Jones, H.L. Farmer, M.S. Ayhan, R.C. Wilson, J. Rance, C.J. Hepworth, and S.G. Bailey, "Psychological, psychophysical, and ergogenic effects of music in swimming," 560-568, 2013, with permission from Elsevier.
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Find more recommended playlists for a variety of exercise- and sport-specific settings in Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
Find the motivation for routine physical activity
To overcome the almost overwhelming array of potentially negative external forces that inhibit progress toward their goals, people require tight routines, considerable self-discipline, and regular social support. Music can play a critical role by forming part of a routine and creating a mind-set associated with exercise and physical activity.
Music as a Prime
To overcome the almost overwhelming array of potentially negative external forces that inhibit progress toward their goals, people require tight routines, considerable self-discipline, and regular social support. Music can play a critical role by forming part of a routine and creating a mind-set associated with exercise and physical activity. Research shows that music can have a priming effect, meaning that it can activate the mind automatically (i.e., without conscious effort) and increase the motivation to exercise and take part in physical activity (e.g., Goerlich et al., 2012; Loizou & Karageorghis, 2015; Loizou, Karageorghis, & Bishop, 2014). Music can help elevate us; it can be a bridge to our higher purposes and goals.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, priming is a psychological technique popularized and refined by people in marketing. Back in the mid-1950s, market researcher James Vicary contrived an intriguing experiment in which the phrases Drink Coca-Cola and Eat popcorn were flashed on movie screens for just 0.03 seconds during the first half of movies (Vicary, 1957, cited in Radford, 2007). The viewers were not consciously aware of these visual primes (they appeared for too short a time to be registered), but they apparently led to an 18 percent increase in sales of Coca-Cola, and a whopping 58 percent increase in sales of popcorn during the interval.
Considerable controversy surrounded Vicary's claims and persists to the present day, but U.S. government legislators were quick to prevent companies from using such techniques to promote the purchase of consumer products. Despite the ban, similar techniques - now applied with a staggering degree of sophistication - are used routinely by advertisers. Apparently, the priming police have no teeth!
Research has demonstrated that people are largely unaware of the processes underlying their perceptions, pursuits, and behaviors (Levesque & Pelletier, 2003). Given that such processes play a pivotal role in health-related behaviors, taking some control over them through the measured application of pre-exercise music can create a pattern of thoughts and feelings that lead to the initiation of exercise-related behaviors. Music activates the emotional and movement-related segments of the brain such as the amygdala, temporal lobe, and cerebellum (see figure 2.2 in chapter 2) and can therefore greatly facilitate the mental preparation for exercise.
Scientists maintain that music has a particularly strong influence on the brain's unconscious processes (e.g., Levitin & Tirovolas, 2009; Scherer & Zentner, 2001). As noted in chapter 2, studies investigating high-intensity exercise have shown that well-selected music can enhance how people generally feel (affect), although it has little influence on their perceived exertion (RPE; Hutchinson & Karageorghis, 2013; Karageorghis et al. 2009). To a degree, such findings support the notion that the brain processes music at a subcortical, or automatic, level without conscious effort. It is precisely this apparent lack of a need for conscious processing that can make music an ideal form of prime for people who want to create an exercise habit. We do not have to think very much for music to influence our behaviors or feelings.
As discussed in chapter 2, both stimulative and calming music can prepare people mentally for exercise. Stimulating music can promote the entrainment of brain waves, the heartbeat, and the breathing rate, whereas calming music with strong extramusical associations can conjure the right type of mental imagery or thought processes (e.g., heroic images, thoughts of overcoming adversity, motion-related thoughts). Table 4.1 lists examples of musical works that function particularly well as preparatory tracks for physical activity programs. The tracks are arranged in three categories: those that are intrinsically stimulating (i.e., upbeat and energetic), those that are relatively slow in tempo but have strong extramusical associations, and those that both are stimulating and have strong extramusical associations.
Situations and circumstances will determine which category in table 4.1 you might wish to dip into for a pre-exercise track (consider also the theoretical model in figure 2.8). The first category, intrinsically stimulating, works particularly well for diverse groups of exercisers who do not necessarily have common cultural reference points (e.g., a physiotherapy rehabilitation class with a mix of age groups and ethnicities).
The second category, slow tempo with strong extramusical associations, would serve individuals or small groups of exercisers with common cultural reference points (e.g., they enjoy similar movies, have similar musical tastes, frequent the same social venues). The key consideration is that the exerciser(s) do not require a great deal of bodily activation but more mental stimulation, perhaps as a precursor to engaging in a stretching, yoga, or Pilates session. Older people and introverts tend not to like highly stimulative music; therefore, the second category might be ideal for them. This is a general rule that certainly does not hold in all instances; if you happen to be working with a 74-year-old grandma who's into Led Zeppelin played at high amplitude, you'd better pander to her tastes!
The third category is for individuals or groups with common cultural points of reference who are about to engage in vigorous and demanding physical activity (e.g., a high-intensity run or a step class). Here the goal is to activate or stimulate both the mind and body to a high degree. Younger and more extroverted exercisers tend to report a preference for more stimulative music as well. You might wonder why there is no fourth category of slow-tempo music without extramusical associations (i.e., sedative music). Well, we know from research, and to a certain degree common sense, that such a category has no meaningful role to play in preparing people for exercise (Karageorghis & Priest, 2012a). It can, however, play a role in preparing people for sport (see chapter 7).
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The role of music in circuit training: Includes a sample playlist
Circuit training has grown considerably in popularity recently because it is an intense workout that can deliver relatively fast results in anaerobic endurance, muscle tone, and cardiorespiratory fitness.
Circuit Training
Circuit training has grown considerably in popularity recently because it is an intense workout that can deliver relatively fast results in anaerobic endurance, muscle tone, and cardiorespiratory fitness. As the name circuit suggests, exercises and activities are organized in a circular formation; people exercise at each station for a set period (e.g., 25 seconds) before recovering for a set period (e.g., 20 seconds) and moving to the next station during the recovery. Once all of the stations have been completed (i.e., the circuit is completed), there is a longer period of recovery (normally two to five minutes). A typical workout consists of three or four circuits of 15 to 20 stations.
Circuit training is a hybrid fitness activity that includes muscular endurance, strength, mobility, plyometric, and speed components. Some instructors include coordination activities (e.g., skipping drills over plastic hurdles) to encourage participants to think while under physical stress. Given the repetitive and almost regimented nature of a circuit, people generally love to have music playing in the background. Even highly-trained participants express a preference for music. The activity is usually performed to asynchronous music, although lab-based research showed that coordinating circuit exercises with music in a synchronous manner particularly benefitted women in terms of the number of repetitions completed and how positive they felt (see figure 5.1 for performance data) (Karageorghis et al., 2010).
Gender differences in circuit training performance accompanied by synchronous music (motivational and oudeterous) and a metronome control.
Adapted from Psychology of Sport and Exercise 11(6), C.I. Karageorghis, D.L. Priest, L.S. Williams, R.M. Hirani, K.M. Lannon, and B.J. Bates, "Ergogenic and psychological effects of synchronous music during circuit-type exercise," 551-559, 2010, with permission from Elsevier.
Interestingly, the men in this research appeared to derive no performance benefit from synchronous music when the two music conditions (motivational and oudeterous) were compared to a bleeping metronome that served as a control. In explaining their findings, the authors reflected on the experiences males and females have with music during their formative years. They explained that girls are more likely to engage in movement to music-based activities and demonstrate a greater desire to engage in dance-related activity (Karageorghis et al., 2010). The findings also showed that women were, on the whole, more adept than their male counterparts at keeping in sync with the musical beat. Despite the potential benefits for women that this study demonstrates, the mix of activities in a real-life circuit and their physical demands means that the use of asynchronous music generally works best.
There are opportunities for synchronization during parts of a circuit, but this is often done on an ad hoc basis. For example, if an exerciser is performing bench dips, the background music is playing at 140 bpm, and her dipping rate is 35 reps per minute, she can either flex or extend the elbow joint with each two beats of music in 4/4 time to sync with it. There are musical ways to boost a circuits class. First, the music should be motivational and uplifting (see chapter 2 and the discussion of the BMRI-3 in chapter 3) and in a tempo range of 120 to 145 bpm. Second, the lower end of that tempo range should be used for the first circuit and gradually be built up toward the top end of the range for the final circuit, when the class needs the most stimulation. Taking this principle a step further, music may not be used at all for the first circuit and introduced in the second circuit. Third, a soundtrack for a circuits class can punctuate work and recovery periods. This can be done by having periods of silence for the recovery periods to signal when people need to stop and move to the next station, or by including bleeps on the soundtrack - perhaps a high-pitched bleep to start and a low-pitched bleep to stop.
As an unassuming undergraduate, my first scientific research into the effects of music on human performance entailed examining how stimulative and sedative music programs influenced the number of repetitions performed. The stimulative music produced superior performance levels when compared to sedative music and a no-music control (Karageorghis, 1991).Since that time, I have used music for a Monday night circuits class at my university. During the last 25 years, I have compiled many playlists (at least one a term) and have often asked participants for selections that I subsequently incorporate. For table 5.6, I have trawled through these playlists from the last quarter century to produce my all-time circuits playlist. Each mini-set (i.e., tracks for a single circuit) uses music from a distinct musical era to give the playlist greater coherence.
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Discover the role music plays in Zumba, spinning, yoga, and more in Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
Olympic athlete soothes performance anxiety with music
Music is used in three main ways within sport and exercise: synchronous, asynchronous, and pre-task. The synchronous application of music is typified by the use of the rhythmic, or temporal, aspects of music as a type of metronome that regulates movement patterns.
How Music Is Used
Music is used in three main ways within sport and exercise: synchronous, asynchronous, and pre-task. The synchronous application of music is typified by the use of the rhythmic, or temporal, aspects of music as a type of metronome that regulates movement patterns. For example, in synchronized swimming, the athletes strive to keep their aquatic dance routines in perfect time with the accompanying music. As discussed in chapter 6, this approach can yield a particularly strong ergogenic effect when used to regulate endurance-type activities such as walking and cycling, thereby increasing their efficiency. As the term implies, the asynchronous use of music entails the absence of conscious synchronization. Music can also be used pre-task to arouse, relax, or regulate the mood of an individual or a team or exercise group prior to a competition or activity. Generally, fast, loud music has a stimulative effect, so it can be used as part of a psych-up routine; soft, slow music has a sedative effect, which means that it can be used as a sedative or relaxant. Most coaches believe that the role of music is always to arouse the athlete; however, given how extremely activated athletes can feel before competition, the ability of a well-selected piece to calm and deactivate the athlete is often discounted.
A good example of an athlete using music to psych down involves my former student, Audley Harrison, MBE. In 1998 he brazenly told fellow students that he was going to become the Olympic super-heavyweight boxing champion at the upcoming Sydney Games. However, when he got to the qualifying rounds and began to progress, nervousness set in. Years later he told me:
Nothing had prepared me for the pressure cooker that was the Olympic Games - not even winning the Commonwealth title two years earlier in Kuala Lumpur. I really felt the weight of public expectation back home as well as the expectation of my family and support team. I needed something to calm me down and put me in the right frame of mind to give the performance of my life.
To soothe his anxiety, he listened to Japanese classical music.
Read more in Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.
Music for swimmers
Over the last decade, advances in underwater MP3 technology have led to the popularization of music use in swimming. This sport demands a regular motor pattern and highly rhythmic limb movements and breathing patterns.
Over the last decade, advances in underwater MP3 technology have led to the popularization of music use in swimming. This sport demands a regular motor pattern and highly rhythmic limb movements and breathing patterns. Rhythmic music can help swimmers set a good rhythm while also distracting them from the monotony of grinding out repetitive lengths in the pool. In partnership with Speedo, my group sought to measure the psychological and ergogenic (work-enhancing) effects of music in an all-out 200-meter freestyle task (Karageorghis et al., 2013). We found that both motivational ("Sexy And I Know It" by LMFAO) and oudeterous ("Howl" by Florence and the Machine) tracks enhanced swimmers' perceptions of state motivation and time trial performance when compared to a no-music control (see figure 7.2). This suggests that, during all-out efforts, athletes may tune in only to the rhythmic qualities of music (Terry et al., 2012). Athletes in all rhythmic endurance sports (e.g., cross-country skiing, rowing, running) can benefit from music, and a strong body of scientific evidence (for reviews, see Karageorghis, 2016; Karageorghis & Priest, 2012a, 2012b) has inspired new types of sporting events (see the sidebar The Run to the Beat Phenomenon).
Time trial performance and state motivation during a 200-meter freestyle task.
Adapted from Psychology of Sport and Exercise 14(4), C.I. Karageorghis, J.C. Hutchinson, L. Jones, H.L. Farmer, M.S. Ayhan, R.C. Wilson, J. Rance, C.J. Hepworth, and S.G. Bailey, "Psychological, psychophysical, and ergogenic effects of music in swimming," 560-568, 2013, with permission from Elsevier.
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Find more recommended playlists for a variety of exercise- and sport-specific settings in Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.