There have been over 60 studies looking at the benefits of music, either before sports or during exercise. Exercise and sport didn’t really explode until the Walkman was introduced in the 1980s. It has grown astronomically with special mp3 players adapted for in water sports or to play music in your ski helmet. Music still played a role in heavy work before then, the drummer on the Roman slave galleys of the Mediterranean set the beat of the rowers and the songs and chants of prisoners that were assigned chain gangs helped them through heavy labour.
Music has been to found to have a number of positive effects on exercise. Anyone who has attended Zumba class can attest that the beat drives the rhythm of the exercise. This is called synchronous effect. This was the same effect of the drums on the rowing slaves. But there is more to it than that.
Music has also been found to work in other ways as well. Listening to music before a sport allows an athlete to escape from anxiety as they prepare. It stimulates arousal (think of how one of your favourite songs gets your heart pumping) and helps to focus on the task at hand.
In addition, during training it has been shown to have a positive effect on exercise. It improves endurance by acting as a diversion from the hard work you are doing. Studies indicate in may improve performance as much as 15% for some activities and some people. This is not without limits; it is most effective at levels of moderate intensity, at maximum effort it has little effect, probably because the nervous system is less attuned to any outside stimulus at this exercise level.
On your next trip to the gym, pack your music player, select your playlist and get the benefits of music for synchronizing your workout, getting you pumped up and improving your exercise tolerance.