The Effects of Music on Force Production, Pleasure, Perceived Exertion, Fatigue, and Recovery During an Isokinetic Strength Task

Music is frequently listened to during exercise to enhance the overall experience. Prior research suggests promising effects of music for enhancing pleasure experienced during exercise, reducing perceived exertion, reducing fatigue, and enhancing recovery. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to offer new insights into how self-selected music can impact affective responses, perceptions of exertion and fatigue, and performance on a resistance exercise task. METHODS: A total of 34 participants (21 women and 13 men, mean age: 22 ± 6 years) completed two sessions of isokinetic resistance exercise in a counterbalanced order. In the experimental session, participants listened to customized playlists of self-selected motivational music. During the exercise session, participants responded to measures of affective valence, perceived exertion, and perceived fatigue. Muscle force production was assessed using an isokinetic dynamometer. Participants also completed a control condition that was identical, except no music was played. Force production after a rest period was used to indicate recovery. Statistical analyses were used to determine the effects of music on force production, pleasure, perceived exertion, fatigue, and recovery. Alpha level was set to .05. RESULTS: A repeated-measures ANOVA indicated that music did not have a beneficial impact on force production (p = .052, np2 = .109, ω2 = .004) or recovery (p = .231, np2 = .043, ω2 < .001). A paired t-test revealed that music enhanced the pleasure experienced during exercise (p = .003, d = 0.516). However, paired t-tests indicated that music did not have a positive impact on perceived exertion (p = .097, d = -.227) or fatigue (p = .226, d = -.130). CONCLUSION: This study tested the effects of self-selected music on force production, pleasure, perceived exertion, fatigue, and recovery in a challenging resistance exercise task. Overall, music increased experienced pleasure, but did not impact average peak torque, perceived exertion, perceived fatigue, or recovery. Future researchers should better account for task familiarity, commitment and motivation, and tempo in an effort to further clarify the contexts in which music enhances qualities of the exercise experience and exercise performance.