Listening to Fast-Tempo Music Delays the Onset of Neuromuscular Fatigue.

Centala, J, Pogorel, C, Pummill, SW, and Malek, MH. Listening to fast-tempo music delays the onset of neuromuscular fatigue. J Strength Cond Res 34(3): 617-622, 2020-Studies determining the effect of music on physical performance have primarily focused on outcomes such as running time to exhaustion, blood lactate, or maximal oxygen uptake. The electromyographic fatigue threshold (EMGFT) is determined through a single incremental test and operationally defined as the highest exercise intensity that can be sustained indefinitely without an increase in EMG activity of the working muscle. To date, no studies have examined the role of fast-tempo music on EMGFT. The purpose of this investigation, therefore, was to determine whether fast-tempo music attenuates neuromuscular fatigue as measured by the EMGFT. We hypothesized that listening to fast-tempo music during exercise would increase the estimated EMGFT compared with the control condition. Secondarily, we hypothesized that maximal power output would also increase as a result of listening to fast-tempo music during the exercise workbout. Ten healthy college-aged men (mean ± SEM: age, 25.3 ± 0.8 years [range from 22 to 31 years]; body mass, 78.3 ± 1.8 kg; height: 1.77 ± 0.02 m) visited the laboratory on 2 occasions separated by 7 days. The EMGFT was determined from an incremental single-leg knee-extensor ergometer for each visit. In a randomized order, subjects either listened to music or no music for the 2 visits. All music was presented as instrumentals and randomized with a tempo ranging between 137 and 160 b·min. The results indicated that listening to fast-tempo music during exercise increased maximal power output (No Music: 48 ± 4; Music: 54 ± 3 W; p = 0.02) and EMGFT (No Music: 27 ± 3; Music: 34 ± 4 W; p = 0.008). There were, however, no significant mean differences between the 2 conditions (no music vs. music) for absolute and relative end-exercise heart rate as well as end-exercise rating of perceived exertion for the exercised leg. These findings suggest that listening to fast-tempo music increased overall exercise tolerance as well as the neuromuscular fatigue threshold. The results are applicable to both sport and rehabilitative settings.

RCT Entities:   Population Interventions Outcomes