Music is often synonymous with sports. Going to work out? Put some tunes on. Going for a run? Pop in an AirPod. Time to lift weights? Connect to Bluetooth. However, the reason behind the connection between exercising and listening to music might be more important than most think.
Ph.D. Christopher Ballman is an associate professor at the University of Alabama, Birmingham. Ballman has found that depending on the physical activity one does, the music they should listen to for optimal performance varies.
“For exercises with a rhythmic component, such as running or weightlifting with repetitions, altering the tempo can be used to lead individuals to synchronize their movements with the beat,” Ballman wrote in an article published by the University of Alabama, Birmingham.
Music can shift an athlete’s mindset depending on the beats per minute of the songs they listen to. If athletes listen to the correct beats during their workout, then they can improve their body’s mental stamina and therefore influence how far they push themselves. On the way to games or during warmups, music can help athletes get in the right headspace and mindset to perform.
According to an October Bark survey, 75 percent of students prefer listening to music while exercising rather than exercising without it. While some sports at Redwood, like cross country and track and field, don’t allow music for safety reasons, other sports take advantage of the tool. For example, girls’ varsity volleyball plays music during practice and pregame warm-ups. Senior captain Liliana Huerta favors having music while playing volleyball.
“I don’t really focus on [the music] but I can tell the other girls on the team have a lot of fun with it. It gets them loose and ready to go,” Huerta said.
For girls’ varsity tennis, music is also a norm for practice and pregame warm-ups. Sophomore player Wells Von Stroh appreciates the positive atmosphere music creates.
“Usually when you play music it makes you happy, and [with] encouraging music it makes you [feel] extra energized and ready to play,” Von Stroh said.
Professional athletic leagues, like the National Basketball Association (NBA), include music not only during warm-ups, but also during the game itself. It’s designed to hype up the crowd, as well as the players. According to the National Library of Medicine, “Music has been shown to potently reduce the perception of fatigue and exertion through dissociation and distraction during exercise.” If athletes are using music the right way, it can help them push beyond what they may think are their physical limits.
“Our coaches will say to listen to a song before you play for when you’re losing or not in a happy [mental] space in your tennis match. Then, you play the song in your head, reset and get ready for the next point,” Von Stroh said.
Music has become a normalized part of practice and games, but many athletes may take the impacts of music during exertion for granted. Turning on music becomes a habit for most people, but for athletes it can help break barriers and boundaries to outperform themselves. Just as the right music can enhance performance, listening to the “wrong” music can have the opposite effect. Ballman found that in order for music to help an athlete’s performance, it must be personalized. Athletes must choose songs they like and can be used to distract themselves from physical strain. If they listen to music they dislike, performance can actually decline.
While music may be perceived to be more background noise than a tool, if athletes use it intentionally, their performance can improve. By playing the right songs, athletes’ mental game can shift and impact their physical game too.
