Abstract
Methods to enhance the ergogenic effects of music are of interest to athletes of all abilities. The aim of this pilot study was to investigate the ergogenic effects of two commercially available methods of music augmentation: auditory beats and vibrotactile stimulation. Six male and five female cyclists/triathletes cycled for 7 minutes at three different intensities: a rate of perceived exertion (RPE) of 11 (“light”), RPE of 15 (“hard”), and a 7-minute time-trial. Before each 7-minute bout of cycling, participants listened to 10 minutes of self-selected music (MUS), or the same music with the addition of either isochronic auditory beats (ABS) or vibrotactile stimulation via SUBPACTM (VIB). MUS, ABS and VIB trials were performed in a randomized order. Power output was measured during cycling and felt arousal and feeling scores were recorded at timepoints throughout the protocol. The results found the augmented MUS interventions did not influence power output with no significant main effect of trial (p = 0.44, η2 = 0.09) or trial × cycling intensity interaction (p = 0.11, η2 = 0.20). Similarly, both felt arousal and feeling scores were unchanged between the MUS, ABS, and VIB trials (p > 0.05). In conclusion, this pilot study indicated an ineffectiveness of the ABS and VIB to affect subsequent 7-min cycling performance compared to self-selected MUS alone.
Highlights
Music trial (MUS) is a commonly adopted accompaniment to exercise and sport
There was no main effect of trial (MUS vs. auditory beats (ABS) vs. via SUBPACTM (VIB)) on mean power output (F(2,18) = 0.86, p = 0.44, η2 = 0.09), and no significant trial × cycling intensity interaction effect was identified (F(4,18) = 2.02, p = 0.11, η2 = 0.20) indicating there were no cycling intensity dependent differences between the trials
This exploratory pilot study investigated the ergogenic effects of two methods of MUS augmentation: isochronic ABS and VIB
Summary
Music trial (MUS) is a commonly adopted accompaniment to exercise and sport. Athletes of diverse ability levels use MUS before or during exercise to enhance performance, motivation, and enjoyment in their training. Listening to MUS can improve endurance performance (Atkinson et al, 2004), explosive power production (Biagini et al, 2012) and skill-based performance (Alrashid, 2015). MUS may help optimize an athlete’s state of arousal for exercise, which can confer performance gains (Karageorghis and Priest, 2012). MUS can improve mood and increase the pleasure derived from exercising (Terry et al, 2020). Methods of augmenting MUS to Augmented Music on Subsequent Cycling enhance its positive psychophysiological effects are of interest as a possible pathway to improvements in either exercise performance or the experience of exercise
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