It’s hard to get into the exercise habit–but there is now a new way to lengthen your workout by as much as 70 percent, say researchers.
According to new research from the Toronto Rehab University Health Network in Canada, people who listened to music playlists where the tempo was synchronized to their exercise pace adhered to their cardiovascular rehab program nearly 70 percent more, helping them work out better. This is an important finding, as cardiovascular rehab programs have a high drop-out rate–often because participants just lose interest.
The findings are published in the journal Sports Medicine – Open.
“Our challenge is there is a high drop-out rate for these programs and suboptimal adherence to the self-management of physical activity,” says David Alter, Senior Scientist at Toronto Rehab at the University Health Network and Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences. “The music tempo-pace synchronization helps cue the person to take their next step or stride and helps regulate, maintain and reinforce their prescribed exercise pace.”
The Research
Recruiting 34 patients from Toronto Rehab who were in cardiovascular rehabilitation, something used to improve a person’s long-term survival after a cardiovascular event, researchers wanted to find out if music could improve their adherence. Previously, this program had a high drop-out rate, often because the patients either did not want to follow the program or just lost interest.
To find out, researchers split them into two groups: A group that did not listen to music and a group that listened to personalized music playlists. Among those who listened to music, researchers also gave them two different playlists, one of which was tempo-synchronized to their exercise pace.
Researchers then had them continue their rehab program, closely monitoring how long they exercised.
Not surprisingly, those who listened to the playlist containing the tempo-modified music exercised significantly more, according to their findings. In fact, many of them exercised an average of 105.4 more minutes than those who did not listen to music.
This eventually equaled a nearly 70 percent increase in exercise length.
“Patients randomized to personalized audio-playlists with tempo-pace synchrony achieved higher weekly volumes of physical activity than did their non-music usual-care comparators,” write researchers in the online version of Sports Medicine – Open. “The use of tempo-pace synchronized preference-based audio-playlists was feasibly implemented into a structured exercise program and efficacious in improving adherence to physical activity beyond the evidence-based non-music usual standard of care.”
Researchers now plan to carry out larger clinical trials to determine if these results occur among a larger population.
What This Means For You
Keeping in shape is important, whether it’s for looks or to help recover after a serious cardiovascular event. Now there’s a simple way to adhere to your exercise plan, say researchers–simply listen to music synchronized to your exercise pace. That means if you’re exercising at a fast pace, listening to high-tempo music could motivate you to work harder; the same goes for those who exercise at a slower pace. In a way researchers can’t explain, this motivates people to work out longer–and harder.
Readers: Do you listen to music while working out?
Sources:
New Music Strategy Shows 70 Percent Increase in Exercise Adherence – ScienceDaily.com
Synchronized Personalized Music Audio-Playlists to Improve Adherence to Physical Activity Among Patients Participating in a Structured Exercise Program (Study) – SportsMedicine-Open.com
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