Effect of Pre-Exercise Music on Bench Press Power, Velocity, and Repetition Volume

• Published in: Perceptual and motor skills Vol. 128; no. 3; pp. 1183 - 1196
• Main Authors: Ballmann, Christopher G., Favre, Mason L., Phillips, Matthew T., Rogers, Rebecca R., Pederson, Joseph A., Williams, Tyler D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01-06-2021; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Adult; Exercise Therapy; Humans; Listening; Male; Muscle Strength; Muscle, Skeletal; Music; Resistance Training; Weight Lifting; Young Adult; barbell velocity; resistance exercise; explosiveness; motivation
• DOI: 10.1177/00315125211002406
• EISSN: 1558-688X
• ISSN: 0031-5125

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of listening to pre-exercise music on bench press performance. We recruited 10 resistance trained males (M age= 22.8, SD = 5.8 years; M height= 173.7, SD = 8.3 cm; M body mass = 81.0, SD = 18.2 kg) for this crossover counterbalanced research design. Participants completed two bench press exercise trials of (a) No music (NM), and (b) Pre-exercise music (PreExM) separated by at least 48 hours. For each trial, following a warm-up, participants listened to music or no music for three minutes. After this 3-minute period, they completed one set of bench press repetitions with maximum explosive intent at 75% one repetition maximum (1 RPM). We used a rotary encoder to measure power and velocity of barbell movement. After a 3-minute rest during which they again listened to music or no music, participants completed another set of repetitions to failure (RTF) at 75% of 1RM. Immediately following this second set of repetitions, we measured exercise motivation with a visual analog scale (VAS). We found that the PreExM condition increased mean power output (p = 0.005; d = 0.792) and barbell velocity (p = 0.015; d = 0.722). RTF were significantly higher during the PreExM versus NM trial (p = 0.002; d = 0.985), and motivation was significantly higher in the PreExM trial versus NM (p = 0.001; d = 0.932). These findings suggest improved muscle power explosiveness and strength-endurance when listening to music before a bench press exercise. From a practical standpoint, athletes who have the option of listening to music immediately prior to resistance exercise may benefit from its use.