Feel the beat, not the burn: Study shows your favourite playlist can help you train harder and longer

Feel the beat, not the burn: Study shows your favourite playlist can help you train harder and longer

Cyclists who pedalled to their own self-selected tracks (around 120-140 beats per minute) lasted an average of nearly 6 minutes longer before reaching exhaustion compared to riding in silence. That's the key finding from a new study now available online in the journal Psychology of Sport & Exercise. Lead researcher Andrew Danso from JYU's Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body and Brain explains the real-world impact:

"Self-selected music doesn't change your fitness level or make your heart work dramatically harder in the moment - it simply helps you tolerate sustained effort for longer. It may be an incredibly simple, zero-cost tool that lets people push further in training without feeling extra strain at the end. Our findings suggest that the right playlist may make tough sessions feel more doable and more enjoyable."

In the study, 29 recreationally active adults completed two identical high-intensity cycling tests (at about 80 % of their peak power). One test had no music; the other let participants pick their own songs. With music they cycled for 35.6 minutes on average versus 29.8 minutes without (a clear 20 % improvement).

Favourite music boosts quality training time

Importantly, even though they exercised longer and burned more total energy, their heart-rate, and lactate levels at the finish line were the same in both conditions. In other words, the music helped them "stay in the pain zone" longer without making the pain feel worse.

The findings have clear practical applications for athletes, coaches and everyday exercisers.

"Many people struggle to stick with hard training because it feels exhausting too quickly," says Danso.

"Our research shows that letting people choose their own motivating music may help them accumulate more quality training time, which could translate to better fitness gains, improved adherence to exercise programmes, and possibly more people staying active."

From a broader societal perspective, the study highlights how music could play a role in tackling inactivity-related health challenges. Longer, more tolerable exercise sessions may help reduce risks linked to low fitness.

The publication is open access and available now at Psychology of Sport and Exercise: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1469029226000579

The study was conducted in collaboration with the Faculties of Humanities and Social Sciences and of Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Jyväskylä, Springfield College, and the Finnish Institute of High Performance Sport (KIHU).