Effects of Respite Music on Repeated Upper-body Resistance Exercise Performance

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of self-selected respite music on upper-body resistance exercise performance. In a crossover, counterbalanced study design, resistance-trained males (n = 10) participated in two bench press trials each with a different condition: 1) No music (NM), 2) Listening to respite music (RM; i.e. during rest periods). Following a warm-up, participants completed 3 sets × repetitions to failure (RTF) at 75% of 1-RM separated by 2 minutes of rest. During the 2-minute rest, participants either listened to NM or RM until the next subsequent set. A linear position transducer was used to measure mean barbell velocity during the first 3 repetitions and averaged for analysis. Rate of perceived exertion (RPE) and motivation were obtained after each set. Results indicate that mean velocity was higher during set 2 (p = 0.009; d = 1.34) and set 3 (p = 0.048; d = 0.95) while listening to RM versus NM. Furthermore, motivation was significantly higher following set 2 (p = 0.005; d = 1.15) and set 3 (p < 0.001; d = 1.79) while listening to RM compared to NM. No changes in RTF or RPE were noted between conditions (p > 0.05). These findings indicate listening to music during recovery may enhance subsequent explosive resistance performance and suggest that listening to music in between bouts of maximal effort could be an effective tool for optimizing performance during competition or training.