Music boosts workout endurance by 20% — New study

A new study has found that listening to your favourite workout music can significantly boost endurance, helping people exercise nearly 20 per cent longer without making the effort feel more difficult.

The research focused on recreationally active adults who cycled at high intensity while listening to music they personally selected. Most of the tracks chosen had tempos ranging between 120 and 140 beats per minute.

Compared with exercising in silence, participants were able to continue cycling for nearly six additional minutes before reaching exhaustion.

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The study, published online in the Psychology of Sport & Exercise, involved 29 adults who completed two separate cycling tests at the same high-intensity level, about 80 per cent of their peak power output.

One session was carried out in silence, while the other allowed participants to listen to their preferred music.

When listening to music, participants cycled for an average of 35.6 minutes. Without music, the average duration dropped to 29.8 minutes. Researchers described the difference as a clear 20 per cent improvement in endurance.

Despite exercising longer and expending more energy overall, participants recorded similar heart rate and lactate levels at the end of both tests, suggesting that the music did not reduce the physical demands of the workout itself. Instead, it appeared to help participants tolerate discomfort for a longer period.

Researchers noted that the music enabled exercisers to remain in what they described as the “pain zone” for longer without increasing the perceived difficulty of the effort.

Lead researcher Andrew Danso from JYU Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body and Brain said the findings could have practical value for people seeking to improve exercise performance or maintain a consistent training routine.

According to Danso, self-selected music does not necessarily improve fitness levels instantly or make the heart work significantly harder. Rather, it helps people sustain effort for longer periods.

“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,” Danso said.

He added that the findings could have important real-world applications for athletes, coaches and individuals trying to stay physically active.

“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,” he said.

The researchers also suggested the findings may carry broader public health implications. If music helps people tolerate exercise more easily and remain active for longer, it could help reduce some of the health risks associated with physical inactivity and low fitness levels.