The right soundtrack could be key to the best workout, UBC Okanagan researchers found. Even for people who are insufficiently active.

Matthew Stork, a postdoctoral fellow in the School of Health and Exercise Sciences, published a study showing music can help less-active people get more out of their workouts while boosting their enjoyment of it.

High-intensity interval training, or HIIT, as it鈥檚 known, involves repeated bursts of intense exercise split up by short rest breaks. This form of exercise has been shown to improve physical health over several weeks of training, but can be perceived by exercisers as gruelling work.

READ MORE:

鈥淲hile HIIT is time-efficient and can elicit meaningful health benefits among adults who are insufficiently active, one major drawback is that people may find it to be unpleasant,鈥� Stork said. 鈥淎s a result, this has the potential to discourage continued participation.鈥�

Stork worked with Prof. Costas Karageorghis鈥攁 world-renowned researcher who studies the effects of music on sport and exercise鈥攖o conduct the study at Brunel University London.

READ MORE:

Stork gathered a panel of British adults to rate the motivational qualities of 16 fast-tempo songs. Three songs with the highest motivational ratings were used in the study.

鈥淢usic is typically used as a dissociative strategy,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his means that it can draw your attention away from the body鈥檚 physiological responses to exercise such as increased heart rate and sore muscles.

鈥淏ut, with high-intensity exercise, it seems that music is most effective when it has a fast tempo and is highly motivational,鈥� Stork said.

Twenty-four subjects were put through the 鈥渙ne-minute workout鈥� comprised of three 20-second sprints totalling 60 seconds. A short break separated each sprint for a total of 10 minutes with a warm-up and cool down. Each subject conducted the regimen with music, without music and while listening to a podcast.

READ MORE:

鈥淭he more I look into this, the more I am surprised,鈥� Stork said. 鈥淲e believed that motivational music would help people enjoy the exercise more, but we were surprised about the elevated heart rate. That was a novel finding.鈥�

That elevated heartbeat, Stork said, could be explained by a phenomenon called 鈥渆ntrainment.鈥�

鈥淗umans have an innate tendency to alter the frequency of their biological rhythms toward that of musical rhythms,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n this case, the fast-tempo music may have increased people鈥檚 heart rate during the exercise.

鈥淚t鈥檚 incredible how powerful music can be.鈥�

READ MORE:

This is good news for those struggling with working out, as Stork鈥檚 findings show music can help individuals work harder physically during HIIT while making it more enjoyable.

鈥淢usic can be a practical strategy to help insufficiently active people get more out of their HIIT workouts and may even encourage continued participation,鈥� Stork said.