Sports Science News South Africa

Music boosts exercise endurance

Running with an iPod may do more than relieve boredom.

In a study that shows what many runners and gym goers already know - music was shown to boost the capacity for exercise. Costas Karageorghis from Brunel University, UK tested 30 volunteers with a variety of different music and found that their endurance capacity rose by 15%.

But not all music is beneficial, according to Karageorghis. The best songs for moderate to intense exercise tend to have between 120 and 140 beats a minutes. In addition, moderate exercisers said that the addition of music reduced their perception of hard work - although for those exercising at a higher level, this was not the case, although music tended to boost the enjoyment of exercise for everyone.

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