Running With Music--Speedwork Enhanced-Lone Wolf Approved

I am a true member of the Lone Wolf Running Club. I prefer to run alone versus running with a a group or running partner. My running partners are my ear buds and Garmin Versa that allows me listen to music and shut out the world. Simply put—I run better with music.

The idea of music as a performance enhancer is a new topic in exercise physiology and psychology. Nevertheless, there’s a substantial amount of work that’s been done on the effect of music (and different types of music) on athletic performance.

As you might suspect, there are so many factors to consider when considering how music affects performance that scientists have a hard time comparing studies directly.

Music can be fast, slow, loud, quiet, or anywhere in between. To help clear up some of the confusion, Judy Edworthy and Hannah Waring at the University of Plymouth in the UK authored a 2006 study on the effects of music tempo and loudness.

The results showed that both loudness and tempo boosted the participants’ speeds and heart rates in a predictable manner. Louder and faster music resulted in the subjects selecting a faster treadmill pace than slower and quieter music.

It should come as no surprise to any experienced runner that motivation plays a big role in performance. Preliminary work which compares untrained and trained subjects has found that music has a smaller effect on trained subjects. The impact would virtually disappear in a real competition with experienced athletes.

In low excitement but hard training conditions, (like doing speed work on a track) it’s very likely that music will help you work harder. Many college programs are now playing music over their PA systems during hard speedwork days on the track.

The research also concluded that the “Lone Wolf” runner can also benefit from listening to music over any distance.

Just be careful. There are safety issues to take into consideration when thinking about listening to music while running: headphones can make you oblivious to cars, bicycles, and other potential dangers.