CAN SELF-SELECTED MOTIVATIONAL MUSIC AFFECT HEART RATE DURING AND POST AEROBIC WORKOUT?

INTRODUCTION: Listening to self-selected motivational music (Terry, 2020) during aerobic exercise may induce an excita- tory stimulus on physiological parameters (Ballman, 2021), such as the heart rate (HR), in correlation with exercise intensi- ty. However, the effect of music on the recovery phase seems to present an entirely new area of research in the available literature, particularly regarding short-time recovery (Karageorghis, 2012). The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of self-selected motivational music on HR during recovery. METHODS: Forty university students (age 22.7±2.6 yrs; BMI 21.8±2.5 kg·m-2; V̇O2max 39.7±7.9 mLO2·kg-1·min-1) per- formed different training sessions with (+M) and without (-M) self-selected motivational music. They were divided into three percentile categories (high, average and low) according to their cardiorespiratory fitness level (V̇O2max), assessed by a submaximal cycling direct test. During each training session, two 6-minute square-wave cycling bouts were per- formed, interspersed with 10 min of recovery, at two different intensities: 60% of V̇O2max (Mod) and 90% of V̇O2max (Vig). Each condition was replicated during two different moments of the day, morning (MO) and evening (EV), for a total of four training sessions. HR was continuously monitored in order to analyse HR peak during exercise (HRpeak), HR at the 1st minute of recovery (HRrec) and the difference between HRpeak and HRrec (ΔHR%). RESULTS: For the entire group of subjects, no influence of music or time of the day was found. Subjects with high and aver- age V̇O2max obtained a significantly (p<0.05) faster recovery when compared with those with low V̇O2max, inde- pendently of music condition (high V̇O2max: EV+M 12,4±4,4; EV-M 12,4±4 ΔHR%; average V̇O2max: EV+M 10,7±3,9; EV-M 10,8±4,2 ΔHR%; low V̇O2max: EV+M 6,3±2,8; EV-M 5,7±3,4 ΔHR%). At Mod intensity, subjects with high V̇O2max, inde- pendently of the time of the day, obtained significantly greater HRpeak and HRrec values in +M condition compared to -M (HRpeak: MO+M 138.4±11.7; MO-M 136.5±12.6; EV+M 138±8.9; EV-M 134.7±8.3 bpm, p=0.0278; HRrec: MO+M 118.8±11.1; MO-M 119.5±15.5; EV+M 120.2±9.9; EV-M 116.9±8.9 bpm, p=0.0364). In general, listening to motivational music during recovery phase does not affect ΔHR%. No differences emerged for Vig condition. CONCLUSION: Untrained subjects have a slower recovery phase compared with more trained subjects, and listening to music after the workout doesnt help bridge the gap. Moreover, listening self-selected motivational music, during aerobic exercise and during recovery, in trained subjects, seems to negatively affect recovery capacity, independently of the time of the day. REFERENCES: Ballmann CG. J Funct Morphol Kinesiol. 2021 Apr 8;6(2):33. Karageorghis CI. Int Rev Sport Exerc Psychol. 2012 Mar;5(1):67-84. Terry PC. Psychol Bull. 2020 Feb;146(2):91-117.