What the researchers did was have 12 college students ride a stationary bike while listening to music that had been pre-selected for them. During one session, the songs ran at their normal tempo. During other sessions, the tempo was slowed by 10% or increased by 10%.
When the tempo was slowed, the students’ pedaling slowed, their heart rates fell and their mileage dropped. When the tempo was increased, they produced more power with each pedal stroke, increased their pedaling rate and their heart rates rose.
So…get some high-energy music and exercise faster and better.
To read other research on music, go to http://www.musicianbrain.com/#index
This is research reported at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess.