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Music promotes exercise. When pulsating music drenches the air, it raises the adrenalin levels and drives up exercise intensity. That is not all. Research shows that music positively affects exercise physiology and psychology in several other ways.

Music helps the mind dissociate from sensations of fatigue and exhaustion. Top sportspersons train with headphones on to break through barriers of pain and fatigue. This method is especially useful in sports that require prolonged, repetitive actions – like long distance running, marathon walking and running, gymnastics and swimming.

Music can stimulate as well as sedate, and every athlete needs a bit of stimulation as well as sedation before a competition. Sprinters often pump themselves up before a race by listening to pulsating music or aggressive rap lyrics. Many athletes derive calm and composure from music. Sachin Tendulkar listens to music on his headphones while waiting for his turn to bat. Like him, countless others use music to relax and to improve concentration. Top athletes often speak of a mythic “zone” – a state of mind where they perform their best while on virtual “autopilot”. Music, by increasing concentration and by inducing calm, increases the chances of entering “the zone”.

Music with a strong rhythm improves motor skills, especially if one synchronises exercise movements to the beat. Exercise is more successful when in harmony with music of a similar rhythm. The mind finds it easier to execute movements when it gets its cues from more than one source. Music makes exercise enjoyable, and enjoyment often determines long-term adherence to an exercise programme. Variety is important in music as well as in exercise. Boredom with either can be fatal for an exercise programme. Not all music is exercise-friendly.

Not many people will experience an adrenalin rush during a 5 km treadmill walk with a veena droning in the background. Exercise music should be rhythmic, with a beat in tune with the main exercise movement.

RAJIV. M