• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

  • Fitness
  • Workouts
    • Best Shoulder Workouts
    • Best Chest Workouts
    • Best Leg Workouts
    • Best Leg Exercises
    • Best Biceps Exercises
    • Best Kettlebell Exercises
    • Best Back Workouts
    • Best HIIT Workouts
    • Best Triceps Exercises
    • Best Arm Workouts
  • Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Best Pre-Workouts
      • Best Whey Protein
    • Equipment
      • Best Home Gym Machines
    • Certifications
      • ISSA Review
  • News
  • Exercise Guides
    • Legs
      • Back Squat
      • Bulgarian Split Squat
      • Goblet Squat
      • Zercher Squat
      • Standing Calf Raise
      • Hack Squat
    • Chest
      • Bench Press
      • Dumbbell Bench Press
      • Close-Grip Bench Press
      • Incline Bench Press
    • Shoulders
      • Overhead Dumbbell Press
      • Lateral Raise
    • Arms
      • Chin-Up
      • Weighted Pull-Up
      • Triceps Pushdown
    • Back
      • Deadlift
      • Trap Bar Deadlift
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Inverted Row
      • Bent-Over Barbell Row
      • Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
      • Pendlay Row
Fitness

Listening to Music Enhances Post Workout Recovery

Music isn't just for motivation during a workout. New research shows that music can help you clear lactic acid and recover faster AFTER your workout, too.

Written by Jeff Barnett Last updated on April 9, 2013

Apparently we all love to listen to tunes in the gym for a reason. It’s because music can improve your recovery from intense exercise. So says a new study from the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.

Ten men participated in the study. They all trained recreationally and were about 26 years old. They had their maximum sustainable running speed measured on a treadmill, and then in a series of tests I can only describe as dreadful, they were assigned to run on a treadmill at that maximal pace for six minutes.

After they finished running, the participants walked freely around the gym to think about what they had done. But instead of a leisurely stroll, researchers took all kinds of measurements from them every three minutes. Today’s study examined whether those measurements turned out differently if participants listened to music during their recovery. The music chosen was a generic mix of the greatest hits of Western music remixed into dance style at 140 beats per minute.

And things certainly did go differently under the effects of the ear buds. First, the participants simply walked a greater number of steps during recovery. Next, their blood lactate levels dropped more rapidly. Somehow their bodies cleared lactic acid more rapidly just due to music. Finally, participants reported recovery felt less demanding.

These differences are pretty amazing. However, it’s interesting to note that participants did not show any change in heart rate during recovery due to music. Everyone’s heart rate returned to normal at about the same rate.

What can we learn from this study? While we generally focus on music selection for our workout, listening to music during recovery can unleash myriad benefits. At this point the reasons behind the phenomenon are only speculation, but the effect is real. So next time you’re loading your iPod for a trip to the gym, you might want to consider creating a playlist just for recovery.

References:

1. Michal Eliakim, et. al. “Effect of Rhythm on the Recovery From Intense Exercise.” Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research: April 2013. Vol 27. Issue 4. p1019–1024. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e318260b829

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

About Jeff Barnett

Jeff Barnett is a CrossFit affiliate owner, mechanical engineer, and former Marine. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. He holds specialty certifications as a CrossFit Mobility Trainer, CrossFit Olympic Lifting Trainer, CrossFit Gymnastics Trainer and is a USA Weightlifting Sports and Performance Coach. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA.

Jeff served as a Marine officer from 2003-2007 and deployed to Fallujah in 2006. After leaving the Marine Corps he co-founded CrossFit Impulse in 2009. His writing focuses on fitness, nutrition, and leadership. Jeff’s writing has appeared in publications as diverse as The New York Times and CrossFit Journal.

Jeff competed in the CrossFit Games Southeast Regionals in 2010 as an individual competitor and 2012 as a team competitor. If you don’t find him training hard or coaching athletes to PRs at CrossFit Impulse, then he’s probably wakeboarding, snowboarding, or eating meat off the bone.

View All Articles

Recommended Articles

restingcrossfitbevchildress1200px
The Next Frontier in Recovery
weights-6647661280
Stop Being So Fragile: Push Harder and Overreach
A Practical Guide to Training Intensity
fatiguedathlete
The Recovery Cycle: Master the Invisible Side of Training

Primary Sidebar

Latest Articles

Justin Medeiros Walks Through a Full Tour of His Home Gym Before CrossFit Season

Powerlifter Jimmy Kolb Logs 612.5-Kilogram (1,350.3-Pound) Equipped Bench Press World Record

The Ultimate Back and Biceps Workout for Every Lifter From Beginner to Advanced

Strongman Legend Hafthor Björnsson Receives International Sports Hall of Fame Induction

Latest Reviews

ISSA Personal Trainer Certification Review

ISSA Personal Trainer Certification Review

Best Whey Proteins for Packing on Muscle, Shredding Down, Meal Replacement, and More

Best Pre-Workouts for Building Muscle, Running, Taste, and More

Best Home Gym Machines

Best Home Gym Machines

woman lifting barbell

Be the smartest person in your gym

The Breaking Muscle newsletter is everything you need to know about strength in a 3 minute read.

I WANT IN!

Breaking Muscle is the fitness world’s preeminent destination for timely, high-quality information on exercise, fitness, health, and nutrition. Our audience encompasses the entire spectrum of the fitness community: consumers, aficionados, fitness professionals, and business owners. We seek to inform, educate and advocate for this community.

  • Reviews
  • Healthy Eating
  • Workouts
  • Fitness
  • News

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed

© 2023 · Breaking Muscle · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy · Affiliate Disclaimer · Accessibility · About