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Fitness

Music Transmitted Through Your Skull Makes You Swim Faster

How come only land-based athletes get to listen to music while they train? What about swimmers? New research shows the SwiMP3 will make you swim faster AND enjoy it more, too.

Becca Borawski

Written by Becca Borawski Last updated on April 19, 2012

I know some people who would rather die than be separated from their music during a workout. In fact, most people enjoy exercise more and claim to have better performance when listening to music, but does it truly have an effect on your workout? And what about the swimmers out there – what are they supposed to do?

In reality much research has been produced on music and exercise showing music’s positive benefits in both amateur and elite athletes. Not much research has been done, however, when it comes to music and swimming. Swimming is an excellent activity, being a full-body, low-impact sport with cardiovascular emphasis. According to a recent study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research there are approximately fifty million recreational swimmers in the United

States.

In this same study, researchers posed that same question – does music have an effect and what about the swimmers? In order to examine the effects of music on swimmers the researchers utilized a new device called the SwiMP3 produced by Finis.

As stated in the study:

The SwiMP3 device uses bone conduction to transmit sound (i.e., music) via ceramic plates and is suitable for use in shallow water while swimming. Because the fidelity of bone-conducted sound in an aquatic environment can approach the quality of air-conducted music, the influence of music on swimming performance could be similar to that observed in other participatory sports.1

To test the effect of music on swimmers, the study looked at twenty-four swimmers of a competitive nature. The average age of participants was 25 and sixty-percent of them were women. Each swimmer was outfitted with a SwiMP3 and allowed to download their own music of choice.

Study participants worked out in two swim workouts, one while equipped with the SwiMP3 and one without. All swimmers were timed for four freestyle trials of 50m in length. Participants rested for three minutes between trials and for an additional five-minute period before swimming a single, longer-distance freestyle trial of 800m.

After they completed swimming, participants also filled out a Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES). This is a survey designed to measure the enjoyment of a physical activity.

finis, swimp3, swimming with music, exercise and music, swimming and musicThe results of the study show when swimmers listened to the SwiMP3 their average 50m swim times improved by .32 seconds. In addition, when listening to the SwiMP3 their 800m times improved by 6.5 seconds on average. All participants also ranked their swimming experience with the SwiMP3 higher on PACES than swimming without it.

In conclusion researchers determined:

The results indicated improved performance in both sprints and long-distance swimming with bone-conducted music, similar to results in nonaquatic sports with music as an adjunct.2

Meaning, listening to music helps your swim performance, just like it helps your running and other activities you regularly do while listening to music. Researchers went on to say listening to the SwiMP3 could even help your swim performance as much as taking sodium bicarbonate, which many competitive swimmers do.

Researchers also hypothesized about the time-keeping ability of music. They believe intentionally programming music for a swim workout could be just as or even more useful than the traditional tempo timers swim-athletes use to pace their strokes, and more akin to how runners use music. This is useful information for swim coaches and swim athletes alike.

Becca Borawski

About Becca Borawski

Becca found her way to a career in health and fitness through Martial Arts and CrossFit. Originally a music editor for film and television, Becca started studying Martial Arts in 2000. Though she started with traditional Martial Arts it was not long before she discovered Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and her path was forever altered. She began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) and Muay Thai and started working with professional MMA fighters, building websites, working on fight promotions, and producing videos.

As a competitor in BJJ herself, Becca wanted to get stronger and fitter. In 2006 she discovered CrossFit and became a student at CrossFit Los Angeles. In only a couple of years she became CrossFit Level III Certified, left her career in the film industry, and dedicated herself full time to coaching. She has since been certified through CrossFit in Olympic Lifting, Powerlifting, Nutrition, Endurance and Kids coaching. She also held an NSCA-CSCS from 2006-2008 and is a certified IndoRow instructor. In addition to coaching adults, she founded the CrossFit LA Kids program in 2010 and taught children aged 5-17.

Becca regularly takes on new sports, which have included indoor rowing, fencing, and most recently, cycling, as she believes it makes her both a better athlete and a better coach. In order to reach more people with her coaching, Becca also created ModernAthena.com – a website dedicated to women in pursuit of physical fitness and self-improvement.

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