A new study came across my desk in the latest edition of MASS that I just had to share.

Why? Because it’s about the concept of your favorite music improving performance. And the fact that there’s research emerging on this topic is just absolutely amazingly cool to me!

The research study is titled, “Effect of Preferred vs. Nonpreferred Music on Resistance Exercise Performance” and it was reviewed by Michael Zourdos on MASS.

We’ve all probably done it at least once before… You’re gearing up for a workout — maybe you really don’t feel like you want to work out, or maybe you’re going for a one-rep max attempt — and you cue up your favorite song of all time to get pumped and in the right frame of mind to crush it in the gym.

Well, it turns out that might be statistically proven to help you perform better in the gym! At the very least, your favorite song or favorite genre of music is better than music you dislike (aka the terrible music that seems to blare through the PA of every chain gym in the world).

This study had 12 males rank music genres from favorite to least favorite. Then, it had those subjects perform with both their favorite and least favorite music genre selections playing, respectively. The result was, “every metric was significantly better in the preferred music condition,” said Zourdos.

I’ll let you click over to the study itself and MASS for a much deeper interpretation, as they are the experts on this subject matter and interpreting scientific literature. However, I’d like to share a few compelling nuggets from the MASS review.

• “This was the first study to compare preferred versus non-preferred music for lifting performance.”

There was no control in this study (the individuals did not train without music), so we can’t conclude that your favorite music improves performance, but it’s definitely an improvement over music you dislike.

• “Every metric was significantly better in the preferred music condition.”
• “There is a plethora of evidence showing that music improves arousal and that heightened arousal aids endurance performance.”

The MASS reviewer, Michael Zourdos, suggests going with what you feel each day. Going with your favorite song on full blast each day might not cause that heightened sense of arousal, or perhaps it might dampen its effect. “Success seems to suffer when you force things,” he wrote. So, instead, perhaps vary what you listen to each day depending on how you’re feeling each day.

And that makes a ton of sense to me. Just like anything, you can’t go full blast on it forever. You can’t train your one-rep max every week. You can’t blow out your speakers every day. We develop tolerances for just about everything that becomes a regularity in our lives.

So, perhaps keep a list of your favorite types of music or your favorite songs and try to apply them in specific situations when you feel the need for them. Here’s a list of my top five songs to play when I’m going for a one-rep max.

I have always utilized these, not thinking about research or any statistically proven findings. Rather, I just have always known these songs fire me up, and that’s exactly what I’m looking for when going for a big lift!

My Top 5 Max Attempt Songs

1. Hulk Hands by With the Punches
2. Sabrina the Teenage Bitch by Seaway
3. Strangers by Trash Boat
4. Greg’s Last Day by The Starting Line
5. If Loose Lips Sink Ships, Then You’re the Titanic by Settle Your Scores

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CG