MUSIC enhances EXERCISE: Less pain, lower "perceived exertion", better performance, longer duration... and almost certainly can promote improved brain health
Full-text PDF articles and a few of my favorite songs are included herein
Shortest possible summary in 5 major points:
Music during exercise provides several (at least 6) benefits, and you can see my listing of these benefits enumerated in my annotated PDF copy of the article provided below.
One of the most recent—and certainly one of the longest—review articles on this topic is the 2020 review by Terry et al. Again, I have provided this article in as a full-text copy at the bottom of this page, but I will also comment that the article is very stale and far too long, giving the impression that the authors don’t have first-hand experience and/or that they needed to reign in their verbosity:
Terry PC, Karageorghis CI, Curran ML, Martin OV, Parsons-Smith RL. Effects of music in exercise and sport: A meta-analytic review. Psychol Bull. 2020 Feb;146(2):91-117
I have provided a total of 4 PDF articles that discuss music and exercise from a biomedical-psychological-clinical-professional standpoint.
My interest in this topic piqued recently when I found that by painstakingly selecting songs from my music library, and making a playlist of only those songs that 1) are not too distracting and inefficient, and 2) which rhythmically synchronize with my exercise routine, I have been able to more than double my durability in the same exercise routine that I have been using for at least two years!
Synchronizing the music with the movement helped me feel much less fatigue, less distraction, and MORE THAN DOUBLED MY EXERCISE TIME.
Both EXERCISE and MUSIC have powerful effects on the brain and I anticipate (as noted) that the combination of properly selected music and various types of exercise will have an additive/synergistic benefit for cognition. See my previous posts on related to music and the mind:
“Semi-official “beats per minute” (BPM) are not the same as “steps/revolutions per minute” (RPM) when exercising, because songs generally have several accessory beats that decorate the main time-keeping beat.”
Based on the criteria I describe below, some songs work more (or less) for specific types of exercise, and unfortunately this forces us—in this context— to use songs that work and function well for what we are doing, but requires “selection for the rhythm/purpose” rather than using our favorite songs and trying to force them into a template dictated by body movements and physical timing rather than ear preference.
As such, these are my “favorite songs for timing-specific exercise” but not categorically examples of “my favorite songs”—for other types of exercise, I would probably choose different songs and other genres.
TOO SWEET (above): I get about 60 RPM from this song, even if it is 117 BPM; a difference of 2x
This song is reported to be 117 BPM per https://songbpm.com/@hozier/too-sweet-uDWpp3xnj3
EWtRtW: I get about 55 RPM from this song, even if it is 112 BPM; a difference of 2x
This song is reported to be 112 BPM per https://songbpm.com/@tears-for-fears/everybody-wants-to-rule-the-world-4731a37d-25ee-400b-9710-5a9ca6e4cb58
A GenX classic!
Down: I get about 43 RPM from this song, even if it is reported to be 175; so that is a difference of 4x
This song is reported to be 175 BPM per https://songbpm.com/@311/down-c343af0e-4945-4b43-88bb-420e7938d849
JUMP AROUND: I get about 53 RPM from this song, even if it is 107 BPM; a difference of 2x
This song is reported to be 107 BPM per https://songbpm.com/@house-of-pain/jump-around-WND3vdi6jq
You may notice that this song has 2 different reference beats, one from the snare/drum and the other from the bass/piano:
"Jump Around" by House of Pain features a distinctive, sampled piano riff based on Chubby Checker’s 1962 track "Popeye the Hitchhiker".
Garbage Man from The Cramps: Too fast and no definitive time-keeping beat, but still a fun song to “get out of your head” and start moving; included here just for the GenX of it
“Music changes brain function in humans whether consciously appreciated or not.
Music causes measurable changes in brain function and can—with the correctly chosen music—improve brain function and alleviate disease, such as epilepsy.” DrV
MUSIC during EXERCISE
Music is what most people default to, probably without much thought or selection. We can enjoy our favorite songs or some random playlist while exercising because a big part of the exercise experience is to just move, not think per se, and provide some mild entertainment and stimulation as we do whatever we are doing. Like wine and whiskey, music is to be enjoyed in whatever way works for you.
See more discussion below about MUSIC during EXERCISE
AUDIOBOOKS during EXERCISE?
Sometimes this works, and sometimes it just amplifies the boredom.
I have very successfully used audiobooks and study guides while doing housework and other types of “mostly brainless physical activity” and I attribute this to getting me some extra points on medical licensing exams.
I still remember learning about using the drug “dantrolene for rhabdomyolysis” when I was mowing my backyard in Fort Worth Texas.
Scoring high on medical board exams does require some word association in order to gain maximum points, whereas other questions require judgment and/or more detailed knowledge.
MUSIC during EXERCISE
Music is what most people default to, probably without much thought or selection. We can enjoy our favorite songs or some random playlist while exercising because a big part of the exercise experience is to just move, not think per se, and provide some mild entertainment and stimulation as we do whatever we are doing.
Enjoy the music in your own way with your own ear/focus and in whatever way works for you
Like wine and whiskey, music is to be enjoyed in whatever way works for you.
When combining exercise and music, whatever you enjoy and benefit from is the “correct” way to do it: the main goals are mostly engagement (ie, actually doing the exercise) and enjoying it more, via more duration, deeper engagement, and less fatigue.
What is the main legitimate risk of using music along with exercise?
The main risk of using music along with exercise is that of too much distraction, not paying attention to either 1) internal body signals of pain or overexertion, or 2) external signals of noise or traffic that indicate risk.
We have all seen audiophone/headphone-wearning walkers, runners, and cyclists who are too distracted and who have blocked out environmental noise (eg, an approaching car) that they need to hear for better safety.
Enjoy your music in your own way with your own ear/focus/tempo and in whatever way works for you.
Semi-official “beats per minute” (BPM) are not the same as “steps/revolutions per minute” (RPM) when exercising, because songs generally have several accessory beats that decorate the main time-keeping beat.
Furthermore, “hearing the beat” might vary per person because different people might “tune in” to a specific beat or sound, even if it is not the official pacemaker beat, eg, bass guitar instead of drums.
Depending on the song and the exercise, a person might also “straddle” the beat not in a strict “step, step, step” with the same foot (or other movement, such as with the arms) but with alternating movements, such as “right foot..skip…left foot…skip…right foot” so that the syncopation is odd instead of even.
In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat. More simply, syncopation is “a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of rhythm”: a “placement of rhythmic stresses or accents where they wouldn’t normally occur”.
In all my years of both exercising and appreciating music, not until early 2026 did I actually synchronize the music to the movement. I had mostly listened to the music for background, enjoyment, or—especially when I was biking and powerlifting at a higher level—to get “hyped” and agressive (eg, Metallica’s “escape”—included below).
No major surprise, but just something I had never done before
Synchronizing the music with the movement helped me feel much less fatigue, less distraction, and nearly doubled my durability in enduring the otherwise intolerable boredom of exercising on an elliptical machine, which I still chose to do because of its major efficiency: 1) cardio, 2) enough resistance to actually stimulate muscle growth, 3) simultaneous engagement of arms, back, and legs, and —because of the location—4) nice views and a cool breeze.
Full-text PDF articles are included below
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