From Metallica to Mozart

Music soothes the savage beast. This famous saying can also be reversed. Music can also energize, uplift, inspire, reduce pain and stir passion. This has some very profound implications in the gym and also in the environment of athletic training and performance and hopefully this article will help change the way you view the power of music.

One of the first things to remember is that music has a very strong influence on our posture. It does this through the influence of our vestibular system. Our vestibular system is located in our inner ear and is highly important for our balance and regulating our muscle movement. In fact some therapists contend that the cells and organs of the ear create the first impulses of movement, much like the earliest form of jellyfish.

The ear through the auditory nerve connects to the medulla and communicates with all muscles of the body which will affect tone, flexibility and equilibrium. The ear will also influence the eye muscles, chewing and taste. The ear will also through the Vagus nerve connect to the Larynx, Heart, Lungs, Stomach, Liver, Bladder, Kidneys and Small and Large Intestine. This would mean that the ears will also govern a large amount of our parasympathetic nerves which controls our rest and digest functions. This means that what music you listen to will affect the quality of recovery from exercise, sleep and digestion!

With training we can use music in a number of ways. Depending on what training effect we are trying to induce in our clients we can use music as another tool. What we are going to look at is different training goals and different styles of music that will help facilitate the desired results. We firstly need to identify different levels of arousal and performance levels at these levels. What we generally see is that a moderate level of arousal will lead to the highest level of performance. When someone gets over aroused generally performance will suffer and when someone is not aroused enough generally they will be disinterested. This generally is called the Inverted U Principal.
Remember that this is different for all involved. For some being quieter before a big match places them in a more optimal stage, whereas others need to be ‘pumped up’ to achieve similar affects in performance. What we can also find is that for tasks that require a high level of complex skills need a lower level of arousal. An example of this is playing the piano. For exercises and movements that need a high level of gross motor activation and little complexity (such as lifting a heavy weight) a high level of arousal is highly beneficial for optimal performance.

Muscle Building – For muscle building we are looking at creating high levels of arousal. The majority of movements needed are low in complexity, such as Bench Presses, squats and dead lifts. Low levels of arousal will not allow for heavy lifting and high levels of the intensity that is required for building muscles. Traditional rock music can be good for this as it stirs the passions and stimulate active movement. This can be fantastic for a warm up. Heavy metal, punk, rap, dance music and hip hop can excite the nervous system which will lead to higher levels of performance. If people are not in the mood for this kind of music however, all these forms of music can create tension, dissonance, stress and pain in the body. These forms of music can also be used for aerobic exercise.

Learning a new movement skill – Classical music such as Mozart has clarity, elegance and transparency. It can be used to improve concentration, memory and spatial perception. This has massive implications for learning new movement patterns. Concentration and short term memory are totally essential for learning new skills. Spatial perception is basically the knowledge of where you are in space and the environment around you. If a client has a definite idea of where their body is in space they will then the chances will be much higher that they will be successful with the movement. This music also leads to a lower level of arousal. If you remember that as we see a movement increasing in complexity the lower levels of arousal are required for success.

Relaxation – Relaxation is the often forgotten element of program design. Recovery is highly influenced by relaxation and same with flexibility. The more relaxed a person is the further their tissues will relax. It will also allow them to become more aware of their bodies. When your awareness increases you can move further in to your tight areas and focus on relaxing them. New age music with no real dominant rhythm can elongate our sense of space and time and can help us attain a state of relaxed alertness. Gregorian chant, which uses the rhythms of natural breathing to create relaxation, fits in amazingly to stretching and relaxation protocols. When stretching and breathing are combined there are much further gains in range of motion.

Practical Steps to take
1. Decide on your training goals. When these are decided you can then create your music program.
2. Divide your training session in to phases. An example of this is dedicating 5-10 minutes to warm up, 30 minutes of conditioning work and 15 minutes to relaxation and stretching.
3. Create a playlist using the choices above that you enjoy. This can be on your iPod or on CD. Enjoyment is key. It has been shown that we perform better both in learning and performance when we are having fun.
4. Always perform your exercise with perfect posture. This will help in a number of ways. One cool benefit is that our body remembers everything that we do. If our ears adjust our muscle tone, equilibrium and flexibility we need to ensure when listening to music when doing movement we maintain optimal posture. If we do not, what will happen when we next listen to that music our body will remember the posture we adopted. The vestibular system will then set the tone of our musculoskeletal system whether it is good or bad. Remember, our body is constantly learning, and we want to be teaching our clients good habits.
5. Have fun!