Listening to music during indoor cycling elicits higher internal loads during prolonged endurance exercise

BACKGROUND: Dissociation by music may impact the rate of perceived exertion (RPE), which is an indicator of internal loads during exercise. However, it is not clear how music affects the RPE, neuromuscular, and cognitive responses to exercise. AIM: To determine whether listening to preferred music during indoor endurance exercise influences RPE, neuromuscular, and cognitive responses in healthy individuals. METHOD: Thirteen healthy adults performed sessions of prolonged indoor cycling at moderate intensity while listening or not to preferred music. Reaction time, selective attention, and memory were evaluated before, during, and/or after the exercise sessions. RPE, heart rate, muscle activation, pedaling torque, and cadence were recorded during the exercises. RESULTS: RPE (P = 0.004, d = 0.40), heart rate (P = 0.048, d = 0.53) and cadence (P = 0,043; d = 0.51) were higher in the music session compared to no music. Selective attention (P = 0.233), simple reaction time (P = 0.360), working and short-term memory (P > 0.05), as well as torque (P = 0.262) and muscle activation (RMS and MDF, P > 0.05) did not differ between music and no music sessions. CONCLUSION: Indoor cycling while listening to preferred music elicited higher internal loads, which we consider a result of higher cardiovascular demand. However, the effects of music on neuromuscular and cognitive responses were not evident. We conclude that music can be helpful to improve demand during indoor exercise.