1. INTRODUCTION
Fatigue in exercise and sports performance has
been attributed to two primary sources:
peripheral fatigue and central fatigue. In an effort
to reduce fatigue originating from central factors,
many studies have focused on the effects of
diverting activities, which was defined by
Asmussen and Mazin (2) as “...any physical or
mental activity performed between or
simultaneously with bouts of exhaustive, local
muscular work.” Examples of mental and physical
diverting activities include solving simple math
problems (3), performing dynamic constant
external resistance muscle actions with the
contralateral limb (3), invoking a pain or cold
stimulus (1), tightly pinching one’s thumb and
index finger together (2), and squeezing a foam
sponge to the beat of a metronome (4).
Listening to music has been shown to positively
affect both mental and physical states during
periods of stress brought upon by exercise (6, 8),
possibly, by its ability to allow individuals to
dissociate from exercise (5, 7). To our knowledge,
no study has looked at the effects of music as a
diverting activity between fatiguing bouts of
exercise.
RESULTS
There were no significant (p > 0.05) 3-way interactions
for peak torque or percent torque decline. There was
a significant 2-way (time × sex) interaction (p < 0.05)
for peak torque. The decrease in peak torque from the
pre-intervention test to the post-intervention test
was significantly greater for men (pre = 138.1 ± 3.68
Nm; post = 127.4 ± 3.2 Nm) than for women (pre =
84.7 ± 3.4 Nm; post = 80.4 ± 2.9 Nm), regardless of
intervention. There was a significant main effect (p <
0.05) for percent torque decline, where the torque
decline was greater for the post-intervention test
(45.8 ± 1.2%) than the pre-intervention test (43.2 ±
1.3%), regardless of intervention or sex. There were no
significant interactions for main effects involving
diverting conditions (p > 0.05).
CONCLUSION
The results of the present study indicated that
listening to self-selected slow tempo music or
self-selected fast tempo music was not an effective
diverting activity intervention. The music
interventions used in the present study may not have
required active mental processing, and therefore were
similar to the control condition. Future diverting
activity studies involving music may want to include
electroencephalography (EEG) measurements to
detect any changes in brain activity among recovery
interventions. If music is used as a diverting activity,
future researchers may want to look at the differences
between preferred genre music and non-preferred
genre music on recovery.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to investigate the
effects of listening to self-selected music, slow- and
fast-tempo, as a diverting recovery intervention
on percent torque decline and peak torque.
ABSTRACT
Previous studies have shown music’s ability to act as an ergogenic
aid. To the best of our knowledge, there is limited research
investigating the effects of music as a diverting activity in
fatiguing exercise protocols. Purpose: To investigate the effects
of listening to music as a diverting recovery intervention on peak
torque and percent torque decline. Methods: Thirty-nine
recreationally trained college-aged men (n = 18; 22.3 ± 2.7 years;
177.6 ± 8.8 cm; 80.7 ± 10.0 kg) and women (n = 21; 22.2 ± 1.7
years; 162.2 ± 5.2 cm; 62.6 ± 9.9 kg) performed 4 experimental
visits consisting of 2 bouts of 50 maximal isokinetic leg
extensions at 180°∙s-1
. Between each bout of maximal exercise, 2
minutes of recovery involving one of the 4 interventions (no
music, white noise, self-selected slow tempo music, and
self-selected fast tempo music) was completed. Torque values
were collected during the pre-intervention and post-intervention
maximal isokinetic strength tests. Percent torque decline was
calculated for both the first and second set of 50 repetitions using
the following formula: % Torque decline = [(peak torque -
minimal torque) ÷ peak torque)] × 100. Results: There were no
significant (p > 0.05) 3-way interactions for peak torque or
percent torque decline. There was a significant 2-way (time × sex)
interaction (p< 0.05) for peak torque. The decrease in peak torque
from the pre-intervention test to the post-intervention test was
significantly greater for men (pre = 138.1 ± 3.68 Nm; post = 127.4
± 3.2 Nm) than for women (pre = 84.7 ± 3.4 Nm; post = 80.4 ± 2.9
Nm), regardless of intervention. There was a significant main
effect (p< 0.05) for percent torque decline, where the torque
decline was greater for the post-intervention test (45.8 ± 1.2%)
than the pre-intervention test (43.2 ± 1.3%), regardless of
intervention or sex. There were no significant interactions for
main effects involving diverting conditions (p > 0.05).
Conclusion: These findings indicate listening to self-selected
music, slow or fast tempo, was not an effective diverting activity.
METHODS
Eighteen male (22.3 ± 2.7 years; 177.6 ± 8.8 cm; 80.7 ± 10.0 kg) and twenty-one female (22.2 ± 1.7
years; 162.2 ± 5.2 cm; 62.6 ± 9.9 kg) participants volunteered for this study. Each participant
signed a University approved statement of informed consent form prior to testing. Five separate
laboratory sessions were required for each participant. Upon arrival, the subject’s body mass (kg),
height (cm), and age were recorded. Participants were then positioned according to the HUMAC
NORM testing and rehabilitation user’s guide. For isokinetic strength testing, participants
performed 2 sets of 50 maximal leg extension at an angular velocity of 180°∙s-1
. Subjects were
instructed to give 100% maximal effort for each extension and to passively lower the leg before
the next maximal leg extension. The researcher gave strong verbal encouragement in an attempt
to ensure that the subjects were providing a maximal effort for each muscle action. Between the
2 sets of 50 repetitions, subjects completed one of the 4 passive recovery interventions (no
music (C), white noise (W), self-selected slow tempo music (ST), and self-selected fast tempo
music (FT)) during a 2-minute recovery period. For this study, slow tempo music was defined as
any song with a tempo ≤ 76 bpm, and fast tempo music was defined as any song with a tempo ≥
120 bpm. During the no music recovery intervention (C), participants remained seated and
rested quietly while wearing noise-cancelling headphones. The white noise intervention (W)
involved participants listening to white noise on a mobile phone. The self-selected fast tempo
music mental diverting activity (FT) involved participants listening to a self-selected song with a
tempo ≤ 76 bpm on an mp3 player or a mobile phone. The self-selected slow tempo music
mental diverting activity (ST) involved participants listening to a self-selected song with a tempo
≥ 120 bpm on an mp3 player or a mobile phone. The order of interventions was randomized for
each participant. Peak isokinetic torque was calculated as the average of the 3 highest torque
values achieved between repetition 1 and 5 (initial repetitions), whereas minimal torque was
calculated separately from each set of 50 maximal repetitions as the average of the 3 lowest
torque values achieved between repetition 45 and 50 (final repetitions). Percent torque decline
was calculated for both the first and second set of 50 repetitions using the following formula:
% Torque decline = [(peak torque - minimal torque) ÷ peak torque)] × 100
Two separate 3-way time (pre-intervention, post-intervention) × condition (control, white noise,
fast tempo, slow tempo) × sex (male, female) analysis of variances (ANOVAs) were used to
analyze peak torque and percent torque decline. When appropriate, follow-up tests included
t-tests with Bonferroni corrections. An alpha level of 0.05 was used to determine significance for
all comparisons.
REFERENCES
1. Alpert, J.S. (1969). The mechanism of the increased
maximum work performance of small muscle groups
resulting from“diverting work”with other muscle
groups, Acta Physiol Scand. 77, 261-271.
2. Asmussen, E. and Mazin, B. (1978). A central nervous
component in local muscular fatigue. European
Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational
Physiology, 38, 9-15.
3. Beck, T., Stock, M., & DeFreitas, J. (2012). Classification
of electromyographic intensity patterns after diverting
activities. Clinical Kinesiology, 66(2), 29-38.
4. Cochrane, K., Coburn, J., Brown, L., & Judelson, D.
(2014). Effects of diverting activity on strength,
electromyographic, and mechanomyographic signals.
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 28(5),
1203-1211.
5. Johnson, J., & Seigel, D. (1992). Effects of association
and dissociation on effort perception. Journal of
Sport Behavior, 15(2), 119-129.
6. Karageorghis, C., Terry, P., & Lane, A. (1999).
Development and initial validation of an instrument
to assess the motivational qualities of music in
exercise and sport: the brunel music rating inventory.
Journal of Sports Sciences, 17(9), 713-724.
7. Potteiger, J., Schroeder, J., & Goff, K. (2000). Influence
of music on ratings of perceived exertion during 20
minutes of moderate intensity exercise. Perceptual
and Motor Skills, 91(3), 848-854.
8. Thoma, M., La Marca, R., Brönnimann, R., Finkel, L.,
Ehlert, U., & Nater, M.S. (2013). The effect of music
on the human stress response. PloS One, 8(8), 1-11.
Rojo, Vanessa M. Moon, Gloria H. Coburn, FACSM, Jared W. Brown, FACSM, Lee E. Costa, Pablo B.
Exercise Physiology Laboratory and Center for Sport Performance Department of Kinesiology California State University, Fullerton
Email: vrojo@fullerton.edu
The Effects of Self-Selected Music as a Diverting Activity Between Two Bouts
of Fatiguing Isokinetic Leg Extensions
Figure 2. Mean (± SE) peak torque collapsed across recovery interventions.
There was a significant decrease in peak torque pre-intervention test to
post-intervention test for both sexes. However, the decrease was significantly
greater* for males than females (p < 0.05).
Figure 1. Mean (± SE) percent torque decline collapsed across recovery
interventions and sex. *The post-intervention test was significantly greater
(p < 0.05) than the pre-intervention test.
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Pre-
intervention
Post-
intervention
Pre-
intervention
Post-
intervention
Females Males
*
*
Pre-intervention
Torque Decline (%)
Post-intervention
Torque Decline (%)
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
TorqueDecline(%)PeakTorque(Nm)
![INTRODUCTION
Fatigue in exercise and sports performance has
been attributed to two primary sources:
peripheral fatigue and central fatigue. In an effort
to reduce fatigue originating from central factors,
many studies have focused on the effects of
diverting activities, which was defined by
Asmussen and Mazin (2) as “...any physical or
mental activity performed between or
simultaneously with bouts of exhaustive, local
muscular work.” Examples of mental and physical
diverting activities include solving simple math
problems (3), performing dynamic constant
external resistance muscle actions with the
contralateral limb (3), invoking a pain or cold
stimulus (1), tightly pinching one’s thumb and
index finger together (2), and squeezing a foam
sponge to the beat of a metronome (4).
Listening to music has been shown to positively
affect both mental and physical states during
periods of stress brought upon by exercise (6, 8),
possibly, by its ability to allow individuals to
dissociate from exercise (5, 7). To our knowledge,
no study has looked at the effects of music as a
diverting activity between fatiguing bouts of
exercise.
RESULTS
There were no significant (p > 0.05) 3-way interactions
for peak torque or percent torque decline. There was
a significant 2-way (time × sex) interaction (p < 0.05)
for peak torque. The decrease in peak torque from the
pre-intervention test to the post-intervention test
was significantly greater for men (pre = 138.1 ± 3.68
Nm; post = 127.4 ± 3.2 Nm) than for women (pre =
84.7 ± 3.4 Nm; post = 80.4 ± 2.9 Nm), regardless of
intervention. There was a significant main effect (p <
0.05) for percent torque decline, where the torque
decline was greater for the post-intervention test
(45.8 ± 1.2%) than the pre-intervention test (43.2 ±
1.3%), regardless of intervention or sex. There were no
significant interactions for main effects involving
diverting conditions (p > 0.05).
CONCLUSION
The results of the present study indicated that
listening to self-selected slow tempo music or
self-selected fast tempo music was not an effective
diverting activity intervention. The music
interventions used in the present study may not have
required active mental processing, and therefore were
similar to the control condition. Future diverting
activity studies involving music may want to include
electroencephalography (EEG) measurements to
detect any changes in brain activity among recovery
interventions. If music is used as a diverting activity,
future researchers may want to look at the differences
between preferred genre music and non-preferred
genre music on recovery.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to investigate the
effects of listening to self-selected music, slow- and
fast-tempo, as a diverting recovery intervention
on percent torque decline and peak torque.
ABSTRACT
Previous studies have shown music’s ability to act as an ergogenic
aid. To the best of our knowledge, there is limited research
investigating the effects of music as a diverting activity in
fatiguing exercise protocols. Purpose: To investigate the effects
of listening to music as a diverting recovery intervention on peak
torque and percent torque decline. Methods: Thirty-nine
recreationally trained college-aged men (n = 18; 22.3 ± 2.7 years;
177.6 ± 8.8 cm; 80.7 ± 10.0 kg) and women (n = 21; 22.2 ± 1.7
years; 162.2 ± 5.2 cm; 62.6 ± 9.9 kg) performed 4 experimental
visits consisting of 2 bouts of 50 maximal isokinetic leg
extensions at 180°∙s-1
. Between each bout of maximal exercise, 2
minutes of recovery involving one of the 4 interventions (no
music, white noise, self-selected slow tempo music, and
self-selected fast tempo music) was completed. Torque values
were collected during the pre-intervention and post-intervention
maximal isokinetic strength tests. Percent torque decline was
calculated for both the first and second set of 50 repetitions using
the following formula: % Torque decline = [(peak torque -
minimal torque) ÷ peak torque)] × 100. Results: There were no
significant (p > 0.05) 3-way interactions for peak torque or
percent torque decline. There was a significant 2-way (time × sex)
interaction (p< 0.05) for peak torque. The decrease in peak torque
from the pre-intervention test to the post-intervention test was
significantly greater for men (pre = 138.1 ± 3.68 Nm; post = 127.4
± 3.2 Nm) than for women (pre = 84.7 ± 3.4 Nm; post = 80.4 ± 2.9
Nm), regardless of intervention. There was a significant main
effect (p< 0.05) for percent torque decline, where the torque
decline was greater for the post-intervention test (45.8 ± 1.2%)
than the pre-intervention test (43.2 ± 1.3%), regardless of
intervention or sex. There were no significant interactions for
main effects involving diverting conditions (p > 0.05).
Conclusion: These findings indicate listening to self-selected
music, slow or fast tempo, was not an effective diverting activity.
METHODS
Eighteen male (22.3 ± 2.7 years; 177.6 ± 8.8 cm; 80.7 ± 10.0 kg) and twenty-one female (22.2 ± 1.7
years; 162.2 ± 5.2 cm; 62.6 ± 9.9 kg) participants volunteered for this study. Each participant
signed a University approved statement of informed consent form prior to testing. Five separate
laboratory sessions were required for each participant. Upon arrival, the subject’s body mass (kg),
height (cm), and age were recorded. Participants were then positioned according to the HUMAC
NORM testing and rehabilitation user’s guide. For isokinetic strength testing, participants
performed 2 sets of 50 maximal leg extension at an angular velocity of 180°∙s-1
. Subjects were
instructed to give 100% maximal effort for each extension and to passively lower the leg before
the next maximal leg extension. The researcher gave strong verbal encouragement in an attempt
to ensure that the subjects were providing a maximal effort for each muscle action. Between the
2 sets of 50 repetitions, subjects completed one of the 4 passive recovery interventions (no
music (C), white noise (W), self-selected slow tempo music (ST), and self-selected fast tempo
music (FT)) during a 2-minute recovery period. For this study, slow tempo music was defined as
any song with a tempo ≤ 76 bpm, and fast tempo music was defined as any song with a tempo ≥
120 bpm. During the no music recovery intervention (C), participants remained seated and
rested quietly while wearing noise-cancelling headphones. The white noise intervention (W)
involved participants listening to white noise on a mobile phone. The self-selected fast tempo
music mental diverting activity (FT) involved participants listening to a self-selected song with a
tempo ≤ 76 bpm on an mp3 player or a mobile phone. The self-selected slow tempo music
mental diverting activity (ST) involved participants listening to a self-selected song with a tempo
≥ 120 bpm on an mp3 player or a mobile phone. The order of interventions was randomized for
each participant. Peak isokinetic torque was calculated as the average of the 3 highest torque
values achieved between repetition 1 and 5 (initial repetitions), whereas minimal torque was
calculated separately from each set of 50 maximal repetitions as the average of the 3 lowest
torque values achieved between repetition 45 and 50 (final repetitions). Percent torque decline
was calculated for both the first and second set of 50 repetitions using the following formula:
% Torque decline = [(peak torque - minimal torque) ÷ peak torque)] × 100
Two separate 3-way time (pre-intervention, post-intervention) × condition (control, white noise,
fast tempo, slow tempo) × sex (male, female) analysis of variances (ANOVAs) were used to
analyze peak torque and percent torque decline. When appropriate, follow-up tests included
t-tests with Bonferroni corrections. An alpha level of 0.05 was used to determine significance for
all comparisons.
REFERENCES
1. Alpert, J.S. (1969). The mechanism of the increased
maximum work performance of small muscle groups
resulting from“diverting work”with other muscle
groups, Acta Physiol Scand. 77, 261-271.
2. Asmussen, E. and Mazin, B. (1978). A central nervous
component in local muscular fatigue. European
Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational
Physiology, 38, 9-15.
3. Beck, T., Stock, M., & DeFreitas, J. (2012). Classification
of electromyographic intensity patterns after diverting
activities. Clinical Kinesiology, 66(2), 29-38.
4. Cochrane, K., Coburn, J., Brown, L., & Judelson, D.
(2014). Effects of diverting activity on strength,
electromyographic, and mechanomyographic signals.
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 28(5),
1203-1211.
5. Johnson, J., & Seigel, D. (1992). Effects of association
and dissociation on effort perception. Journal of
Sport Behavior, 15(2), 119-129.
6. Karageorghis, C., Terry, P., & Lane, A. (1999).
Development and initial validation of an instrument
to assess the motivational qualities of music in
exercise and sport: the brunel music rating inventory.
Journal of Sports Sciences, 17(9), 713-724.
7. Potteiger, J., Schroeder, J., & Goff, K. (2000). Influence
of music on ratings of perceived exertion during 20
minutes of moderate intensity exercise. Perceptual
and Motor Skills, 91(3), 848-854.
8. Thoma, M., La Marca, R., Brönnimann, R., Finkel, L.,
Ehlert, U., & Nater, M.S. (2013). The effect of music
on the human stress response. PloS One, 8(8), 1-11.
Rojo, Vanessa M. Moon, Gloria H. Coburn, FACSM, Jared W. Brown, FACSM, Lee E. Costa, Pablo B.
Exercise Physiology Laboratory and Center for Sport Performance Department of Kinesiology California State University, Fullerton
Email: vrojo@fullerton.edu
The Effects of Self-Selected Music as a Diverting Activity Between Two Bouts
of Fatiguing Isokinetic Leg Extensions
Figure 2. Mean (± SE) peak torque collapsed across recovery interventions.
There was a significant decrease in peak torque pre-intervention test to
post-intervention test for both sexes. However, the decrease was significantly
greater* for males than females (p < 0.05).
Figure 1. Mean (± SE) percent torque decline collapsed across recovery
interventions and sex. *The post-intervention test was significantly greater
(p < 0.05) than the pre-intervention test.
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Pre-
intervention
Post-
intervention
Pre-
intervention
Post-
intervention
Females Males
*
*
Pre-intervention
Torque Decline (%)
Post-intervention
Torque Decline (%)
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
TorqueDecline(%)PeakTorque(Nm)](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/1020d7e4-b7f7-4c97-bf9e-e5bda5300a29-161021202011/85/coburn-rojo-2016-swacsm-1-1-320.jpg)
