Blog this! Three point O

So todays installment of randomness is about the effect of motivation of physical performance, specifically musical motivation.

So, for a while i've felt the effect music has had on my performance when doing various forms of cardio. But i was curious as to just how much of an effect it did have.

(Note. This is not rocket science, just observations)

So, i set out test this.
Started out with 10 mins of warming up, getting my heart rate up etc. Before i started.

First piece of music, was a medium motivator. Got a consistant watt output, with a heartrate of 170-175 bpm.

I then turned the music off (now it was just the music of the gym... which is crap for me.) And it wasn't long before i felt the effects. It felt alot harder, even with the fact that my watt output fell around 20%, and my heartrate INCREASED to around 180-182 bpm.

Put on my headphones again, fired up for a piece of music i find really motivating, and....
Output rocketed to around 28% more;
8% more than the base watt output, while my heartrate FELL again. To 172-176 bpm.

So it did have a physical manifistation, although the main effect is psychological. And i can very much "feel" the difference. A good song will have me performing a great deal better.

This, just on a side note, also works with visualization. If you can get sucked enough into the mindset of the visualization' situation, it will have the same effect.

Anyway... fear the randomness.