Carry-over effects of music in an isometric muscular endurance task

This study tested the effects of exposure to self-selected motivational music both prior to and during performance of a muscular endurance task. 27 male undergraduate students in sports science completed an isometric weight-holding task on two separate occasions while listening either to self-selected motivational music or white noise. Participants were assigned to one of three groups on the basis of scores on a familiarization trial. The three groups were Prior Exposure, music or white noise played immediately before task commencement; Half Exposure, conditions initiated simultaneously with task commencement but terminated approximately half-way through the trial; and Full Exposure, conditions initiated simultaneously with trial commencement and continuing until voluntary cessation. A two-way mixed-model analysis of variance yielded a significant interaction and a main effect for condition. Participants held the weight suspended significantly longer when listening to music than with white noise. For the interaction, analysis of gain scores indicated participants' performance increased more for exposure to music during the entire session, than for exposure to music prior to the session. These results suggest that exposure to music during muscular endurance trials can yield significantly longer endurance times, but that exposure to music prior to task commencement may not carry over to influence performance.