Tempo of Music effect Cadence while Cycling

Faculty Mentor

Kristyne Wiegand, Katie Taylor

Presentation Type

Poster

Start Date

4-14-2026 11:30 AM

End Date

4-14-2026 1:30 PM

Location

PUB NCR

Primary Discipline of Presentation

Exercise Science

Abstract

Music is commonly utilized during exercise as motivation and may potentially improve performance. However, individuals may prefer different music tempo depending on desired effort or workout goals. It is less known whether there is a relationship between physiological output and tempo when an individual is unaware or not in control of the music being played. For example, faster tempo music may subconsciously motivate an individual to work out with greater intensity, or a slower tempo song may lead to an inadvertent change in pace. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of music tempo on stationary cycling cadence. METHODS: Fourteen participants (age 19.1±1 y) have completed the study thus far. Participants completed 20 minutes of stationary cycling at a fixed load of 25W while wearing noise-cancelling headphones. During the session, participants listened to one of six playlists based on preferred music genre (rock, pop, classical, rap, country, metal). Each playlist contained 4 shuffled tracks: low tempo (60-90 bpm; LOW), medium tempo (100-130 bpm; MED), fast tempo (140-180 bpm; FAST), and a three-minute track of white noise (CON). Participants were not aware of the purpose of the study and therefore did not know the contents of the music playlist. Cadence was measured (in rpm) at the beginning, middle, and end of each track. The average cadence for each track was calculated, and the effect of tempo on cadence was analyzed using a one-way repeated measures ANOVA (α = .05). RESULTS: The average cadence was 81±4 rpm in the CON condition, 79±3 rpm in LOW tempo, 84±4 rpm in MED tempo, and 85±4 rpm in FAST tempo, though these were not significantly different (p = 0.06). CONCLUSIONS: More data collection is required to draw consistent conclusions regarding the effects of tempo on cycling cadence. However, preliminary results suggest that individuals may change their cycling pace without realizing it, when presented with music of varying tempos.

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS
 
Apr 14th, 11:30 AM Apr 14th, 1:30 PM

Tempo of Music effect Cadence while Cycling

PUB NCR

Music is commonly utilized during exercise as motivation and may potentially improve performance. However, individuals may prefer different music tempo depending on desired effort or workout goals. It is less known whether there is a relationship between physiological output and tempo when an individual is unaware or not in control of the music being played. For example, faster tempo music may subconsciously motivate an individual to work out with greater intensity, or a slower tempo song may lead to an inadvertent change in pace. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of music tempo on stationary cycling cadence. METHODS: Fourteen participants (age 19.1±1 y) have completed the study thus far. Participants completed 20 minutes of stationary cycling at a fixed load of 25W while wearing noise-cancelling headphones. During the session, participants listened to one of six playlists based on preferred music genre (rock, pop, classical, rap, country, metal). Each playlist contained 4 shuffled tracks: low tempo (60-90 bpm; LOW), medium tempo (100-130 bpm; MED), fast tempo (140-180 bpm; FAST), and a three-minute track of white noise (CON). Participants were not aware of the purpose of the study and therefore did not know the contents of the music playlist. Cadence was measured (in rpm) at the beginning, middle, and end of each track. The average cadence for each track was calculated, and the effect of tempo on cadence was analyzed using a one-way repeated measures ANOVA (α = .05). RESULTS: The average cadence was 81±4 rpm in the CON condition, 79±3 rpm in LOW tempo, 84±4 rpm in MED tempo, and 85±4 rpm in FAST tempo, though these were not significantly different (p = 0.06). CONCLUSIONS: More data collection is required to draw consistent conclusions regarding the effects of tempo on cycling cadence. However, preliminary results suggest that individuals may change their cycling pace without realizing it, when presented with music of varying tempos.