Does warming up with different music tempos affect physical and psychological responses? The evidence from a chronobiological study.

Background This study examined the effects of listening to different music tempos during warm-up on short-term maximal performance and psychological responses, as a function of Times of Day (TOD). Methods Fifteen well trained subjects (93.75% were semi-professional soccer players) randomly performed the 30-s Continuous Jump test (CJ30) during three morning sessions (07h00) and three evening sessions (17h00), separated by 48h of recovery, each after a warmup under three different conditions: without music (NO-M), with music at 60 bpm (LOW-M), and with music at 120-140 bpm (HIGH-M). The maximal jump height (Hmax), mean jump height of all jumps (Hmean), and fatigue index (FI %) were measured during CJ30. Feeling states (FS) were determined after warm-up, and body temperature was controlled before/after warm-up, as well as after CJ30. Results Data analysis showed that Hmax, Hmean, and body temperature were higher at 17h00 than 07h00 in all experimental conditions. Moreover, Hmax, Hmean and FS were better after warm-ups with LOW-M and HIGH-M compared to NO-M condition at both TOD, with a higher gain at 07h00. More importantly, Hmax, Hmean and FS were better after warm-up with HIGH-M than with LOW-M at both TOD, with a higher gain at 07h00. Conclusions Although both music tempos were beneficial, warming-up with high music tempo (120-140 bpm) is better than warming-up with low music tempo (60 bpm) for improving short-term maximal performance and psychological responses whatever the TOD, especially in the morning hours.