Listen Like Rocky Balboa

The theme song from the movie Rocky is probably one of the most popular songs of all time to psych yourself up.

In 1995 there was an interesting study done in which two researchers asked two groups of runners who were just about equal in speed from past races to compete against each other in a 60-meter dash.

Before the race one group listened to one minute of the Rocky theme song on headphones and the second group stood in silence for that 1 minute.

Any guesses which group ran faster? Those that listened to the music!

The researchers also found that of those who listened to the music:

• Their heartbeats were faster

• Their muscles were tenser

• Their anxiety was lower

One minute of a song gave them a significant and systematic physiological advantage.

You might not have any athletic competitions coming up anytime soon, but do you think music might help you as you prepare for a stressful or important event in your life?

Depending on the event, and how you want to feel at it, you might want music that gets you psyched up, or instead, calms you down. For instance, before a talk where you have to rally up your team, you probably want to get psyched up while before an important test or project you will likely want to calm down and focus.

These playlists are definitely a personal thing, something you will have to make up on your own as it depends not only on the event but also on what type of music you like and dislike.

Take a moment now to browse through your music playlists. Identify which songs you think will get you in the right mindset before the next big event you have coming up. Then create your pre-event playlist and listen to it just before your event to see how it impacts your performance.

Reference: K.G. Hall and B. Erickson. “The Effects of Preparatory Arousal on Sixty-Meter Dash Performance.” Applied Research in Coaching and Athletics Annual 10 (1995): 70-79.

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