Cycle Exercising in Time with Music

Different forms of exercise with a cycle ergometer in time with music were studied in comparison: exercise in time with a rhythm or with music at constant and movement-controlled music tempos, with simultaneous arm and leg work, and with leg work alone. For this pilot study an exercise cycle with arm levers movable forward and backward for additional arm work was equipped with a mechanically breakable flywheel. At a movement-controlled music tempo synthesizer music was synchronized with the movement rhythm by electrical pulses generated during each pedal rotation. A point approximately 8 degrees to 15 degrees before the horizontal pedal position during leg stretching was preferred as the onset of the beats during movement-controlled tempo. The subjects preferred pedalling rates between about 70 and 90 revolutions.min.-1, two-thirds with movement-controlled and one-third with preset music tempo. At a comparable work-load, rhythm was rated as more boring than musical accompaniment, but there were no significant differences between the ratings of discomfort, strain, or boredom for the two forms of musical accompaniment and no interaction with the preference for them.