Listening to Preferred and Loud Music Enhances Taekwondo Physical Performances in Adolescent Athletes

In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of warm-up music preference and loudness on physical performance, perceived exertion (RPE), and enjoyment in young taekwondo athletes. In a crossover counterbalanced design, 20 taekwondo athletes (10 male, 10 female) performed a battery of physical tasks specific to taekwondo under the following five conditions: (a) No music (NM), (b) Preferred music-Soft (60 dB; PMS), (c) Preferred music-Loud (80 dB; PML), (d) Non-preferred music-Soft (60 dB; NPMS), and (e) Non-preferred music-Loud (80 dB; NPML). On each lab visit, participants completed a taekwondo-specific agility test (TSAT), a10-second kick test (KSKT-10s) and a multiple frequency speed of kick tests (FSKT) within each music condition. Pre-exercise enjoyment was assessed using the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES) after the warm-up, while we obtained RPE scores after each test. The PML condition resulted in significantly better agility test times on the TSAT compared to PMS (p <.001), and NPML (p <.001). Furthermore, PML led to a greater number of total kicks during the FSKT-10s test compared to the PMS (p <.001), and NPML (p <.001) conditions. The decrement index on the FSKT was lower in PML than in PMS and NPML conditions (p <.001). For RPE, values were significantly lower with preferred than non-preferred music (p <.001). These findings lend support to ergogenic benefits of listening to PML prior to taekwondo physical tasks, with important implications for enhancing taekwondo training and performance.