In a recent study, researchers asked students to ride stationary bicycles while listening to music. They were given a selection of six songs with a range of tempos.
When the tempo was slowed, their pedaling diminished in rate, their heart rates fell, and their mileage dropped. When the tempo was increased, they produced more power with each pedal stroke and increased their pedaling rate, and their heart rates rose.
Just how music impacts the body during exercise, however, is only slowly being teased out by scientists.
Souces: New York Times, August 25, 2010
Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, August 2010