Introduction Music has been widely recommended as a technique to enhance the psychophysical state of participants in sport and exercise. However, there is scant scientific evidence in anaerobic performance to clarify its proposed benefits. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of fast and slow rhythm music on anaerobic performance and salivary cortisol concentration in trained men.

Methods Thirty male physical education college students (ages: 25.66±3.89 years, height: 176.65±7.66 cm, weight: 78.45±16.20 kg, body fat percent: 12.86±5.74 and VO₂max: 38.36±9.19 ml/kg/min) voluntarily participated in this study and were divided into three groups: fast music, slow music and no music (control). All subjects performed the Cunningham test following a 20% grate and 14.3 km/h speed on the treadmill. For measuring cortisol, not stimulated samples of saliva collected, 15 min before intervention, immediately 5 and the other 30 min after the exercise. The significance level was set at p < 0.05.

Results There was a no significant difference between the listening of music and anaerobic performance. In addition, salivary cortisol concentration decreased 5 and 30 min after exercise during slow music listening compared with fast and without music (control) treatment, but were not significant. Furthermore, the type of music has no impact on running time for the measure of anaerobic performance and salivary cortisol after exercise.

Discussion This study provided some support for the hypothesis that fast and slow music listening had no significant impact compared without music during anaerobic exercise.