Social experiment

I read the introduction thread on here everyday, as I imagine lots of others do.

One area that fascinates me is the music one. Its a simple enough question, and its been bought up on every other forum, so I guess I'm the odd one out.

I see no relevance to whats on the bar and whats on the stereo. I didnt mention ipod, because I rip them out of guys heads at PTC.

So does the music play a role in the mindset of the lifter? Most say it definitely does. I disagree, but again, I'm the Lone Ranger here.

I do giggle when a guy states his goals, and then is quite passionate about the songs playing on his ipod.

So last night, as a Social Experiment, I had the Bee Gees playing full bore at PTC, the CD of choice was One night only, live and full of all the hits.

I then proceeded to load up stupidly heavy bars for guys, weights they had never attempted.

Ronnie (nievs) did 250kg squats out of the rack on pin 14, as did Fat Dave. Simply unracking 250kg is a massive effort, but to walk back with it, bend your knees, pause on the pins, then stand up is f u c k e d up.

Max did 150kg benches in the rack, mainly lock out stuff, with well over double bodyweight. Dim did 130kg @ 69kg and Nicky did 130kg @ 72kg.

All these lifts are PB's.

I continued the experiment this morning.

Max squatted a PB 162.5kg
Ben (saint) powercleaned 121kg, PB
Ben push pressed 121kg, PB
Ben deadlifted 230kg, PB
Ben benched 145kg, PB
Ben squatted 155kg
He totalled 772kg during the session, PB...please add this to our record boards.

Nick squatted 200kg and 170kg x 9

Fat Dave cleaned 100kg, PB
Fat Dave push pressed 95kg, PB

Jordy (14yo girl) deadlifted 100kg, PB
Jordy push pressed 40kg, PB

Now this experiment is obviously flawed in many ways, but I believe music has zero influence on the weights we lift.

I'm like the next guy, I love to listen to what I enjoy, ACDC etc, but Barry Gibb is not going to stop me hitting a PB.

Now I know Max loves DMX and all his other Hip Hop atrists when he trains, everyone is the same, I'm just a little ammused at comments about music. Not so much on here, but it gets heaps of attention on other sites.

Opinion, views ?

For me it matters not if music is playing or not as long as if it is playing it's something I like.
If Brittany Spears, Lady Ga Ga or Guy Sebastian etc was playing I'd throw the stereo off the balcony.

Well they don't play music at the olympic games and world championships, do they?
And PB's get hit all the time there.
It's more about the competition created in those cases which motivates lifters to lift heavier.

I think most of the people posting in the intro thread are just casual lifters, not lifting for PB's or extreme performance.
They just want to get in their own zone and maybe be entertained while doing a workout by themselves.

So the difference I believe which matters most to get better results is the company you lift with, and not the music you listen too.
If you want to get better, you associate with people better than you, it's the easiest and best way to improve.

We are not all lifting for the same reason though and all have different goals.

Sometimes some aggro music has given me that extra push, nowhere near as much as a training partner or good night's sleep would, though.

If some really crap pop music, adverts or DJ crapping on is playing that puts me off.

I'd prefer no music in the gym, only the clanging of plates and grunts of lifters.

music has great impacts on the mind. there is a reason why we hear music in all sorts of places like on the phone in the elevator or when you are out doing your grocery shopping at a supermarket

There has been many studies done showing the linkage between music and the effect it has on the mind

the studies show that the tempo and and volume are the keys not the music itself

at PTC i train with no music but i have other lifters to feed off, at home i train with music and whilst im not sure if it actually helps me lift anymore i feel it does keep me in the "zone" for the duration of the session.

maybe this proves that the Bee Gee's are the pinnacle when is comes to lifting music.

downloading their greatest hits now.

haz said:

maybe this proves that the Bee Gee's are the pinnacle when is comes to lifting music.

downloading their greatest hits now.

Click to expand...

hmmm you could be right there

Im fussy when it comes to music, the gym I go to has rnb and some really crap current dance/pop tracks, more for the treadmill users, other times its radio. DMX has some good tunes with a lot of bass (And then there was X is the best of them all) but prodigy, rage against the machine and pendulum gets the cake for getting physic.

I don't hear anything when I'm working out, I'm extremely anti-social at this point.

But I love all music, from Handel to Rage against the machine, I always have music on everywhere.

Interesting responses, and some passionate point of views.

I like to rock the boat a bit. I dont like lifters/clients getting too used to anything.

Recently I got my lifters to bench press off my lowered squat racks rather than my bench press. I just positioned a flat bench between the uprights, and off they went.

They bitched and moaned,"why are we using the black bar" "the lights are in my eyes" "this bench is lower" "its not straight".

Three of the four hit PB's for 7 reps that night.

Another lifter was very weak mentally and had zero endurance.

He always deadlifted first in his sessions, then his effort petered out. This time I told him no deadlifts, so he gave his all for the session. He was wasted.

I then loaded 251kg on the deadlift and asked him for a PB. He laughed at me saying it wouldnt budge. He really wasnt going to attempt it.

Thankfully he did and set a new PB.

The mind is the biggest obstacle in lifting. I love good music as much as anyone, I'm just disturbed that so many place such an emphasis on it in the gym.

Keep your views coming please, there is no right or wrong, I'm just really curious.

For the record I have over 10,000 CD's. That was the first time I ever played the Bee Gee's, but it wont be the last

Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk,
I'm a woman's man, no time to talk.
Music loud and women warm.
I've been kicked around since I was born.
And now it's all right, it's O.K.
And you may look the other way.
We can try to understand
The New York Times' effect on man.
Whether you're a brother
Or whether you're a mother,
You're stayin' alive, stayin' alive.
Feel the city breakin'
And ev'rybody shakin'
And we're stayin' alive, stayin' alive.
Ah, ha, ha, ha,
Stayin' alive.
Stayin' alive.
Ah, ha, ha, ha,
Stayin' alive.
Well now, I get low and I get high
And if I can't get either I really try.
Got the wings of heaven on my shoes
I'm a dancin' man and I just can't lose.
You know it's all right, it's O.K.
I'll live to see another day.
We can try to understand
The New York Times' effect on man.
Whether you're a brother
Or whether you're a mother,
You're stayin' alive, stayin' alive.
Feel the city breakin'
And ev'rybody shakin'
And we're stayin' alive, stayin' alive.
Ah, ha, ha, ha,
Stayin' alive.
Stayin' alive.
Ah, ha, ha, ha,
Stayin' alive.
Life goin' nowhere.
Somebody help me.
Somebody help me, yeah.
Life goin' nowhere.
Somebody help me, yeah.
Stayin' alive
Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk,
I'm a woman's man, no time to talk.
Music loud and women warm.
I've been kicked around since I was born.
And now it's all right, it's O.K.
And you may look the other way.
We can try to understand
The New York Times' effect on man.
Whether you're a brother
Or whether you're a mother,
You're stayin' alive, stayin' alive.
Feel the city breakin'
And ev'rybody shakin'
And we're stayin' alive, stayin' alive.
Ah, ha, ha, ha,
Stayin' alive.
Stayin' alive.
Ah, ha, ha, ha,
Stayin' alive.
Life goin' nowhere.
Somebody help me.
Somebody help me, yeah.
Life goin' nowhere.
Somebody help me, yeah.
Stayin' alive
Life goin' nowhere.
Somebody help me.
Somebody help me, yeah.
Life goin' nowhere.
Somebody help me, yeah.
Stayin' alive

ive searched the uni database for any relative concepts and theories, couldn't find much. probably due to the fact that a experiment of this nature would contrive a plethora of confounding variables, inflating the significance and accuracy of results.

i would be more inclined to test the theory of music/sounds in relation to positive feelings -> increased anabolic state. From there you could infer assumptions or at the very least its a starting point for further investigation.

PTC said:

That was the first time I ever played the Bee Gee's, but it wont be the last

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Staying Alive is a pretty funky song. maybe try something like opera or bagpipes, that might get a different response from your lifters.

I like some cranking metal or hip hop when i work out, helps me focus if im training solo. If Im with a partner though then theres no need really for music.

Ads and radio in general at gyms **** me right off, ill wait for an ad series or song to finish before starting a set if its bad enough.

I like music when doing cardio and bagwork to pass the time. It does not make me want to try and lift heavier.
Some people are going to react differently to their surroundings than others. Some are more passionate about what they hear than others. I tend to drain out from what I listen to when I'm tired or concentrating.

I'm different again, I listen to hard trance music in between sets, then when I do a set, I take out the headphones and focus on what I'm doing, then finish the set and back to the music. All the while remaining my focus!

PTC said:

For the record I have over 10,000 CD's.

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Holy Sh1t...thats a lot. Imagine the cost of replacing them if something happened. You put many music fans collections to shame

Dolly Parton next week, just to demonstrate how insignificant music is when moving heavy iron.