Thomas Hans Fritz, who led the research study said according to The New York Times;
“Participants could express themselves on the machines by, for instance, modulating rhythms and creating melodies.”
After this one exercise session finished, the same participants were asked to come back another time and use the same machines but this time the machines had no musical add ons.
Each workout had been carefully monitored by the researchers, who paid specific attention to the oxygen the volunteers consumed (which is a reliable measure of physical effort), and the force the users of the machines generated.
Once all workouts were completed the scientists asked the volunteers to rate how well they tolerated each session from 1 to 20.
Results showed that most of the participants who used the musically equipped ‘DJ-ing’ exercise machines generated a much larger greater force than when they worked on the machines with no musical enhancement. With the participants who used the musically enhanced machines using less oxygen to create the exercising force, with them also feeling less tired, and producing much smoother movements resulting in a steadier flow of music created.
Dr. Fritz then went onto say;
“Creating their own rhythms and melodies had lowered the physiological cost of exercise and greatly increased its subjective allure compared with when the exercisers passively listened to virtually the same music.”
Perhaps this is exactly how cavemen managed to keep themselves so motivated! By creating a simple hum or musical noise to help them fulfill such physical and demanding hunts, without which they would not have eaten and we would not be here today reading this.