PureGym study reveals exercising to music boosts performance

Newly released research shows that exercising to music while lifting weights can boost performance by an average of 13%

The research, conducted by gym chain PureGym, monitored the performance of gym-goers while listening to various music vs. working out in silence, and found that although almost any artist and genre can positively impact your workouts, it's pop star Dua Lipa that makes the biggest difference - increasing weight lifted during bench presses, deadlifts and squats by an average of 38% (20kg based on a 60kg control lift).

Other artists that made a particularly positive impact on strength included Harry Styles, BTS and Eminem.

With over 49,000 Google searches for ‘workout music’ every month, exercise and a good tune go hand in hand, PureGym monitored data from over 60 workouts to reveal just how much of an impact on performance music actually has.

Using the back catalogues of artists regularly featured in popular gym playlists, the research found that across the board, listening while you lift will give you a strength boost of 13% on average. Meaning that if you currently bench 80kg, a good tune should take you up to a new PB at 90kg!

The Top 10 Artists that help exercisers llift more
Artist Average Strength Increase (%) Example Weightlift Increase (based on 60kg control weight)

Monitored across the three main lifts of the bench press, deadlift and squat, pop was the genre that had the biggest impact on performance, with the top 10 dominated by pop stars while heavy metal, a genre favoured by gym buffs including Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, snuck in through Metallica in 10th.

Where hip hop is concerned, Eminem wins the rap battle, with ‘Swole Shady’ featuring above other stars such as Drake, Doja Cat and Kanye West, who ranked outside of the top 10. Interestingly, the ‘Stronger’ rapper also had less of a positive impact on gym performance than Taylor Swift.

In addition to monitoring increases in weight lifted, the research also analysed the impact on the number of reps each participant performed, and while adding more weight will usually result in lower reps, some artists will also keep you lifting for longer. Turning the gym into ‘Harry’s House’, Harry Styles ranked top, while chart toppers Dua Lipa and Olivia Rodrigo followed, proving her music is definitely ‘good 4 u’ when it comes to working out.

The 5 Artists That Increase Reps
Artist Average Increase in Reps (%)

Commenting on the findings, Stephen Rowe, PureGym’s Chief Marketing Officer, advised “whether it’s going for a run or lifting weights, many people feel they can’t exercise properly without having their favourite music playing, and it’s been fascinating to see with our study that there’s more to it than just musical preference.

“As long as you’re lifting safely and are confident that you’re not loading on too much weight, queuing up a playlist of your favourite artists can be a great way to boost performance and get a new personal best. In all our gyms, we always try to play an eclectic blend of upbeat hits and based on our research, it’s definitely something we’ll keep on doing.”

For further information on the study, as well as a Spotify playlist of the top artists to help boost performance go to puregym.com/blog/the-music-artists-that-help-you-lift-more-weights/

Image credit: Pexels Pavel Danily.