The Effect of Popular Music on Female Students’ Fitness in Physical Education Courses

Background. Music has been seen as a motivator to help individuals who are not persistent enough to do a full set of exercises. However, the effect of long-term using music has not been determined, especially for amateur students who participated in Physical Education courses. Objectives: The purpose of the study was to find out the effect of popular music on female physical fitness students when participating in physical education courses. Methods. Seventy-three healthy female students were chosen and divided into three groups, of which 24 female students were in the 15-week experimental group, another 24 female students were in the 7-week experimental group, and the 25 female students remaining were in 15-week training without music. The music tempos were classified into three parts of a training session such as the warm-up (90-120 bpm), training (120-150 bpm), and cool-down (60-90 bpm). Results. The results indicated that the application of popular music improved speed (F(2,68)=13.35, p=0.000), agility (F(2,28)=11.93, p=0.000), maximum aerobic speed (F(2,68)=4.93, p=0.01), and decreased rating perceived exertion value when compared between the use of music groups and no music in all three sessions (warm-up, training, and cool-down). However, it showed unchanged in the core strength (F(2,68)=0.006, p=0.994), power of the legs (F(2,68)=0.034, p=0.967), and strength of the hand (F(2,68)=0.229, p=0.796). Besides, there was no difference in the effect of music on differences in long-term experimental times between 7-week and 15-week groups in all tests and the rating perceived exertion index, too. Conclusion. Long-term using popular music (7e vs. 15e) did not affect female students’ fitness in Physical Education courses. However, it can be said that popular music has been a beneficial tool to improve physical fitness and create a dynamic practice environment in physical education courses.