Swimmers are always on the hunt for ways to long swim workouts more enjoyable and more productive.
Listening to music is one of the best ways to do both.
Jamming out to your favorite tunes can distract you from the discomfort of a hard workout, increase motivation, and help you settle into a steady stroke rhythm.
But what about improving swimming endurance? Do swimmers go farther or maintain a faster pace when listening to music?
The answer appears to be yes, but the tempo of the music is what decides how fast and far you will go.
Does Music Improve Swimming Endurance?
To see whether listening to music improved swimming endurance, and what kind of music worked best, a study (Aburto-Corona et al., 2022) took a group of 16 recreational swimmers and had them do a 12-minute swimming test with and without music.
Three conditions were used in the study:
- Swimming with music at 140 beats per minute
- Swimming with music at 120 beats per minute
- No music
Swimmers used the FINIS Duo—a bone-conduction underwater MP3 player that transmits music cleanly to the jawbone instead of combatting water-filled ear canals.
The songs were also chosen by each swimmer, and then subtly adjusted to either 120 or 140bpm. During the swim trial, researchers measured total distance, stroke rate, heart rate, and perceived effort.
Faster Music Helped Swimmers Go Farther
Perhaps not a big surprise—the 140bpm produced the biggest boost in swimming performance. Swimmers swam furthest in this condition.
| Condition | Distance Swum |
| 140bpm | 642m |
| No music | 623m |
| 120bpm | 611m |
Swimmers covered about 30 meters more with the 140-bpm playlist compared to the 120-bpm playlist and 19 meters more than swimming without music.
Interestingly, the biggest difference was between the two music conditions.
Faster Music Increased Stroke Rate
Music is one of the underrated tools for working and controlling stroke rate. Stroke rate matters because it’s one of the first things to go when swimmers get tired.
In this study, swimmers maintained a higher stroke rate while listening to the 140-bpm playlist:
- 51.6 strokes per minute with 140-bpm music
- 49.5 strokes per minute with no music
- 48.5 strokes per minute with 120bpm
The difference also became more noticeable in the second half of the test. Stroke rate declined at the 120-bpm and no music conditions, whereas the faster music pushed swimmers to hold onto their stroke for longer.
Swimmers locked their stroke rate to the beats of the music and didn’t let go.
Faster Music Led to Reduced Perceived Effort
One of the reasons swimmers and athletes of all stripes love listening to music when working out is because there’s a sense that we can push harder with less effort.
This was the case in this study, too.
Both objective (heart rate) and subjective (perceived effort) measures of fatigue were similar across all three conditions.
In other words, swimmers with the faster music swam further and used a higher work rate without a corresponding increase in conscious effort.
Music Tempo Matters for Swim Endurance
The 120bpm and no-music conditions were not that different when it came to distance and stroke rate, which is perhaps the biggest finding of this study—the type of music you swim to dictates how you end up swimming.
Although 120bpm isn’t exactly slow, it may have been too relaxed for a hard 12-minute effort. Instead of getting fired up, the moderate intensity had more of a relaxation effect, making it a poor match.
The 140-bpm playlist, on the other hand, appeared to be the right level of intensity for the swimming being done.
Fast, aggressive music is a type of stimulant, activating the central nervous system. This leads to the physiological sensations that we recognize when amped up for something—increased heart rate, blood pressure goes up, and even our body temperature rises.
The classic “psych-up” effect of a booming playlist.
A moderate-tempo playlist may be better suited to:
- Recovery swimming
- Warm-ups and warm-downs
- Drill and technique work
- Easy aerobic sets
Different types of music serve different goals in the water.
Chill music can even help you accelerate recovery after you’ve wrapped up the main set and you are warming down.
The main takeaway is that an all-out BPM playlist doesn’t map onto everything you are doing in the water. Use tempo and music to support the goal of the set.
Why Music Can Improve Swimming Endurance
The findings are consistent with previous research on swimmers. Olson et al. (2015) found swimmers went 2.2% faster over the course of a 6×200 freestyle test with music played between 125-140bpm.
So why does music boost swim endurance?
There are several reasons:
- Music can reduce feelings of fatigue. The “dissociation” that comes with music—we are focused on the thump-thump of a great song instead of the ouchie-ouchie in our muscles—can be enough to distract us and keep pushing in the water.
- Increased arousal and task motivation. The psych-up effects of music are no joke—there’s a reason swimmers are often listening to a powerful playlist when standing behind the blocks. It gets us juiced up, and this increased arousal naturally promotes more effort and the motivation to do hard stuff.
- Better stroke rhythm. Swimmers use the cadence of a high-energy song to lock their stroke rate into place. Essentially, music becomes a tempo trainer for our stroke, with the arms syncing along with the aggressive thwomp-thwomp of a good song.
None of this means that music should replace smart training or good fitness, but it came make longer swims more enjoyable, increase motivation, and help you maintain pace when fatigue starts to creep up on you.
How to Blast Your Favorite Tunes During Long Swim Workouts
For swimmers looking to sprinkle some music to boost motivation and swim further, use gear that matches the demands of the water.
Regular Bluetooth headphones stop working in the water (sorry, AirPods), so swimmers rely on MP3 players and swim-specific headphones to keep the music going.
Here are a few resources to help you choose:
- Best Waterproof Headphones for Swimming – Bone-conduction, earbuds, wrap-around buds—here’s a look at the best headphones for swimming.
- Best Waterproof MP3 Players for Swimming – A look at the top MP3 players for lap swimming.
- Shokz OpenSwim Pro Review – My favorite bone-conduction headphones for swimmers who want booming music, minimal wires, and tinkering between laps.
Whether you’re grinding through a long aerobic set or just looking to make those endless meters a little more enjoyable, the right music setup can make a surprising difference.
The Bottom Line
Music won’t magically turn you into an endurance monster, but it can definitely help when used correctly!
Up-tempo playlists work for harder endurance efforts when we are really trying to push it in the water. And it can do so without a meaningful increase in heart rate or perceived effort.
Use music smartly and squeeze out a little more performance and enjoyment each time you hit the water.
