Here it is, folks: the most perfect Both Kinds of Heavy topic of all time. Today, the new Jeff Nippard newsletter hit my inbox on this very topic. It turns out that there have been many studies on this topic over the years, and science actually has an answer to this question. 

And the answer is that yes, music can help you have a better workout. A little. Maybe.

Jeff Nippard links to two studies, one from 2015 and another from 2018. Both have pretty similar findings: listening to music isn't going to actually increase your strength. However, both found that the groups who listened to self-selected music squeezed out a few extra reps. Here are the key findings from the 2018 study:

• Music was not beneficial to power or velocity production during explosive resistance exercise.
• Perceived effort was lowest and repetitions completed were highest for self-selected and metal music.
• All music genres increased the number of repetitions at low and moderate intensities, but not at high intensity.
• Resistance training improved positive mood across all music genres.

So while listening to music isn't going to be enough to help you put more weight on the bar, it can help you do a few more reps, which in turn gets you more muscle stimulus. Of course, I have to point out that metal is singled out as the genre with the most noticeable effect.

These studies are both cited in further research on the subject, such as this study from 2024. I'm sure all of these studies have scientific explanations for why music can help you push a little harder. Allow me to editorialize for a moment and give my own vibes-based explanation: music makes things more fun. If you're listening to a song you love and it's time to wrap up at the gym, you might choose to stick around a little longer until the song is done. And hey, you might as well get in a few more reps while you're at it. So get some great tunes in a playlist and head to the gym!