Hannah Carroll, Campus Carrier Staff Writer

Playing music while working out is a regular scenario for athletes and frequent visitors to the gym. If music is not streaming through personal earphones then it can often be heard through the gym’s sound system. For the athletes of Berry College, this is a standard expectation during practices and team work out sessions.

Each sport has created playlists that are used throughout practices and time in the weight room. The music played is not arbitrary, but instead cultivated to achieve specific purposes in various situations.

Rap and hip hop music are favorites to be featured on playlists, according to senior safety Justen Booket, who has made practice and workout playlists for Berry’s football team. The upbeat tempos and rhythm serve to keep the energy level high and players motivated as they are active in the gym. It also increases the quality of the work out as athletes are less aware of their exertion and are able to push themselves farther, according to Booket.

This is a common concept many are familiar with, but it also has scientific reasoning. Fast-paced music aids in making athletes less bodily aware and not fully conscious of the fatigue and pain in their muscles, according to The Guardian, allowing participants to increase their workload. This occurs due to sensory stimulus, in which the brain has to process a large amount of information and cannot register the entire strain being felt by the body. The more up-beat the music, the more distracted a player can become.

This distraction caused by the music allows athletes to enhance their physical performance. Music featuring fast beats increased output by 15 percent, according to the National Center for Health Research. Because the music makes players less focused on the pain of their body and more on what they are doing, they are able to perform longer than if they were to work out without music.

Playlists can maintain high energy, but sometimes it’s also about maintaining high spirits. The music played during football practices is tailored more to the preferences of players and is meant to keep the environment relaxed, according to Booket. The selection will still feature songs from the hip-hop genre, but it will also include various music that is enjoyed by different players, such as country, old school and rock.

“It’s hard to not have fun while listening to music,” Booket said.

The less intense music allows the student athletes to become more resilient as well as remind them to fully enjoy the practices. Listening to music is a privilege, according to Booket, and aids in keeping players focused on their improvements rather than their mistakes.

The same concept can be seen across other sports, such as baseball. According to junior first baseman Tyler Calvert, who has been making playlists for Berry’s baseball team since his freshman year, the playlists for practices are seen as enjoyable background music.

The music featured is meant to be entertaining for his teammates as well as keep them motivated during their three-to four-hour practices. The assortment of songs is much more laid back in comparison to the playlists used for workouts, according to Calvert.

Music is beneficial even when the athletes are not in competition or on the field or court. The pregame playlist for baseball consists of dubstep remixes that are meant to energize and hype up the players before they step onto the field to play, according to Calvert. Walk-up songs are also a means to express the individuality of the players and give viewers a chance to see their personalities.

“Some people like to be hyped up, some like to be funny and carefree with it, it just varies person to person,” Calvert said.