It's no secret that a great playlist can not only help improve your enjoyment of a workout, but it can also motivate you to workout harder, faster, and stronger. But can the same be said in reverse? Can a song ruin what was once a promising session?
In an effort to find a correlation between music and running speed, a recent study analyzed data where runners were asked to work out while listening to a different artist each time they laced up. And if the study by fashion site Pour Moi is to be believed, it turns out that some music can actually make someone run slower— most notably the artist Drake.
That’s right, while Drake is one of the biggest artists in the world, his expansive catalog might not be the best for running. The study was run (pun intended) by analyzing the running data of sixty runs, where each runner was asked to listen to a different artist for each run. Of the data Pour Moi concluded that those who listened to Beyoncé were able to increase their speeds and cut their running times by an average of two minutes and 45 seconds, which is reportedly “enough to shave 33 seconds per kilometer off your personal best.” However, those who listened to Drizzy while running, experienced significant lag times—Increasing their running time by 6%, adding almost 15 minutes to their workout.
Other artists that caused runners to slow things down included BTS, Doja Cat, Nicki Minaj, and Katy Perry.
Along with Beyonce, Kanye West, Travis Scott, Cardi B, Rihanna, Harry Styles and Britney Spears all inspired runners to move faster.
