Background: This study examined the effects of listening to different music tempos during warm-up on short-term maximal performance and psychological responses, as a function of times of day (TOD).
Methods: Fifteen well trained subjects (93.75% were semi-professional soccer players) randomly performed the 30-s continuous jump test (CJ<inf>30</inf>) for three morning sessions (07h00) and three evening sessions (17h00), separated by 48h of recovery, each after a warm-up under three different conditions: without music (NO-M), with music at 60 bpm (LOW-M), and with music at 120-140 bpm (HIGH-M). The maximal jump height (H<inf>max</inf>), mean jump height of all jumps (H<inf>mean</inf>), and fatigue index (FI %) were measured during CJ<inf>30</inf>. Feeling states (FS) were determined after warm-up, and body temperature was controlled before/after warm-up, as well as after CJ<inf>30</inf>.
Results: Data analysis showed that H<inf>max</inf>, H<inf>mean</inf>, and body temperature were higher at 17h00 than 07h00 in all experimental conditions. Moreover, H<inf>max</inf>, H<inf>mean</inf> and FS were better after warm-ups with LOW-M and HIGH-M compared to NO-M condition at both TOD, with a higher gain at 07h00. More importantly, H<inf>max</inf>, H<inf>mean</inf> and FS were better after warm-up with HIGH-M than with LOW-M at both TOD, with a higher gain at 07h00.
Conclusions: Although both music tempos were beneficial, warming-up with high music tempo (120-140 bpm) is better than warming-up with low music tempo (60 bpm) for improving short-term maximal performance and psychological responses whatever the TOD, especially in the morning hours.