Choosing your own workout music may help you exercise nearly 20% longer without making the effort feel harder. Credit: Shutterstock The study focused on recreationally active adults cycling at high intensity while listening to music they personally chose. Most of the tracks fell within a tempo range of about 120-140 beats per minute. Compared to exercising in silence, participants were able to continue riding for nearly six additional minutes before reaching exhaustion. endurance by nearly 20 %,