Do iPods help Olympic athletes perform better?
I blogged a while back about "why conservatives hate MP3 players" -- the folks on the cultural right who think personal audio-players seal young people into self-involved bubbles of existential onanism, in which they pay no attention to the world around them.
Now it turns out this debate has arisen in the winter Olympics! Apparently, this year's young Olympians love their iPods so much that many listen to them while they're competing. The US snowboard team has even wired their uniforms to accomodate iPods, with iPod-sized pockets, speakers in their hoods, and control panels on their left sleeves. The music, says snowboarder Dustin Majewski, helps him stay in the zone: "It enables you to focus on what you're doing without actually focusing, if that makes any sense," he told the Baltimore Sun. "You're not over-thinking, and that's the best way to perform the harder tricks and maneuvers."
That description is both hilariously incoherent and oddly spot-on. I think he's trying to describe the sense of "flow" -- being so joyously immersed in a task that the rest of the world seems to drop away: Perfect concentration without any sense of effort. But as it turns out, not all trainers and athletes think music has this sort of effect, as the Sun story goes on to report:
"I'm not certain it's such a good idea" to listen to a music player during events, said Mike Jones of Dundalk, the president of the Baltimore Ski Club. "When you're doing aerials and everything, you have to concentrate and focus on positions. On a day when it's cloudy, you don't know whether you're looking at snow or sky, and distractions can be very dangerous."
In fact, Spyder -- the company that sponsors the alpine ski team -- didn't rig its Olympic uniforms with iPod-ready wires in part because of safety concerns.
"The skiers are racing down at 40 miles an hour," said Laura Wisner, a company spokeswoman. "You are in a completely different realm. It would not be a good time to listen to your iPod."
(Thanks to Yishay Mor for this one!)
Posted by Clive Thompson at February 22, 2006 09:56 PM
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I thought the iPods were very curious too. I remember a few years ago a study about weightlifters and music. Basically, they lifted less when they had headphones with music on. Their performance was better when their full attention was on lifting.
Snowboarding isn't as purely physical, but there's no doubt it takes a lot of concentration.
Posted by: Philip at February 23, 2006 4:10 PM
I have noticed a lot of athletes using their iPods in warmups. Sasha Cohen, Shani Davis, Chad Hedrick, are ones I saw specifically. They are all considered stars and near favorites in their sports. Even if you can't tune out everything while you're competing, I totally understand the desire to do so while warming up. I wouldn't be surprised if they were closer to the rule than the exception.
Posted by: Peter at February 23, 2006 5:00 PM
What about listening to music influencing your balance since that is managed in inner air as well?
Posted by: Teller at February 24, 2006 4:23 AM
There is a clear difference between halfpipe snowboarding and the alpine skiing events.
In halfpipe the task to is perform tricks that one has practiced many times and to execute them correctly. Do what you have rehearsed. In these situations the danger is to become self-conscious and "over-think" and be unable to do what one knows very well how to do.
Skiers practice skills but the course is always changing. They get only a few inspections or training runs. The snow/ice surface is not consistent from race to race or within the course. Their challenge is to apply their skills to new terrain all the time. And they not only have to ski down the course but aim to do so faster than everyone else. This requires a different kind of concentration.
Halfpipe snowboarders might try to block out their surroundings, and pretend that they're on their home training ground with nothing at stake.
Skiers have to be hyperaware of where they are, and they don't want to forget that they're racing, because the race format is what motivates them to go all-out.
Posted by: Arrowyn at February 27, 2006 12:49 PM
Ah, very cool comments here. Philip -- I had never heard of that weightlifting thing, and I'd love to read more about it! Peter, yep, I've seen tons of athletes using 'em too. I bet it is the norm. Though I've never thought about the effect on the inner ear, Teller.
Arrowyn, excellent point! This is why I can't listen to music -- at least, music with lyrics -- while I write: It distracts me when I need to focus. Though I know lots of writers who love to listen to music while they type ...
Posted by: Clive at February 27, 2006 11:39 PM
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I thought the iPods were very curious too. I remember a few years ago a study about weightlifters and music. Basically, they lifted less when they had headphones with music on. Their performance was better when their full attention was on lifting.
Snowboarding isn't as purely physical, but there's no doubt it takes a lot of concentration.
Posted by: Philip![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.collisiondetection.net/nav-commenters.gif)
at February 23, 2006 4:10 PM
I have noticed a lot of athletes using their iPods in warmups. Sasha Cohen, Shani Davis, Chad Hedrick, are ones I saw specifically. They are all considered stars and near favorites in their sports. Even if you can't tune out everything while you're competing, I totally understand the desire to do so while warming up. I wouldn't be surprised if they were closer to the rule than the exception.
Posted by: Peter![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.collisiondetection.net/nav-commenters.gif)
at February 23, 2006 5:00 PM
What about listening to music influencing your balance since that is managed in inner air as well?
Posted by: Teller![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.collisiondetection.net/nav-commenters.gif)
at February 24, 2006 4:23 AM
There is a clear difference between halfpipe snowboarding and the alpine skiing events.
In halfpipe the task to is perform tricks that one has practiced many times and to execute them correctly. Do what you have rehearsed. In these situations the danger is to become self-conscious and "over-think" and be unable to do what one knows very well how to do.
Skiers practice skills but the course is always changing. They get only a few inspections or training runs. The snow/ice surface is not consistent from race to race or within the course. Their challenge is to apply their skills to new terrain all the time. And they not only have to ski down the course but aim to do so faster than everyone else. This requires a different kind of concentration.
Halfpipe snowboarders might try to block out their surroundings, and pretend that they're on their home training ground with nothing at stake.
Skiers have to be hyperaware of where they are, and they don't want to forget that they're racing, because the race format is what motivates them to go all-out.
Posted by: Arrowyn![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.collisiondetection.net/nav-commenters.gif)
at February 27, 2006 12:49 PM
Ah, very cool comments here. Philip -- I had never heard of that weightlifting thing, and I'd love to read more about it! Peter, yep, I've seen tons of athletes using 'em too. I bet it is the norm. Though I've never thought about the effect on the inner ear, Teller.
Arrowyn, excellent point! This is why I can't listen to music -- at least, music with lyrics -- while I write: It distracts me when I need to focus. Though I know lots of writers who love to listen to music while they type ...
Posted by: Clive![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.collisiondetection.net/nav-commenters.gif)
at February 27, 2006 11:39 PM