The right soundtrack for sports
Jogging more often, going to the gym or simply doing more sport in general are among the most popular New Year’s resolutions. In a representative Forsa survey published by DAK-Gesundheit, 61 per cent of respondents stated that they had resolved to exercise and do more sport in 2025 – after ‘Avoid or reduce stress’ (68 per cent) and ‘More time for family/friends’ (64 per cent), the desire for more exercise came in third place. However, there are no figures on how many of those surveyed put their resolution into practice or successfully followed it through January.
However, what can help to increase the enjoyment of sport or even motivate you to perform better is music. However, the choice of suitable music is very individual and depends not only on your personal taste in music, but also on the tempo of the music itself: The appropriate tempo of the music (specified in ‘beats per minute’, or ‘BPM’ for short) can depend on the intensity of your own training. When jogging, for example, songs with 120 BPM to 140 BPM are suitable – the choice of the optimal music depends, among other things, on your own pace, i.e. the time required per kilometre run.
In addition, there are scientific studies that show that the choice of preferred music can have a positive effect on strength and endurance, while at the same time the perceived effort of the exercises performed is considered to be lower.
The ‘JYMMiNisation’ of training
The start-up JYMMiN utilises the positive effect of music, but takes a different approach: JYMMiN uses technology that ensures that the music adapts to the movements and intensity of the workout. How does this work? Through tracking. This records the movement as well as the ‘changes in body physiology during physical activity’, as Prof Dr Tom Fritz, founder of JYMMiN, describes the process.
‘In the first prototypes, we built a mechanical translation to control controllers for MIDI signals. It’s a bit like converting a large movement on a lorry tower so that it moves a controller on a keyboard,’ he explains. Thanks to an interface, the prototypes were able to convert mechanical movement into music signals.
And how does tracking work today? Today, video signals are used in addition to a large number of sensors. Prof Dr Tom Fritz describes this as follows: ‘We have developed the interface to the sensors and the software in such a way that retrofitting existing sensor systems, including those already installed in fitness equipment, is optimised as much as possible for both equipment manufacturers and users. From wearables to EEG (short for ‘electroencephalography’, a method for measuring and recording brain activity, editor’s note), which we use to record and ‘jymminise’ mental effort in patients, several sensors are now being used here. Jymminisation, as Prof. Dr Tom Fritz calls it, is particularly worthwhile ‘if the activity is perceived as particularly strenuous or repetitive’.
This form of tracking can therefore ultimately be individually influenced by the type and intensity of the training music. To stay with the example of jogging: Depending on how fast a person runs on the treadmill, the music automatically adapts to this, becoming more excited or more relaxed.
Cooperation with Universal Music
To ensure that this works and that the music can adapt to individual training behaviour, the company uses a patented process to remix music interactively in real time using measured physical activity.
The team uses specially composed pieces for the selection of music. In addition, JYMMiN has entered into a co-operation with the music label Universal Music. This gives them ‘access to a catalogue of music with multi-track arrangements, which makes it particularly easy for us to integrate the music into our interactive music format’, as Prof. Dr Tom Fritz describes.
From research question to business idea
Auf die Idee zu JYMMiN ist Prof. Dr. Tom Fritz im Rahmen einer Forschungsreise gekommen. 2005 reiste er im Rahmen seiner Doktorarbeit nach Kamerun zu den Mafa. Sein Forschungsinteresse bestand darin, herauszufinden, wie Menschen, die noch nie mit westlicher Musik in Berührung gekommen sind, darauf reagieren würden. Schnell faszinierten ihn die Rituale, in denen die Mafa gemeinsam musizieren. Als Instrument kommt hier eine Art aus Eisen geschmiedete Flöte zum Einsatz. Damit Töne zu erzeugen, kann zwar sehr anstrengend sein, dennoch können solche Rituale mehrere Stunden dauern.
Prof Dr Tom Fritz wanted to use the euphoria systematically created by the participants to recreate it in the field of fitness and rehab. Over the years, this idea matured into a tangible business idea and JYMMiN GmbH was founded in Leipzig in May 2019. The mission is to ‘optimise the effect of music in rehabilitation and fitness’.
Research is also being conducted into the effectiveness of JYMMiN. In some studies, in which the company founder is listed as an author, the effects that training with JYMMiN technology can have on the test subjects were investigated. For one study, for example, patients with chronic pain trained with JYMMiN. The result: the technology has the potential to reduce both the level of fear of pain and the pain itself and to promote motivation to exercise.
Innovation in Bewegung
According to Prof. Dr Tom Fritz, JYMMiN’s technology has met with broad acceptance, ‘both from the fitness community and from those affected or relatives of those affected who are interested in optimising the effect of music in rehabilitation’. The technology has already been used with over a thousand patients – including in the rehabilitation of patients after a stroke, such as at the NRZ Neurological Rehabilitation Centre Bennewitz near Leipzig. ‘Fitness training plays a key role in almost all therapies, including stroke rehabilitation, partly because it stimulates brain plasticity,’ he explains.
In May 2024, the team took part in the first cohort of the MediaTech Hub Accelerator’s Investment Readiness Programme. Here, they were able to benefit from targeted training in fundraising. By participating in the MTH Accelerator programme, JYMMiN is also part of the Digital Hub Initiative, which is a further benefit as it has given the young company the opportunity to take part in relevant events and present itself to potential customers and national and international investors.
Among other things, a road trip to the USA is planned for 2025. JYMMiN wants to present a new product here: the robotised chair ‘Pedro’. This is designed to help patients who have been bedridden for a long time to sit upright – with the help of musical feedback, of course. The team will be travelling to the USA together with equipment partner Reha & Medi Hoffmann GmbH. In addition to a road show in the USA, there are also plans to take part in Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, where JYMMiN will present itself at the German Pavilion.
