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Can You Have Your Vigorous Exercise and Enjoy It Too? Ramping Intensity Down Increases Postexercise, Remembered, and Forecasted Pleasure
Abstract
There is a paucity of methods for improving the affective experience of exercise. We tested a novel method based on discoveries about the relation between exercise intensity and pleasure, and lessons from behavioral economics. We examined the effect of reversing the slope of pleasure during exercise from negative to positive on pleasure and enjoyment, remembered pleasure, and forecasted pleasure. Forty-six adults were randomly assigned to a 15-min bout of recumbent cycling of either increasing intensity (0%-120% of Watts corresponding to the ventilatory threshold) or decreasing intensity (120%-0%). Ramping intensity down, thereby eliciting a positive slope of pleasure during exercise, improved postexercise pleasure and enjoyment, remembered pleasure, and forecasted pleasure. The slope of pleasure accounted for 35%-46% of the variance in remembered and forecasted pleasure from 15 min to 7 days postexercise. Ramping intensity down makes it possible to combine exposure to vigorous and moderate intensities with a pleasant affective experience.
... While all studies mentioned above were about the prediction of affective experiences through anticipated affect, Zenko et al. (2016) chose a reverse-order design. In this design, experienced pleasure was measured during a cycling test, while remembered pleasure of this experience and anticipated pleasure regarding future exercising were assessed 15 min and, again, 24 h after the test (Zenko et al., 2016). ...
... While all studies mentioned above were about the prediction of affective experiences through anticipated affect, Zenko et al. (2016) chose a reverse-order design. In this design, experienced pleasure was measured during a cycling test, while remembered pleasure of this experience and anticipated pleasure regarding future exercising were assessed 15 min and, again, 24 h after the test (Zenko et al., 2016). The level of experienced pleasure predicted the anticipated pleasure ratings for future physical activity (r = .61-.63), and a correlation was observed between remembered and anticipated pleasure (r = .84-.88). ...
... In another intervention, it was tested whether the workout intensity (moderate vs. challenging) influences participants' forecasting error, showing non-significant effects (Ruby et al., 2011, study 2). Zenko et al. (2016) also focused on the influence of intensity on anticipated affect. In their study design, they compared participants who did exercises in a decreasing intensity group with participants who did exercises with an increasing intensity. ...
... Here, we prioritize pleasure over physiological benefits under the assumptions that (a) physiological benefits will not be obtained unless people adhere to exercise, and (b) more pleasant exercise will result in more adherence ( On the other hand, while higher intensity may be expected to reduce pleasure (or increase displeasure), it is possible that the changing intensity may be experienced as more interesting and engaging than a constant, unchanging intensity. Continuously decreasing intensity represents one strategy for introducing high-intensity exercise while creating an overall pleasant exercise experience, at least among people with low cardiorespiratory fitness (Zenko et al., 2016) and sedentary or insufficiently active populations (Hutchinson et al., 2020(Hutchinson et al., , 2023. Intervals could represent another strategy, especially when compared to 40 minutes of continuous exercise in a laboratory setting (e.g., Jung et al., 2014). ...
... These results conceptually replicate prior research findings by Hutchinson et al. (2020Hutchinson et al. ( , 2023 and Zenko et al. (2016). In these studies, researchers experimentally manipulated the slope of pleasure during exercise by manipulating exercise intensity or resistance training load and found that improving affective responses during exercise impacted remembered pleasure. ...
... Overall, these findings are consistent with prior research (Hutchinson et al., 2023;Zenko et al., 2016). Interestingly, forecasted pleasure or anticipated affective states also seem to be predictive of global retrospective evaluations following exercise (Davis & Stenling, 2020). ...
... Interventions that manipulate the affective evaluation of exercise to promote PA are rare (Conroy & Kim, 2020;Williams, Rhodes, & Conner, 2019), but recent studies have developed such interventions drawing on the peakend rule (Hargreaves & Stych, 2013;Hutchinson, Zenko, Santich, & Dalton, 2020;Zenko, Ekkekakis, & Ariely, 2016). This rule is based on two mechanisms underlying the affective evaluation of PA. ...
... To the best of our knowledge, only four studies have directly manipulated the dynamics of effort intensity during exercise (Brewer, Manos, McDevitt, Cornelius, & Van Raalte, 2000;Hutchinson et al., 2023;Hutchinson et al., 2020;Zenko et al., 2016). In their study, Zenko et al. (2016) randomly assigned 46 healthy adults into a 15-min exercise session on a recumbent bike either in an increasing or decreasing-intensity condition. ...
... To the best of our knowledge, only four studies have directly manipulated the dynamics of effort intensity during exercise (Brewer, Manos, McDevitt, Cornelius, & Van Raalte, 2000;Hutchinson et al., 2023;Hutchinson et al., 2020;Zenko et al., 2016). In their study, Zenko et al. (2016) randomly assigned 46 healthy adults into a 15-min exercise session on a recumbent bike either in an increasing or decreasing-intensity condition. Results showed that the decreasing-intensity condition was associated with greater post-exercise pleasure, enjoyment, remembered pleasure (i.e., affective memories of the session), and forecasted pleasure (i.e., anticipation of the affect in a future session). ...
Decreasing the intensity of exercise at the end of a session has been associated with greater post-exercise pleasure and enjoyment. Here, we investigated whether this manipulation can enhance affective attitudes toward physical activity (PA) and promote PA in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Seven patients (72.9 ± 5.6 years, 3 women) were included in an eight-week within-subject study consisting of weekly exercise sessions. The first four weeks were used as a control condition. In the last four weeks, 9 minutes of lower-intensity exercise were added at the end of each session (experimental condition). Results of the linear mixed-effects models showed that the addition of lower-intensity exercise improved the explicit affective attitudes toward PA (b = 1.00, 95%CI = 0.36 to 1.64, P = 0.022). We found no evidence of an effect on implicit affective attitudes (P = 0.564), accelerometer-based PA (P = 0.417) and self-reported measures of PA (P = 0.122). Although not significant, self-reported PA per day was 36 minutes longer in the experimental than in the control condition. The findings of this early-phase study may suggest that reducing the intensity of an exercise at the end of the exercise sessions enhanced explicit affective attitudes toward PA in patients with PD. Yet, future well-powered and randomized studies are needed to provide more robust evidence.
... Remembered and forecasted pleasure are typically linked; how one recalls an exercise session is presumed to influence anticipated affective responses to subsequent exercise sessions (e.g., Davis & Stenling, 2020). Zenko et al. (2016) observed strong positive associations of remembered pleasure and subsequent forecasted pleasure assessed at 15 min (r = .84), 24 hr (r = .86), ...
... The importance of affective peaks and endings for remembered pleasure have been previously demonstrated in exercise contexts (Hargreaves & Stych, 2013;Hutchinson et al., 2020). Likewise, exercise studies have supported the positive effect of an improving affective trend on remembered and forecasted pleasure (Hutchinson et al., 2020;Zenko et al., 2016). These findings have important implications for behavior. ...
... This model combines physiological considerations (i.e., inclusion of high-intensity work that enhances physiological adaptations to exercise) and psychological considerations (i.e., promoting more positive affective responses). The opposing-slopes approach was developed based on evidence from behavioral economics and Solomon's (1980) "opponent process" theory of acquired motivation (see Hutchinson et al., 2020;Zenko et al., 2016). ...
This study compared the effects of an increasing-intensity (UP) and a decreasing-intensity (DOWN) resistance training protocol on affective responses across six training sessions. Novice participants ( M age 43.5 ± 13.7 years) were randomly assigned to UP ( n = 18) or DOWN ( n = 17) resistance training groups. Linear mixed-effects models showed that the evolution of affective valence within each training session was significantly moderated by the group ( b = −0.45, p ≤ .001), with participants in the UP group reporting a decline in pleasure during each session ( b = −0.82) and the DOWN group reporting an improvement ( b = 0.97; p s < .001). Remembered pleasure was significantly higher in the DOWN group compared to the UP group ( b = 0.57, p = .004). These findings indicate that a pattern of decreasing intensity throughout a resistance exercise session can elicit more positive affective responses and retrospective affective evaluations of resistance training.
... Moreover, forecasted pleasure/utility concerns how pleasant or unpleasant future experiences are predicted to be. Researchers have theorized that both remembered and forecasted pleasure can help predict whether behavior will be repeated (Karl et al., 2021;Zenko et al., 2016). Hence, such constructs could yield considerable value when evaluating the extent to which AR experiences can help retain visitors. ...
... The slider was initially positioned at the origin (0). The descriptors and slider were visible to participants but the numbers were not (Zenko et al., 2016). ...
... Presence was assessed by the Augmented Reality Immersion questionnaire (Georgiou & Kyza, 2017). Remembered pleasure and forecasted pleasure were measured using visual analogue scales (Lishner et al., 2008;Zenko et al., 2016). User engagement was assessed using items derived from tom Dieck et al. (2018). ...
Augmented reality (AR) is an emergent technology in tourism. However, research concerning the AR user experience is relatively scarce and seldom addresses the intentions of designers. Accordingly, we sought to: (a) explore the design intentions underlying a multi-user, purpose-built AR experience; (b) assess the extent to which users’ realized experience aligned with the designers’ intended experience; and (c) examine the relationships between users’ internal states and their associated behavior, in alignment with a Stimulus-Organism-Response framework. In Study 1, designers ( n = 5) took part in a focus group and completed a design intentions survey. In Study 2, users ( n = 48) tested the AR experience, and a range of subjective (e.g., affective responses) and objective (i.e., visual attention) data were recorded. Findings indicated designer–user disparities primarily at the organism and response levels. Additionally, users’ affective responses to the AR experience were strongly associated with visitor engagement.
... Remembered and forecasted pleasure are typically linked; how one recalls an exercise session is presumed to influence anticipated affective responses to subsequent exercise sessions (e.g., Davis & Stenling, 2020). Zenko et al. (2016) observed strong positive associations of remembered pleasure and subsequent forecasted pleasure assessed at 15 min (r = .84), 24 hours (r = .86), ...
... This model combines physiological considerations (i.e., inclusion of high-intensity work that enhances physiological adaptations to exercise) and psychological considerations (i.e., promoting more positive affective responses). The opposingslopes model was developed based on evidence from behavioral economics and Solomon's (1980) "opponent process" theory of acquired motivation (see Hutchinson et al., 2020;Zenko et al., 2016). ...
... The opposing-slopes approach was first empirically tested in the context of exercise by Zenko et al. (2016), who randomly assigned participants to a 15-min bout of recumbent cycling of either increasing (UP) intensity (0-120% of watts corresponding to each participant's ventilatory threshold) or decreasing (DOWN) intensity (i.e., 120-0%). The DOWN condition elicited a positive slope of pleasure during exercise, meaning that participants felt increasingly more pleasure as the exercise task progressed. ...
... In light of the role of memory in exercise-related affect, more recent research has investigated how individuals perceive their affective responses during physical activity as well as how the affective experience is remembered and recalled over time (e.g., Zenko et al., 2016). In particular, individuals who complete physical activity with greater positive affect and a lower exercise intensity remember the experience of the entire exercise session as more pleasant in comparison with individuals who complete their exercise at a higher intensity . ...
... Some research suggests that highintensity PA might be more palatable if the intensity of the PA stimulus decreases over the course of the bout. For example, a study by Zenko et al. (2016) found that a "ramping down" approach (starting out with high intensity and declining toward the end of the bout) produced a positive affective response slope and yielded more favorable outcomes on post-PA affect processing constructs (i.e., remembered affect and anticipated affect) compared to a condition where intensity was increased over the course of the bout. ...
... Conceptualizing the affective response to PA as an intermediate phenotype could have implications for designing more targeted PA interventions. For example, for those individuals who are predisposed to a negative affective response to PA, interventions that emphasize distraction (Lind et al., 2009;Blanchfield et al., 2014;Gillman and Bryan, 2016), habit formation Rhodes and Gray, 2018;Rhodes and Rebar, 2018), and/or contextual and situational modifications Stevens et al., 2016;Zenko et al., 2016) may be more effective; conversely, for those who are predisposed to a more positive affective response to PA, a mindful approach to PA (Cox et al., 2017;Edwards and Loprinzi, 2019;Gillman and Bryan, 2020) and/or pre-PA expectation manipulations (Helfer et al., 2015;Kwan et al., 2017) may be more effective. ...
... Early in this work, the cognitivist approach was the dominant theory behind it, suggesting that decisionmaking depends exclusively on the individual's data collection and analysis (i.e., weighing the pros and cons about behavior and future consequences) (Ekkekakis & Dafermos, 2012). But a criticism of such a rational approach was that human choices often violate presupposed rationality (Kahneman, 2012;Rachlin, 1989;Zenko et al., 2016), since human rationality is limited (Ekkekakis, 2017). For example, most people are aware of the long-term benefits of exercise and the negative consequences of sedentary behavior, and yet, in contradiction to this awareness, they do not exercise (Ekkekakis & Dafermos, 2012). ...
... Another recurrent criticism of rationality in this decision in that it includes no hedonic component (i.e., affective responses -pleasure/displeasure) ( Van der Pligt et al., 1997). These criticisms have been corrected by such post-cognitivist dual-process theories (Zenko et al., 2016) that consider the function of non-rational, experiential, automatic, and emotional influences on decision-making and behavior (Tversky & Kahneman, 1974;Zenko et al., 2016). ...
... Another recurrent criticism of rationality in this decision in that it includes no hedonic component (i.e., affective responses -pleasure/displeasure) ( Van der Pligt et al., 1997). These criticisms have been corrected by such post-cognitivist dual-process theories (Zenko et al., 2016) that consider the function of non-rational, experiential, automatic, and emotional influences on decision-making and behavior (Tversky & Kahneman, 1974;Zenko et al., 2016). ...
Given humans’ limited ability to recall past experiences for evaluation, scholars have proposed the peak-end rule stating that if perceived discomfort at the end of an aversive experience is lower than the peak discomfort experienced, the aversive experience will be remembered more positively. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the peak-end rule as applied to high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE). Participants were 30 inactive men (M age = 27.9, SD = 5.2 years). In the first session they performed a graded exercise test on cycle-ergometer to determine their maximal aerobic power (MAP) (M = 233, SD = 35W); and, in the second and third sessions, they performed two HIIE protocols in randomized order: (a) Short trial – 20-minutes of HIIE, composed of 30-second efforts at 100% of MAP interspersed by 30-seconds of passive recovery; and (b) Long trial – 20-minutes of the short trial, plus 10-minutes more of HIIE, decreasing 3% of MAP in each additional bout, resulting in 70% of MAP in the last bout. During exercise, we recorded the participants’ rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and affect, using the Feeling Scale (FS). At 30-minutes post-exercise, we again recorded the participants’ affect, using the Global Affect Evaluation (GAE) and their session-RPE, and we recorded their enjoyment, using the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES). In the last session, the participants chose a favorite protocol to repeat. All sessions were interspersed by at least 72 hours. The 10-minutes extra HIIE in the Long-trial condition resulted decreased heart rate values (M = 157, SD = 13bpm to M = 144, SD = 14bpm; p < 0.001), but psychological responses during and after exercise did not differ, nor did participants’ preferred HIIE protocol. As the load drop for the Long-trial was not enough to change the psychological responses during exercise, there was no difference in the retrospective evaluation as the peak-end rule would have suggested.
... Previous research suggests that the anticipated pleasure of engaging in PA influences both experienced pleasure during exercise (Kwan et al., 2017;Sala et al., 2016) and future intentions to engage and actual engagement in the PA behaviour (Conner et al., 2015;Dunton & Vaughan, 2008;Helfer et al., 2015;Loehr & Baldwin, 2014). Anticipated pleasure of engaging in PA originates from many possible factors, including previous activity-related affective experiences (Calder et al., 2020;Zenko et al., 2016), the order of activity intensity (Ruby et al., 2011), and the physical and social setting (Calder et al., 2020). ...
... The values associated with each of the written anchor points from Lishner et al. (2008) were used to score the responses. While the Empirical Valence Scale has been used previously to assess anticipated pleasure from PA (Zenko et al., 2016), the current study was the first to adopt it as a rating measure in conjoint analysis. After the conjoint rating task, data was collected on key demographic information and relevant past PA variables, including habitual PA engagement using the Godin-Shephard Leisure Time Physical Activity Questionnaire (Godin & Shephard, 1985), a one-item measure of habitual pleasure from PA, and a behavioural automaticity subscale from the Self-Report Habit Index (Gardner et al., 2012). ...
The anticipated pleasure of participating in physical activity (PA) is one factor that may increase the likelihood of engagement and may be particularly important for long-term engagement. However, the impact of PA characteristics (e.g., intensity, location) on anticipated pleasure of PA remain unclear. This study used a conjoint analytic approach to evaluate the impact of activity intensity, physical context, and social context on the anticipated pleasure of engaging in PA across involvement segments. In conjoint analysis, participants provide overall ratings of hypothetical options (called profiles) described using levels of the selected study factors. Eight-hundred seventy-one participants (mean 48.3, SD 16.5 years, 66.9% female) evaluated 18 PA profiles that varied based on activity intensity, physical context, and social context. Three PA involvement segments were identified (low, moderate, high). Physical context was most impactful for highly and moderately involved participants; activity intensity had the highest impact for the least involved. Light intensity, outdoor PA performed alone or with family/friends was anticipated to be most pleasant for most participants. Vigorous intensity PA, PA performed at a fitness facility, and PA performed as part of a group elicited anticipated displeasure for those with low involvement. Physical context was most important for most people. Activity intensity was most impactful for frequent targets of PA intervention. PA promotion efforts should focus on light intensity activity, performed outdoors either alone or with family or friends to maximise anticipated pleasure for those least active. Conjoint analysis and audience segmentation show promise for future pleasure-related PA research. ARTICLE HISTORY
... Additionally, more positively valenced remembered affect (i.e., recalled affective response to a completed bout/interval of exercise), has also been found to predict future intentions to be physically active and adherence to exercise prescriptions (Kwan et al., 2017). Although the affective response during physical activity and remembered affect are distinct (the former is purely affective whereas the latter is cognitively processed), there is a strong correlation between the affective response during exercise and remembered affect (Hargreaves & Stych, 2013;Zenko et al., 2016). Nevertheless, some have argued that how an affective response to a behaviour is remembered, and not necessarily how it is experienced in the moment, may have a stronger influence on an individual's motivation to perform that behaviour in the future (Kahneman et al., 1993). ...
... The remembered affect reported in our study by participants randomised to the HIIT intervention was greater than those in MICT. However, it is important to recognise that although remembered affect and affect during physical activity are strongly correlated (Hargreaves & Stych, 2013;Zenko et al., 2016), this correlation is not perfect, and remembered affect may be influenced by memory heuristic biases (Stone et al., 2005). For example, exercise induced physiological changes such as muscle soreness or laboured breathing may no longer be present after the completion of a bout of exercise, and therefore may not have as large an influence on remembered affect as affect during exercise. ...
Background
Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) experience general and PCOS-specific barriers that limit their engagement with exercise and contributes to high attrition from exercise programs, hindering the potential benefits of exercise to address their increased cardio-metabolic risk. A positive remembered affective response can predict future intentions and adherence to exercise prescription.
Objectives
To compare the longitudinal changes in remembered affect to high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) in women with PCOS and to determine whether longitudinal changes in remembered affect are correlated with changes in fitness, body mass index, adherence and exercise enjoyment.
Methods
Physically inactive, overweight women with PCOS were randomly assigned to 12 weeks of either HIIT (n = 15) or MICT (n = 14) (3 sessions per week). Remembered affective valence (Feeling Scale) was collected after each exercise session. Cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2peak) was assessed at baseline and post-intervention. Exercise enjoyment was assessed post-intervention.
Results
The longitudinal changes in the remembered affect were more positive in the HIIT group compared to MICT (β = 0.017, p = 0.047). HIIT was also considered more enjoyable than MICT (p = 0.002). Adherence was high in both groups (>90%). We found a moderate correlation with longitudinal changes between the remembered affect and change in fitness (rs = 0.398) and exercise enjoyment (rs = 0.376) using the combined group, however, these were not statistically significant (p = 0.054 and p = 0.064, respectively).
Conclusions
HIIT demonstrated a more positive longitudinal remembered affective response and greater exercise enjoyment compared to MICT in overweight women with PCOS.
... However, based on empirical evidence (Blanchard et al., 2001;Parfitt & Hughes, 2009) and the parallel-processing model, when reaching the ventilatory threshold, the impact of the distracting agent should subside, or vanish altogether, and attention shifts from external to internal (discomfort, pain, and fatigue) awareness, triggering the change from dissociative to associative thinking. It was suggested that the evaluation of how pleasant or unpleasant the experience largely depends on past experiences associated with that experience (Zenko et al., 2016). Increasing exercise to the ventilatory threshold should then result in negative affect, but it is possible that distraction alters this expected outcome (Rendi et al., 2007). ...
... The theory of last experience in determining reported affect in exercise settings, to our best knowledge, was not investigated to date, albeit there is indirect evidence for it (Hassmén, & Blomstrand, 1995;Zenko et al., 2016). In the area of food consumption, it was shown that the last memories of the food were the most influential in deciding how long one waits until consuming that food again (Garbinsky, Morewedge, & Shiv, 2014). ...
The affective benefits of a single bout of exercise are widely reported, but several factors influence the affect measured after exercise. One is the last experience linked to the exercise session. In this laboratory study, we manipulated progressive treadmill exercise to ventilatory threshold by using cognitive tasks during and immediately after the exercise when we gauged affect and compared it to pre-exercise baseline. We assumed that the affective responses after exercise would mirror feeling states associated with the very last experience (i.e., the cognitive task) rather than exercise. We examined a total of 53 athletes assigned to exercise or no-exercise control group. In addition to heart rates, positive and negative affect, feeling state, and perceived arousal were measured before and after the intervention. The results revealed substantial improvements in affect in both groups, based on large effect sizes. The lack of difference in the dependent measures between the exercise and no-exercise control group may suggest that both groups responded to the same last experience (i.e., cognitive task), and the effects of exercise and sitting (control) were wiped out. These findings imply that pre-to post-intervention exercise investigations testing the psychological benefits of a single bout of exercise may not measure what they intend to measure, but merely the affective responses Cita: Laki, A.; Ihász, F.; de la Vega, R.; Ruiz-Barquín, R., Szabo, A. (2021). Impact of 'last experience' on affect after exercise reaching the anaerobic threshold: A laboratory investigation. Cuadernos de Psicología del Deporte, 21(3), 16-31 Cuadernos de Psicología del Deporte, 21, 3 (octubre) The 'last experience' on affect after exercise 17 to the last experience or event before answering the questionnaire(s). In brief, many hundreds of studies' internal reliability, employing the pre/post protocols, may be questionable. RESUMEN Los beneficios a nivel emocional de un solo período de entrenamiento han sido ampliamente estudiados, pero su efecto medido después del entrenamiento está influenciado por varios factores. Uno de ellos es la última experiencia vinculada a la sesión de entrenamiento. En este estudio de laboratorio se manipula, mediante el empleo de tareas cognitivas, el ejercicio progresivo en cinta de correr hasta alcanzar el umbral ventilatorio. Tanto durante como inmediatamente después del ejercicio se evalúa la respuesta afectiva y se compara con la línea basal previa al ejercicio. Se espera que las respuestas emocionales después del ejercicio reflejarán los estados afectivos asociados con la última experiencia (es decir, la tarea cognitiva), en lugar de con el ejercicio. Además de la frecuencia cardíaca, se evaluaron un total 53 atletas asignados al grupo experimental de ejercicio o al control sin ejercicio. Se midieron el estado afectivo positivo y negativo, el estado de sentimiento, y la excitación percibida, tanto antes como después de la intervención. Los resultados revelaron mejoras sustanciales en el estado afectivo en ambos grupos, mostrando grandes tamaños del efecto. La falta de diferencia en las variables dependientes entre el grupo experimental y el control sugiere que ambos grupos respondieron de manera similar a la última experiencia, es decir a la tarea cognitiva, eliminando los efectos del ejercicio realizado. Las implicaciones de estos hallazgos son muy relevantes puesto que prueban que los resultados de los estudios realizados hasta el momento sobre los beneficios psicológicos de un solo período de ejercicio pueden no medir lo que pretenden, sino simplemente las respuestas afectivas y emocionales a la última experiencia o evento antes de responder el cuestionario que se suele aplicar. En resumen, la confiabilidad interna de cientos de estudios que emplean los protocolos pre-post en el análisis de la respuesta afectiva en condiciones de entrenamiento pueden ser cuestionable. Palabras clave: arousal, cognición, expectativa, estado afectivo, efecto placebo RESUMO Os benefícios emocionais de um único período de treinamento têm sido amplamente estudados, mas seu efeito medido após o treinamento é influenciado por vários fatores. Uma delas é a última experiência vinculada ao treinamento. Neste estudo laboratorial, o exercício progressivo em esteira é manipulado por meio de tarefas cognitivas até que o limiar ventilatório seja atingido. Durante e imediatamente após o exercício, a resposta afetiva é avaliada e comparada com a linha de base antes do exercício. Espera-se que as respostas emocionais após o exercício reflitam os estados afetivos associados à última experiência (ou seja, a tarefa cognitiva), ao invés do exercício. Além da frequência cardíaca, um total de 53 atletas designados para o grupo de exercício experimental ou o grupo de controle sem exercício foram avaliados. Estado afetivo positivo e negativo, estado de sentimento e excitação percebida foram medidos antes e depois da intervenção. Os resultados revelaram melhorias substanciais no status afetivo em ambos os grupos, mostrando grandes tamanhos de efeito. A ausência de diferença nas variáveis dependentes entre os grupos experimental e controle sugere que ambos os grupos responderam de forma semelhante à última experiência, ou seja, à tarefa cognitiva, eliminando os efeitos do exercício realizado. As implicações desses achados são muito relevantes, pois comprovam que os resultados dos estudos realizados até o momento sobre os benefícios psicológicos de um único período de exercício podem não medir o que pretendem, mas simplesmente as respostas afetivas e emocionais à última experiência ou antes de responder ao questionário normalmente aplicado. Cuadernos de Psicología del Deporte, 21, 3 (octubre) Laki, A.; Ihász, F.; de la Vega, R.; Ruiz-Barquín, R., Szabo, A. 18 Em resumo, a confiabilidade interna de centenas de estudos que empregam protocolos pré-pós na análise da resposta afetiva em condições de treinamento pode ser questionável.
... Applied to exercise, the importance of the peak-end rule and the trend or slope suggests that experiences should have a more pleasant "peak" moment, end on a positive note, and improve throughout an experience (i.e., if participants start exercise feeling unpleasant, you should ensure that they feel more and more pleasant as exercise progresses). Zenko, Ekkekakis, and Ariely (2016) tested some of these concepts by having participants either (a) start at a high intensity and end at a low intensity (thus starting from an unpleasant exercise intensity and ending at a more pleasant exercise intensity), or (b) start at a low intensity and end at a high intensity (thus starting from a pleasant exercise intensity and ending at an unpleasant, very challenging exercise intensity). Supporting the research on the trend (and to some extent, the end), the researchers found that exercisers who decreased intensity over time (and increased pleasure) remembered the experience to be more pleasurable, predicted future exercise experiences to be more pleasurable, and enjoyed the exercise more. ...
... While Zenko et al. (2016) tested this concept in the context of aerobic exercise (i.e., using a cycle ergometer), Hutchinson et al. (2020) replicated the findings in the context of resistance exercise. This time in a within-subjects design (where participants repeated both conditions), participants performed a resistance-training circuit that either increased or decreased in training load. ...
... Nonetheless, affective response at this intensity largely varies in the population (19). On the other hand, as vigorous exercise may also promote specific therapeutic effects, recent work has aimed at manipulating exercise prescription in order to conceive vigorous exercise with positive affect, and hence, promote long-term adherence to high intensity exercise (30). These authors have employed repeated, short high-intensity bouts of exercise (also known as high intensity interval training, or "HIIT") (30). ...
... On the other hand, as vigorous exercise may also promote specific therapeutic effects, recent work has aimed at manipulating exercise prescription in order to conceive vigorous exercise with positive affect, and hence, promote long-term adherence to high intensity exercise (30). These authors have employed repeated, short high-intensity bouts of exercise (also known as high intensity interval training, or "HIIT") (30). In the context of migraine, data from clinical trials have shown preventive effects with either moderate (i.e., at the ventilatory threshold) (2-4), or vigorous exercise performed as HIIT (≥ 90% of maximal HR) (31). ...
Objectives: To compare the affective and perceptual responses to a standardized exercise session between episodic migraine patients and nonheadache persons, and its influence on adherence to an 12-week exercise training program. Methods: In a secondary analyses of a prospective cohort enrolled in a clinical trial, we assessed the affective response at rest, at 15th minof exercise, and immediately after an acute 40-min exercise session previously the training program. All measurements were undertaken in headache-free days. Participants were subsequently randomly assigned to a 12-week aerobic exercise-training program, or to a waitlist. In a multiple linear regression model, variables tested as possible predictors of adherence were body massindex, cardiorespiratory fitness, and the perceived exertion and affect scores elicited in the previous exercise session. Results: Fifty-four participants were analyzed for acute exercise session data (mean±SD age: 37.37±11.5; mean±SD BMI: 26.7±4.5). Patients (N=28) and controls (N=26) showed no differences in anthropometric characteristics and cardiorespiratory fitness. Compared to controls, migraine patients showed reduced affective response during and after exercise, but showed no differences in perceived exertion. Twentyfive participants (patients: N=13; controls: N=13) concluded the 12-week exercise-training program. Adherence was lower in migraine group (p = 0.1, d = 0.641). Multiple linear regression analysis showed post-exercise affect score as the only predictor variable of adherence to the exercise-training program (β =0.405, p = 0.040). Conclusions: This study indicates that migraine patientshave lower affective response to exercise, which was associated with adherence to the training program.
... Walking can be a form of low-, moderate-, or vigorousintensity exercise [3] that elicits high enjoyment levels, remembered pleasure, and forecasted pleasure in adults aged 18-40 years old [26]. Having positive responses to physical activity can increase self-efficacy, which augments the likelihood of performing the physical activity [27][28][29]. ...
... Studies indicate that during exercise of a higher intensity, individuals are disposed to an associative focus due to the presence of more salient sensory signals informing of a greater disruption from resting homeostatic state (Ekkekakis, Parfitt, & Petruzzello, 2011;Zenko, Ekkekakis, & Ariely, 2016). In addition, there is an individual element to attentional focus (Hutchinson & Tenenbaum, 2007). ...
... Les paramètres internes de l'activité physique font quant à eux référence à la fréquence, l'intensité, la durée ou encore le type d'activité pratiquée lors d'une session d'activité physique, et peuvent eux aussi influencer les expériences affectives. Des études ont notamment montré qu'une diminution de l'intensité de l'effort physique était associée à une augmentation des réponses affectives positives Hutchinson et al., 2023 ;Hutchinson et al., 2020 ;Zenko et al., 2016). De plus, un nombre croissant d'études montre que lorsque les patients sélectionnent eux-mêmes l'intensité de leur effort physique, les réponses affectives associées sont plus positives que lorsque l'intensité est prescrite et donc imposée en termes de pourcentage de VȮ2max ou de fréquence cardiaque (Williams et al., 2016), et ce d'autant plus que les personnes sont âgées (Lee et al., 2020). ...
L’activité physique est associée à un large éventail de bénéfices pour la santé. Cependant, de nombreux patients n’atteignent pas les niveaux d’activité physique recommandés. À ce jour, les interventions visant à promouvoir l’activité physique chez les patients s’appuient majoritairement sur les modèles de motivation et de santé qui présentent les processus cognitifs comme un déterminant essentiel des comportements. Cependant, les méta-analyses indiquent que ces interventions sont plus efficaces pour modifier les intentions que pour modifier le comportement lui-même. Il est donc nécessaire de développer des interventions ciblant des mécanismes alternatifs. Dans ce sens, de récentes études ont montré qu’une propension automatique à minimiser l’effort perçu pourrait expliquer l’écart entre l’intention d’être actif physiquement et l’engagement effectif dans l’activité physique. Après une présentation du cadre théorique, cet article explique comment l’intégration de la théorie de la minimisation de l’effort dans la prise en charge des patients peut contribuer à promouvoir leur engagement dans une activité physique régulière. Enfin, des pistes et conseils pratiques sont proposés aux professionnels de la santé et de l’activité physique qui ont pour objectif de promouvoir cet engagement.
... The question was answered using a visual analog scale (VAS) ranging from unpleasant (−100) to pleasant (+100). 41 The VAS has been validated extensively in pain research, showing excellent testretest reliability coefficients 42 and as a measure of core affect demonstrating strong convergent validity and testretest reliability. 43,44 The VAS has been used extensively in exercise psychology research to measure remembered pleasantness. ...
Substantial research has supported using musical stimuli as an ergogenic aid before and during various forms of exercise. Researchers have demonstrated that music shifts attention from associative to dissociative, decreases perceived effort and discomfort, and increases arousal and pleasantness in longer‐duration, low‐to‐moderate‐intensity exercises. Strength training is shorter in duration and higher in intensity than aerobic or muscular endurance training. Limited research has examined the effects of music on strength performance and psychological outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the tempo of self‐selected music on isokinetic knee extension and flexion performance, effort, discomfort, attention, arousal, and pleasantness in resistance‐trained young adults. Thirty resistance‐trained college‐aged adults completed three exercise testing sessions. In a randomized, counterbalanced order, a repeated measures design was used to expose the participants to three conditions (fast music, slow music, and no music). The Biodex isokinetic dynamometer and standardized psychological Likert‐style scales were used to measure concentric maximum effort knee extension and flexion torque at 60°/s and psychological variables, respectively. This study found that music improves knee extension torque but not knee flexion in resistance‐trained young adults. In addition, music or the tempo of music did not influence any psychological outcomes during isokinetic strength testing. Therefore, listening to music is not detrimental to performance or psychological outcomes, but this study provides minimal support for music's use as an ergogenic aid during strengthening exercise.
... The Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES; Kendzierski & DeCarlo, 1991) was administered at the end of the exercise to evaluate participants' enjoyment of the physical task. Remembered pleasure was assessed using a visual analog scale (Zenko et al., 2016) ranging from −100 (very unpleasant) to 100 (very pleasant), where participants answered the question: "How did the exercise session make you feel?" The psychological instruments were always administered in the same order. ...
The main objective of this study was to further understanding of the patterns of spectral connectivity during exercise in low- and high-tolerant individuals. Thirty-nine healthy individuals (i.e., 17 low- and 22 high-tolerant participants) took part in the present study. A state-of-the-art portable electroencephalography system was used to measure the brain's electrical activity during an incremental exercise test performed until the point of volitional exhaustion on a cycle ergometer. Spectral coherence was used to explore the patterns of connectivity in the frontal, central, and parietal regions of the brain. Physiological, perceptual, and affective responses were assessed throughout the exercise bout. The spontaneous eyeblink rate was also calculated prior to commencement and upon completion of the exercise trial as an indirect assessment of the dopaminergic system. The present findings indicate that high-tolerant individuals reported lower levels of perceived activation, especially during the preliminary stages of the exercise test. Participants in the high-tolerance group also reported greater levels of remembered pleasure upon completion of the exercise test. The data also revealed that high-tolerant individuals exhibited increased connectivity of theta waves between frontal, central, and parietal electrode sites and increased connectivity of beta waves, primarily within the parietal cortex. Correlational analysis indicated the possibility that low- and high-tolerant individuals make use of different neural networks to process and regulate their psychophysiological state during exercise-related situations. This strategy could potentially represent a conscious decision to downregulate affective arousal and facilitate the neural control of working muscles during situations of physical stress.
... En définitive, la réponse affective à l'exercice est conditionnée par deux moments au cours de la séance : le moment le plus intense de la séance et la fin de la séance (Parfitt & Hughes, 2009). Une activité qui induit un pic d'intensité très élevée, et qui se termine sur une intensité d'exercice également élevée va avoir tendance à induire une réponse affective négative ce qui va laisser un mauvais souvenir dans la mémoire de l'individu (Zenko, Ekkekakis, & Ariely, 2016). A contrario, une activité dont le pic d'intensité ne dépasse pas le seuil de tolérance de l'individu (aux alentours du seuil ventilatoire 1), et qui se termine sur une intensité modérée, va plutôt générer une réponse affective positive et va laisser un bon souvenir . ...
Cette note de synthèse réalisée en vue de l’obtention de l’Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches vise à retracer les éléments saillants de mes travaux de recherche portant sur la promotion de la motivation à l’École et en contexte sportif, et sur la promotion de la motivation pour l’activité physique (AP) à des fins de santé. Elle est structurée en trois parties :
La première porte sur la promotion de la motivation pour l’AP à des fins de santé. Les
travaux qui s’inscrivent sur cet axe de recherche se sont intéressés à trois mécanismes de promotion de l’AP : des mécanismes cognitifs visant le développement des intentions d’AP, des mécanismes comportementaux visant le développement des capacités d’autorégulation facilitant l’implémentation des intentions, et des mécanismes affectifs visant le développement d’expériences d’AP positives.
La deuxième partie concerne la promotion de la motivation en EPS et en sport. Les travaux menés dans cette perspective, ont consisté à élaborer, tester, et répliquer plusieurs programmes de formation des enseignants et des entraineurs à dessein d’améliorer leur style motivationnel, ainsi que l’engagement et la motivation autonome de leurs élèves/sportifs.
Enfin, la troisième partie s’intéresse à la promotion de la motivation et du bien-être à l’école. Les travaux relatifs à cet axe se sont notamment intéressés au développement des compétences psychosociales des élèves en tant que vecteur de promotion de la motivation et du bien-être. Le projet ProMoBE consistant à combiner des leviers de la promotion de la motivation (i.e., formation au soutien des besoins psychologiques visant l’amélioration du style motivationnel) et des leviers de la promotion du bien-être (i.e., IPP-multi-composantes visant le développement des CPS) représente le coeur de cet axe de recherche.
... Vigorous physical activity can be particularly unpleasant for individuals who are not physically active (Bixby & Lochbaum, 2006;Lochbaum et al., 2004;Magnan et al., 2013) and our findings suggest the improvement in affective response that occurs post-exercise actually reflects a removal of negative feelings that is unlikely to reinforce future exercise. Rather than setting-up expectations of feeling good post-exercise, future interventions should focus on improving during-exercise affective response and/or intervening on individuals' post-behavior evaluations (e.g., reflective self-evaluations [Kwan et al., 2018]; remembered affect [Kwan at al., 2018;Kwan et al., 2017;Zenko et al., 2016]) to promote thinking about and evaluating the positive aspects of the exercise. Alternatively, future interventions for physically underactive individuals could highlight that they might experience improved calmness and less fatigue later on. ...
Background:
Affective response to exercise (i.e., how individuals feel during- and post-exercise) as well as post-behavioral evaluations of affective experiences with exercise (i.e., reflecting on the experience after engaging in exercise) may be important determinants of regular exercise.
Purpose:
We compared post-exercise affective response and post-behavioral evaluations of exercise between a physically active and underactive group. Physically active (n = 32) and underactive (n = 25) participants completed a 10-minute treadmill bout of vigorous exercise and reported affective valence, positive activated affect, negative activated affect, calmness, fatigue and relief at various points during and/or after the bout.
Results:
As expected, both groups reported an improvement in affective valence immediately post-exercise (ps < 0.001). This improvement in affective valence was associated with a concurrent decrease in negative affect (ps < 0.05) for the physically underactive group and was only associated with a concurrent increase in positive affect (ps < 0.02) for the active group. There were significant differences between physically active and underactive groups in pre-post exercise changes in positive activated affect (ps < 0.005). The underactive group reported greater relief than the active group at all-post exercise time-points (ps < 0.05).
Conclusions:
These findings have implications for understanding post-exercise affective response and post-behavioral evaluations of exercise and for interventions directed at influencing the post-exercise affective response and behavioral evaluations of exercise in physically underactive individuals.
... Although largely understudied, it is conceivable that some muscle groups would depict distinct affective responses, according to individual characteristics and adaptations, as seen for example, in the hamstrings and latissimus dorsi results during high-intensity stretching (both with negative scores and high standard deviations). If this hypothesis comes to be true, then the order of the exercises could also be relevant when promoting a positive affective experience during exercise, given that promoting positive endsession feelings is suggested to be relevant for exercise promotion (Hutchinson et al., 2023;Zenko et al., 2016). Additionally, different types of stretching may impose different experienced intensities. ...
Affective responses during exercise have been identified as a predictor of exercise adherence. However, research has been mostly limited to aerobic and resistance exercise. Considering that stretching activities are also an important component of physical fitness, this quasi-experimental study was designed to: 1) compare affective responses during and immediately after stretching exercises in apparently healthy adults, and 2) assess the consistency and repeatability of affect ratings obtained one week apart. For this purpose, we analyzed the Feeling Scale (FS) and Felt Arousal Scale (FAS) ratings using Time (during and after stretching) x Intensity (light, moderate, vigorous) x Stretched Muscle Group (quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, latissimus dorsi, triceps) with repeated measures analysis of variance (ANCOVA) in 34 participants (21 males; aged 32.8 ± 8.6 years). The repeatability of FS and FAS ratings was assessed using two-way random-effects models, Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC), and Bland-Altman plots. FS scores were higher following the stretching exercises, whereas FAS scores were lower, particularly in the vigorous intensity. In general, the inter-day repeatability for FS and FAS measurements was good across muscle groups. ICC tended to be higher at vigorous intensities. Ratings of core affect can be collected during static passive stretches using the FAS and FAS in ecologically valid settings. These results suggest that an adequate assessment of core affective responses to stretching activities should be performed during the exercises.
... Previous studies involving transcranial Doppler examinations and oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) concentration measurements in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) revealed that cerebral blood flow (CBF) velocity and increases under light-and moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (Rooks et al. 2010;Smith and Ainslie 2017). However, it is difficult for elderly individuals with declining physical function and/or joint disorders to perform higher intensity exercise, and high exercise intensity can inhibit exercise continuity and motivation (Ekkekakis et al. 2011;Zenko et al. 2016). Thus, middleand old-aged individuals often prefer water-based exercise because water resistance lowers the risk of falling during exercise and water buoyancy reduces the gravity-induced strain on joints. ...
Cerebral blood flow increases more during water-based exercise than land-based exercise owing to the effects of end-tidal CO2 (PETCO2) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) changes due to water immersion. However, it is unclear whether oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) concentrations in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) are increased more by water-based or land-based exercise. We hypothesized that oxy-Hb concentrations in the PFC are higher during water-based exercise than land-based exercise when the exercise intensity is matched. To test this hypothesis, 10 healthy participants (age: 24.2 ± 1.7 years; height: 1.75 ± 0.04 m; weight: 69.5 ± 5.2 kg) performed light- to moderate-intensity cycling exercise in water (water-based cycling (WC); chest-high water at 30 °C) and on land (LC). Stroke volume, cardio output, heart rate, MAP, respiratory rate, PETCO2, and oxy-Hb in the PFC were assessed during 15 min of exercise, with exercise intensity increased every 5 min. Both WC and LC significantly increased oxy-Hb concentrations in the PFC as exercise intensity was increased (intensity effect: p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in oxy-Hb concentrations during WC and LC in most prefrontal areas, although significant differences were found in areas corresponding to the left dorsolateral PFC (exercise effect: p < 0.001). Thus, WC and LC increase oxy-Hb concentrations in the PFC in a similar manner with increasing exercise intensity, but part of the PFC exhibits enhanced oxy-Hb levels during WC. The neural response of the PFC may differ during water-based and land-based exercise owing to differences in external information associated with water immersion.
... Three subscales (intrinsic motivation, perceived choice, and perceived competence) from the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI; McAuley et al., 1989;Portuguese version: Fonseca & de Paula Brito, 2001) will be used. Minor adaptations to the wording will be made to ensure relevance to the context of exercise (e.g., vs. sport) following the example of adaptations in similar studies (e.g., Vazou- Ekkekakis & Ekkekakis, 2009;Zenko et al., 2016). For example, "I am satisfied with my performance at this task" (perceived competence) will be adapted to "I am satisfied with my performance in these workouts"; and "I believe I had some choice about doing this activity" (perceived choice) will be adapted to "I believe I had some choice during these workouts". ...
Research on the relationship between exercise-induced affect and exercise or physical activity behavior has gained momentum in recent years, yielding several observational and longitudinal studies. However, experimental tests demonstrating a causal role of affective responses on exercise adherence are lacking. Given the need to devise exercise prescriptions that can facilitate adherence and promote regular physical activity, a Randomized Controlled Trial targeting individual pleasurable responses in a health-club setting will be conducted. The experimental protocol will compare two individualized evaluation, prescription, and supervision methods, adjusted for intensity, with the aim to explore their impact on behavioral, affective, and motivational outcomes. The planned study will be a pragmatic randomized, single-blinded, controlled superiority trial with two parallel groups and an allocation ratio of 1:1. Apparently healthy volunteer participants (N = 46) between 18 and 45 years old, who are not regularly active, will be randomly allocated to a control or experimental group. The control group will follow a general American College of Sports Medicine exercise prescription; the experimental group will follow the same prescription but with enhancements aimed at promoting pleasure: (1) individualization based on individual differences in preference for and tolerance of exercise intensity; (2) self-regulation of intensity; and (3) repeated assessments of core affect. The primary outcome will be post-intervention exercise-session attendance. Affective and motivational variables will be examined as secondary outcomes. The results are expected to advance exercise prescriptions by promoting affective regulation, thus helping to improve exercise adherence and related outcomes.
... For example, some of the included studies reported only post-exercise session measurements, while others, measured affect during the session/segment of the stretching activity (but none measured affect while the muscle was stretched); in other cases, assessments were made prior to and after the exercise session, excluding data regarding the affective panorama interpretation throughout the session. This poses a concern in interpreting data regarding the affective response to stretching exercise, since core affect can only be experienced in vivo, or in close proximity to the activity (Stevens et al., 2020;Zenko et al., 2016). Importantly, affect recall (i.e., affect assessment via memory of previous feelings subjected to cognitive appraisal) does not reflect core affect that emanated from exercise. ...
Affective responses have been considered key determinants for exercise adherence, but research on affective responses to stretching activities is scarce. Given the role of these responses in exercise adherence, our aim in this review was to explore (a) the utility and feasibility of core affect in stretching-related activities as measured by the Feeling Scale (FS) and/or the Felt Arousal Scale (FAS); (b) the timing of administering these scales; and (c) the scales’ applicability and interpretability in this context. Inclusion criteria for studies in this review were experimental and non-experimental studies written in English that based affect assessment on the FS and/or FAS and that applied these scales to participants engaged in physical activity, individually or in groups. We also considered studies that focused on stretching activities that were either isolated or components of a class/activity and studies that used healthy participants of any age. Exclusion criteria were populations with mental health problems, cancer, diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, or diseases likely to alter pain perception or be associated with chronic pain, instrument validation studies, gray literature, and systematic reviews. We searched PubMed, SPORTDiscus and PsycINFO databases, and we added studies retrieved manually from reference sections while following PRISMA guidelines. We used the Effective Public Health Practice Project tool for judging methodological quality of research articles. Our final analyses were based on 12 empirical studies published between 2003-2021with a total of 718 participants. Both scales were found to be useful and feasible in the most usual places for exercise, but core affect results cannot be properly interpreted due to variability of study protocols and the absence of guidelines for adequate baseline assessment. Most studies recorded affect responses pre-session, during session, and post-session. We observed no standardized timing or frequency of assessment, and there was high heterogeneity among stretching protocols. Currently, research in core affect assessment of stretching-related activities lacks sufficient methodological quality to draw generalizable conclusions.
... Increased concentrations of blood lactate combined with increased oxygen consumption are metabolically unsustainable and cause unpleasant feelings in the participants, urging them to stop the exercise [15]. The importance of this theory is that adherence to exercise may be influenced by affective responses, thus rendering them important components of exercise prescription [16,17]. ...
The current study examines the effects of a Tabata high-intensity interval training (HIIT) session on affective, cognitive and physiological indicators in women of different fitness levels. A total of 28 adult women (aged 24.2 ± 1.5 years) completed a 20 m shuttle run test and were then assigned to higher fitness and lower fitness groups (HF and LF, n = 14 each) according to their predicted aerobic power. On a separate occasion, participants completed a 30 min Tabata workout (six 4 min rounds separated by 1 min passive rest). Each round included eight exercises (20 s exercise and 10 s rest). Affective, physiological and cognitive responses were assessed prior to, during and after the protocol. Heart rate and blood lactate concentration increased similarly in both groups over time throughout the workout (p < 0.001). Total Mood Disturbance was higher for LF (111.4 ± 15.7) vs. HF (102.9 ± 11.7) (p = 0.48), vigor showed a level by time interaction of p = 0.006 and Activation–Deactivation Adjective Check List factors deteriorated over time (p < 0.001). The Concentration Grid Test was better overall for HF (10.5 ± 3.6) vs. LF (8.6 ± 3.6) (p = 0.05). The Feeling Scale and Rating of Perceived Exertion worsened similarly in both groups over time (p = 0.002 and p < 0.001, respectively). Positive and negative affect and arousal did not differ between groups or change over time (p > 0.05). These results show that, despite the different levels of aerobic fitness, physiological, metabolic, perceptual and affective responses were similar in the two groups of women during a 30 min Tabata session. This may imply that affective responses during this type of HIIT are independent of aerobic fitness.
... For example, it may be useful to educate novice exercisers in using the "talk test" (Reed & Pipe, 2014) to maintain intensities below anaerobic thresholds when it is not feasible to prescribe sub-VT heart rate ranges or absolute work rates identified through laboratory-based fitness testing. Individuals may also benefit from increasing the exercise "slope of pleasure" by starting an exercise session at a relatively high intensity and progressively reducing the speed and/or effort over time, which induces favorable changes in affective ratings (Zenko et al., 2016). Teaching individuals to manage intensity based on affective responses allows for more personalized prescriptions. ...
This study aimed to understand determinants of recalled in-task affective valence experienced during a regularly performed aerobic bout in adult exercisers aged 55+. Qualitative data were collected (January to March, 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic) using interviews wherein individuals (N = 16, 69% women, 61 ± 5 years) recalled deviations in affective valence in response to a regularly completed bout. Using thematic analyses, two themes emerged regarding how COVID-19 impacted regular exercise behaviors: (a) "loss" and (b) "adaptation." Two themes encompassed the determinants of recalled in-task affective valence: (a) "person-specific conditions" and (b) "external conditions." Finally, an increase in duration/intensity during a pleasant session was indicated by 44% of the participants, while 75% indicated a decrease in duration/intensity during an unpleasant session. The participants indicated that affective valence was determined by previously cited and novel factors that relate to exercise performed in naturalistic environments. Volitional modifications to planned exercise volume appear more responsive to feelings of displeasure.
... Regarding internal parameters, opting for self-selected intensity 46 or manipulating the structure of the session (e.g., ending the session with a lower intensity) 47 can promote positive affective experiences toward PA. In this perspective, practitioners (e.g., physical education teachers, health professionals) are uniquely placed to nurture environments that effectively promote positive affective experiences toward PA. ...
Most individuals are now aware of health benefits of physical activity (PA) but remain physically inactive. Mobilizing a multidisciplinary approach at the crossroads between decision-making sciences, we investigate why highlighting the health benefits of PA is unlikely to promote a sustained engagement in PA. Essential features of decision making – effort-discounting, delay-discounting and beliefs distortion – may weaken the subjective value attributed to health benefits, making the latter insufficient to trigger PA behaviors. We develop a decision model demonstrating that health benefits hold a weak subjective value, in comparison with the cost of engaging in PA (e.g., effort) and of our innate attraction toward sedentary alternatives. Instead, focusing on positive affective experiences could counteract the impact of aforementioned features and ultimately favor a regular engagement in PA. Tackling the current pandemic of physical inactivity would therefore require an urgent change in the promotion of PA, so as to make affective experiences central.
... It is not permitted to frame or use framing techniques to enclose any trademark, logo, or other proprietary information of the Publisher. feelings and dropout rates of the participants were recorded during the 8-week program which could indicate the favorable affective responses and adherence to the HICT BW program 22,23 . ...
We examined the effects of an 8-week modified high-intensity circuit training using body weight as resistance (HICTBW) on health-related physical fitness in sedentary obese women.
Methods:
Twenty-four sedentary obese women were allocated into the HICTBW or a non-training control group (CG). The modified HICTBW was performed for 8 weeks (3 times per week). Training consisted of a 30-second workout and 10-second rest for 12 exercise poses per 1 circuit (1 circuit in the first week), with an increase of 1 circuit every 2 weeks. Body weight and body composition included skeletal muscle mass (SMM), body fat mass (BFM), body fat percentage (BF%), visceral fat area (VFA), and skeletal muscle mass to visceral fat area ratio (MFR) were measured. Physical fitness included flexibility of the lower back and hamstrings (FlexLH), and leg and handgrip muscle strength (StrengthLeg, StrengthHG). Cardiovascular endurance included the Åstrand-Rhyming heart rate (HRÅstrand), relative maximum oxygen uptake (relative V̇ O2max), and workload.
Results:
All variables were obtained at baseline, week-4, and week-8. The HICTBW improved FlexLH, StrengthLeg, and relative V̇ O2max from baseline to week-4 (All P<0.05). Improvements from baseline to week-8 were observed for SMM, BFM, BF%, VFA and MFR, FlexLH, StrengthLeg, HRÅstrand, relative V̇ O2max, and workload (All p<0.05). Furthermore, the HICTBW elicited a higher change in SMM (+2.9%), BFM (-3.4%), BF% (-3.2%), MFR (+9.5%), FlexLH (+145.7%) and relative V̇ O2max (+32.3%) than the CG at week-8 (All P<0.05).
Conclusions:
An 8-week modified HICTBW program thrice a week is an effective training modality to influence health-related physical fitness in sedentary obese women.
... The correct selection of these factors will help viewers to imagine themselves performing the activity and trigger the thought of investigating time to practice for health objectives. Recent studies in sport psychology have reported that the intrinsic motivation (Teixeira et al., 2012) and the pleasure experienced during a practice session (Zenko et al., 2016) are particularly important for physical exercise adherence. Such empirical observations were confirmed in a study demonstrating that adding the emotional appraisal as a variable in a predictive model increased the quality of the prediction (Mohiyeddini et al., 2009). ...
My thesis examines how colorful designs projected within an urban environment can enhance pedestrian experience. To examine this question, we co-designed colorful floor markings and evaluated their impact on walking experience by using methods of affective sciences, experimental psychology and design. A series of laboratory-based studies were first conducted to determine scientifically-based design principles. In Study1, gaze behaviour and facial thermal responses to colour patches were measured with the aim to identify which colors capture attention and trigger positive affective states. Study2 was an online experiment to test the effects of different design scenarios of colorful sidewalks. The goal here was to identify the colors that would be perceived positively, when projected in the urban space. Study 3 was a virtual reality experiment in which gaze behaviour and affective states of pedestrians were measured in environments that used the colors and designs from studies 1 and 2. A total of six design scenarios were created to confirm the restorative effects of nature and of color designs during spontaneous walking. These studies offered a set of scientifically-based design principles that were then projected in the field case study of Playful’ City. Three ecological studies were run to test these principles. Study 4 examined the effects of colorful crossroads on the affective and cognitive states of students discovering the University campus of Lille. Study 5 tested the impact of color lines and colorful painted patters on spontaneous walking and perceived pleasantness of walking though the campus. Finally, study 6 compared the impact of color designs placed in an urban and in a nature environment. In these three studies, a combination of self-declared evaluations and objective measurements was used to assess walkers’ responses to the environment pre-post design interventions. Valance, heart rate, electro-dermal activity and cognitive load were measured collectively. Overall, my work offers new avenues towards the conception and the evaluation of urban design.
... If inner feelings were not accessible, humans would have no inclination to move toward or away from anything, jeopardizing the species' survival (Cisek & Kalaska, 2010;Lee et al., 2016). Thus, affective states are thought to play a fundamental role in the approach and avoidance behavior towards physical activity to be performed immediately (Carlier, & Delevoye-Turrell, 2017;Elsangedy et al., 2018;Ouvrard et al., 2018) or in an immediate future (Jekauc, 2015;Kanning et al., 2015;Kwan & Bryan, 2010;Mohiyeddini et al., 2009;Rhodes & Kates, 2015;Wienke & Jekauc, 2016;Zenko et al., 2016). But, not everyone is able to experience the same amount of positive affects during physical activity (Van Landuyt et al., 2000). ...
Performing a physical activity means dealing with the challenges and difficulties occurring during the task. The more a person possesses the cognitive ability to deal with the complexity of the task, the more that person will be able to face the difficulties in activity regulation. However, no studies have been designed to investigate the cognitive dimension of physical activity. In the present study, we present an original in-task methodology that offers the means to assess the cognitive and physical load of a physical activity. Through the application of a dual task paradigm, we report in-task changes in cognitive abilities and physiological experiences in low and high tolerant individuals during the practice of one of two whole-body stepping tasks. The findings confirmed that stepping through space is a physical activity that requires more cognitive resources and is perceived as more cognitively and physically challenging than stepping on the spot. We demonstrated also that the tolerance to effort, which is a psychological factor, plays a non-negligible role in the way the activity sessions were experienced. The affective states in low tolerant individuals were always more negative than those reported by high tolerant individuals. Our findings argue for the existence of a cognitive dimension to physical activity with tolerance to effort being a moderator of individuals’ affective experience to exercise.
... Die dual-mode theory of affective responses to exercise (Ekkekakis 2003) gewohnheitsmäßig inaktive Probanden einem Ergometer-Belastungsprotokoll unterworfen und vor, während, sowie nach der Belastung zum aktuellen Affekt befragt wurden (z. B. Zenko et al. 2016). Typischerweise ergibt sich das in Abb. 2 dargestellte Ergebnismuster: In den drei Intensitätsstufen zeigen sich die erwarteten Veränderungen im Affekt während der Belastung, nach der Belastung jedoch nivellieren sich die Gruppenunterschiede wieder in Richtung einer eher positiven Gefühlslage. ...
Das Kapitel trägt Erkenntnisse zusammen, die das vermeintliche Allgemeinwissen relativieren, dass Sporttreiben der Gesundheit schon allein deshalb zuträglich sei, weil man sich durch Sport besser fühle: Richtig ist, dass sich die meisten Menschen bei niedrig-intensiver Bewegungsaktivität wohl fühlen. Jedoch fühlen sich viele Menschen schon bei moderat-intensiver körperlicher Beanspruchung, wie sie für Sport oft kennzeichnend ist, nicht mehr wohl und vermeiden sie deshalb. Psychologisches Wissen hilft, wirksame Interventionen für mehr Bewegung und Sport im Alltag zu entwickeln. Dieser Beitrag ist Teil der Sektion Sportpsychologie, herausgegeben vom Teilherausgeber Dieter Hackfort, innerhalb des Handbuchs Sport und Sportwissenschaft, herausgegeben von Arne Güllich und Michael Krüger.
... As such, in future studies researchers and interventionists should investigate the mechanisms by which affective responses to physical activity may be modified in these populations (e.g., HIIT sessions with longer resting intervals), as well as the efficacy of targeting affective response on activity-related outcomes. Some research has begun to explore methods to enhance affective responses to physical activity, such as manipulation of expectancies of anticipated post-exercise affect (Biondolillo & Pillemer, 2015;Helfer, Elhai, & Geers, 2015;Kwan, Stevens, & Bryan, 2017;Zenko, Ekkekakis, & Ariely, 2016). However, further applications to everyday life and longer-term maintenance processes are needed. ...
Background
Affective responses are posited to be key predictors of the uptake and maintenance of health behaviors. However, few studies have examined how individuals’ affective response to physical activity, as well as the degree to which their affect response changes, may predict changes in physical activity and sedentary time during behavioral weight loss treatment.
Purpose
The current study examined how baseline momentary affective response (i.e., stress and anxiety) to moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and the degree of pre--post intervention change in this response predicted change in daily sedentary, light, and MVPA time during a three-month internet-based weight loss program.
Methods
Women with overweight/obesity (final N = 37) completed 14-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) protocols with objective measurement of physical activity (i.e., bout-related MVPA time) before and after the intervention.
Results
Women who had more reinforcing responses to MVPA (i.e., greater reductions in anxiety and stress response following MVPA bouts) at baseline had greater increases in overall MVPA at the end of the intervention. Those who had greater anxiety reductions after MVPA bouts at baseline also evidenced less sedentary time at the end of the intervention. Changes in affective responses across the intervention were not related to changes in physical activity levels.
Conclusions
Findings suggest initial levels of affective reinforcement from MVPA bouts predict future change in MVPA and sedentary time during behavioral weight loss. Future work is needed to examine the utility of more precisely targeting affective responses to physical activity to optimize intervention approaches.
... We theorize that when PA is enjoyable and, therefore, participants adhere to it, the secondary outcomes of fitness, performance, and appearance are likely to be realized despite not explicitly focusing on them. PlayFit incorporates several tenets of self-determination theory (Ryan and Deci, 2000), hedonic theory (Ekkekakis and Dafermos, 2012), and the best-practices recommended in modern physical education (PE) (Vazou et al., 2019) to maximize PA enjoyment,improve automatic affective associations, and affective judgements (Zenko et al., 2016). For example, the games of PlayFit are made to be easier to play, reducing motor skillfulness barriers to entry and the likelihood of perceptions of motor skill incompetence and the unpleasant emotions associated with poor performances (e.g., embarrassment, shame). ...
The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility, acceptability, and short-term adherence to an adult outdoor group sport play program designed to maximize enjoyment that was modified to incorporate COVID-19 risk mitigation strategies. We enrolled 17 healthy, but sedentary, central Pennsylvania adults (mean age = 31.6 ± 7.3) without obesity via mail advertisements to participate in four, 60-minute sessions of instructor-led modified sport games (e.g., handball, Ultimate Frisbee, soccer) over a two-week period in October 2020. Durign recrutiment and the study period, there were approximately 1000-2000 new cases of COVID-19 daily in central Pennsylvania . The overall adherence rate to the sessions was 91%, and no participants reported new or existing COVID-19 symptoms or diagnoses during the two-week study period or 10-days following the final session. Despite enforcing mandatory COVID-19 safety measures (e.g., universal masking, social distancing), the participants reported enjoying the program and feeling socially connected with one another, while perceiving the program to be safe. Additionally, all participants expressed a desire to participate again, if the program were offered in the future. These results suggest that an outdoor group sport play program for adults can be feasible, acceptable, and well-adhered to despite enforcing mandatory COVID-19 safety precautions. Physical activity programs similar to the one presented here may provide an easily-adaptable approach to outdoor physical activity during the current and potential future pandemics that have viral transmission characteristics similar to COVID-19.
... However, acute exercise can also lead to negative subjective experiences, i.e., fatigue, or feelings of excessive exertion. Being crucial to the future adherence to exercise regimens (Hall et al., 2002;Ekkekakis et al., 2008Ekkekakis et al., , 2011Zenko et al., 2016;Decker and Ekkekakis, 2017), it is important to identify factors that are reducing or unnecessarily increasing negative feelings during exercise. ...
Attentional focus during aerobic exercise has been studied in the context of sports performance, injury prevention and affective experience. Previous research suggests that an additional mental task parallel to the physical activity might influence exercise experience and performance. It has been tested if attentional focus influences cardiovascular activity, positive/negative affect, and subjective exertion during a cycling exercise. Data from N = 30 female participants has been collected using a repeated measures design, with the following experimental manipulations: (A) an internal attention focus (i.e., paying attention to force production of the quadriceps muscles), (B) an external attention focus (i.e., paying attention to changes in brightness in the cycling track simulation), and as control conditions, (C) exercise without attention focus (i.e., no specific instruction was given) and (D) no exercise, no attention focus. Subjective affect and subjective exertion were assessed, and changes in cardiovascular activity were recorded via mobile impedance cardiography (ICG) at rest, during and after the exercise, including HR, HRV (RMSSD, HF), PEP, CO, SV, LVET, and RSA. Exercise was associated with adaptations in cardiovascular activity, positive/negative affect, and subjective exertion. However, this did not interact with attentional focus. The original hypothesis could not be supported: instructed attentional focus does not influence affect, exertion, or cardiovascular activity during a cycling exercise. Therefore, attentional focusing during exercise does not appear to put notable additional mental demands on the physically active participant. Nonetheless, impedance cardiography delivered reliable measurements even during the cycling exercise.
... Conversely, modifications to optimize exercise experiences should occur more acutely. Recent evidence has demonstrated that in-task affect is not solely influenced by intensity, but also by pre-exercise affective states (e.g., moods, emotions, energy/tiredness), physical condition (e.g., residual soreness, illness, pain) and cognitions (e.g., perceived selfefficacy, anticipated affect; Parfitt, 2007, 2010;Vazou-Ekkekakis and Ekkekakis, 2009;Sala et al., 2016;Zenko et al., 2016;Strohacker et al., 2017;Beaumont et al., 2021). These and other physical, psychological, cognitive, and contextual correlates of exercise behavior can fluctuate relatively frequently over time (Dunton and Atienza, 2009;Dunton, 2017), potentially due to change in other behaviors (sleeping, eating) or events (bad news). ...
Recent research in exercise prescription and periodization has emphasized the importance of subjective experience, both in medium- and long-term monitoring, but also in the acute experience. Emerging evidence also highlights an important role of subjective readiness (pre-exercise mental and physical states) in determining how exercise is experienced, and in acutely modifying the prescribed exercise intensity. The concept of “readiness-to-exercise” shows promise in enabling and informing this acute decision-making to optimize the experiences and outcomes of exercise. While subjective experiences can be effectively assessed using psychometric scales and instruments, these are often developed and deployed using cross-sectional samples, with resulting structures that reflect a normative pattern (nomothetic). These patterns may fail to reflect individual differences in sensitivity, experience and saliency (idiographic). We conducted this research with the primary aim of comparing the nomothetical and idiographic approaches to modeling the relatively novel concept of readiness-to-exercise. Study 1 (nomothetic) therefore analyzed data collected from 572 participants who completed a one-time survey using R-technique factor analysis. Results indicated a four-factor structure that explained 60% of the variance: “health and fitness;” “fatigue;” “vitality” and “physical discomfort.” Study 2 (idiographic) included a sample of 29 participants who completed the scale multiple times, between 42 and 56 times: permitting intra-individual analysis using separate P-technique factor analyses. Our analyses suggested that many individuals displayed personal signature, or “profiles” of readiness-to-exercise that differed in structure from the nomothetic form: only two participants' personal signatures contained four structures as modeled in Study 1, whereas the majority demonstrated either two or three factors. These findings raise important questions about how experiential data should be collected and modeled, for use in research (conceptual development and measurement) and applied practice (prescribing, monitoring)—as well as in more applied research (implementation, effectiveness).
... Put differently, perfect relationships between experienced pleasure, remembered pleasure, and forecasted pleasure are unlikely, even if the exerciser is evaluating the same exercise protocol. Indeed, Zenko et al. (2016) found that salient aspects of an exercise session (slope of pleasure, or the rate and direction of affective responses experienced during exercise) explained about 46% of the variance in remembered pleasure assessed about 15 minutes after the exercise session ended. Remembered pleasure, in turn, explained about 70% of the variance in forecasted pleasure, indicating that about 30% was explained by other factors. ...
We provide guidance for the measurement of affective responses to exercise for practicing professionals. Affective responses include the pleasure and displeasure experienced before, during, and after acute bouts of exercise. Example vignettes at the beginning and end of the chapter provide illustrations of contrasting measurement approaches. In this chapter, we briefly describe hedonic theory applied to exercise behavior. Then we distinguish between the similar, but distinct, psychological constructs of core affect, emotion, and mood before discussing measurement considerations, including measure selection, timing and measurement frequency, individual variability, and the importance of neutral measurement technique. Next, we provide guidance for the measurement of remembered pleasure and forecasted pleasure. Finally, we present a hypothetical example using improved measurement techniques to illustrate how concepts from this chapter can be applied to a realistic scenario. Readers can apply this chapter to diverse settings, including, but not limited to, personal training, coaching, wellness programs, cardiac rehabilitation, occupational therapy, and physical therapy.
... Create exercise sessions that become progressively more pleasant and enjoyable, perhaps by decreasing intensity throughout an exercise session, perhaps especially among nonathletic populations (for more, see Hutchinson, Zenko Santich, & Dalton, 2020;Stuntz, Grosshans, Boghosian, Brendel, & Williamson 2020;Zenko, Ekkekakis, & Ariely, 2016). Ariely and Carmon (2000) Hutchinson et al. ...
... Although some studies adopt several strategies to increase affective responses to exercise, such as music, video (Jones, 2015), and reduction of the exercise intensity throughout the session (Zenko et al., 2016), several psychological responses, including affect, are drastically reduced in the LP of the MC (Prado et al., 2021). Therefore, the consideration that the MC is a natural barrier for women's adherence to physical exercise is quite reasonable. ...
Objective
to (1) systematically review the chronic effect of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) on maximal fat oxidation (MFO) in overweight and obese adults, and (2) explore MFO influencing factors and its dose-response relationships with HIIT and MICT.
Methods
Studies using a between-group design involving overweight and obese adults and assessing the effect of HIIT and MICT on MFO were included. A meta-analysis on MFO indices was conducted, and the observed heterogeneities were explored through subgroup, regression, and sensitivity analyses.
Results
Thirteen studies of moderate to high quality with a total of 519 overweight and obese subjects were included in this meta-analysis (HIIT, n = 136; MICT, n = 235; Control, n = 148). HIIT displayed a statistically significant favorable effect on MFO compared to no-training (MD = 0.07; 95%CI [0.03 to 0.11]; I² = 0%). Likewise, MICT displayed a statistically significant favorable effect on MFO compared to no-training (MD = 0.10; 95%CI [0.06 to 0.15]; I² = 95%). Subgroup and regression analyses revealed that exercise intensity (Fatmax vs. non-Fatmax; %VO2peak), exercise mode, BMI, and VO2peak all significantly moderated MICT on MFO. When analyzing studies that have directly compared HIIT and MCIT in obese people, it seems there is no difference in the MFO change (MD = 0.01; 95%CI [-0.02 to 0.04]; I² = 64%). No publication bias was found in any of the above meta-analyses (Egger's test p > 0.05 for all).
Conclusion
Both HIIT and MICT are effective in improving MFO in overweight and obese adults, and they have similar effects. MCIT with an intensity of 65–70% VO2peak, performed 3 times per week for 60 min per session, will optimize MFO increases in overweight and obese adults. Given the lack of studies examining the effect of HIIT on MFO in overweight and obese adults and the great diversity in the training protocols in the existing studies, we were unable to make sound recommendations for training.
Background
Obesity is considered one of the chronic diseases associated with an increased risk of mortality and morbidity. Nowadays, exercise is considered one of the most effective treatments for it. In recent years, various studies have been carried out to find the most effective exercise prescription.
Objective
The aim of this scoping review is to answer the question of whether increasing the intensity of exercise is an effective solution to weight loss in adults with overweight or obesity.
Method
systematic reviews and Meta-analyses from 2017 to 2022 investigated high-intensity interval training (HIIT) in adults (18–65 years old) with obesity or overweight included. The expected outcomes were weight, body mass index (BMI), and total and abdominal fat mass.
Results
A total of four systematic reviews which included 165 RCT and 4427 participants were included. Long term-HIIT was effective in decreasing body weight, body mass index (BMI), and total and abdominal fat mass.
Conclusion
HIIT is a time-efficient exercise prescription to reduce weight, BMI, waist circumference (WC), and total and abdominal fat mass, however, the outcomes were similar and no significant differences were found compared to moderate intensity continuous training (MICT). The lack of time can be compensated for by increasing the intensity, but this is not the most effective option with the most effects, so according to the physiology of exercise, perhaps the most effective solution for losing weight is to prescribe exercises tailored to each person's physiology and based on critical power.
Positive embodiment has emerged from the eating disorder field as a psychological construct describing positive experiences of inhabiting the body. As a positive construct associated with wellbeing, new theories, models, and measures may be of interest to researchers and practitioners in the field of positive psychology. No review to date has presented the literature on positive embodiment to this audience. This interdisciplinary inquiry highlights a shared interest in the promotion of wellbeing and the building of protective resources bridging positive psychology and disordered eating prevention. A systematic literature search of six databases was performed (APA PsychINFO, Science Direct, Scopus, CINAHL, Academic Search Complete, and SportDiscus) and empirical research is presented with attention paid to wellbeing concepts and opportunities for further research. This literature search located two measurement tools that operationalize positive embodiment which are explored along with their conceptual roots and underlying theories. This review incorporates quantitative and qualitative studies, and explores concepts across identified studies. Positive embodiment offers further understanding of the role of the body in wellbeing and nuance to the interconnections of concepts frequently viewed as separate, such as eating and exercise behaviour, agency and empowerment, self-concept and body image. Implications for integration in current positive psychology interventions are discussed, along with limitations of current knowledge and future research potential. As a narrative review, the subjective nature of inquiry is acknowledged and this project humbly intends to provide a landscape perspective of an emergent topic area in order to inform future research, practice, and policy possibilities. In conclusion, while research on positive embodiment is still emerging and more research is necessary to generalize, connections to wellbeing have been found, new measurement tools provide opportunities for further study, and practitioners may gain a greater appreciation for the role of the body in wellbeing.
Most U.S. adults, even more so those with psychiatric conditions like obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), do not engage in the recommended amount of physical activity (PA), despite the wide array of physical and mental health benefits associated with exercise. Therefore, it is essential to identify mechanistic factors that drive long-term exercise engagement so they can be targeted. Using the science of behavior change (SOBC) framework, this study examined potential predictors of long-term exercise engagement as a first step towards identifying modifiable mechanisms, in individuals with OCD, such as PA enjoyment, positive or negative affect, and behavioral activation. Fifty-six low-active patients (mean age = 38.8 ± 13.0, 64% female) with a primary diagnosis of OCD were randomized to either aerobic exercise (AE; n = 28) or health education (HE; n = 28), and completed measures of exercise engagement, PA enjoyment, behavioral activation, and positive and negative affect at baseline, postintervention, and 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up. Significant predictors of long-term exercise engagement up to 6-months postintervention were baseline PA (Estimate = 0.29, 95%CI [0.09, 0.49], p = .005) and higher baseline PA enjoyment (Estimate = 1.09, 95%CI [0.30, 1.89], p = .008). Change in PA enjoyment from baseline to postintervention was greater in AE vs. HE, t(44) = -2.06, p = .046, d = -0.61, but endpoint PA enjoyment did not predict follow-up exercise engagement above and beyond baseline PA enjoyment. Other hypothesized potential mechanisms (baseline affect or behavioral activation) did not significantly predict exercise engagement. Results suggest that PA enjoyment may be an important modifiable target mechanism for intervention, even prior to a formal exercise intervention. Next steps aligned with the SOBC framework are discussed, including examining intervention strategies to target PA enjoyment, particularly among individuals with OCD or other psychiatric conditions, who may benefit most from long-term exercise engagement's effects on physical and mental health.
Introduction
From a public health perspective, it is important to gain more insight into how people can be motivated to maintain effective exercise routines. It is a common belief that moderate-intensity exercise is more pleasant and enjoyable than high-intensity training. This study aims to provide insight into (1) participants' expectations and preferences for training intensity prior to training, (2) how longer-term participation affect participants' experience of endurance training with continuous moderate-intensity training and high-intensity interval training.
Materials and methods
A total of 22 participants (14 women and eight men) between the ages of 21–30 volunteered for participation. Participants were randomized and divided into two equal groups. A total of 17 participants, nine women and eight men, completed the study. One group did moderate-intensity longer-lasting training and the other did high-intensity interval training. All participants completed three training sessions per week for 8 weeks. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with each participant before and after completing the training intervention. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis. This study is a part of a larger study evaluating and comparing the effects on endurance capacity of high-intensity interval training and moderate-intensity training. Physiological data are previously published.
Results
The results describe participants expectations prior to training, and how they experienced the actual training. The overall experience of training comprises several factors that work together. Both expectations and actual experiences (e.g., of physical pleasantness or unpleasantness, of positive or negative emotions, and of actual results from the training) contribute to the participants' overall experience of exercise.
Conclusion
The major finding is that improved physical fitness was a stronger motivator than feelings of pleasantness. Experiencing good results seemed to downplay feelings of unpleasantness and reinforce positive feelings toward exercise. Lack of results reinforce negative feelings toward exercise. Participants reported high-intensity exercise as more unpleasant and exhaustive, but the interval training group were more satisfied and experienced the training as more motivating.
This study expanded the State Mindfulness Scale for Physical Activity (SMS-PA) to include acceptance items to better represent core elements of mindfulness. Young adults who just participated in physical activity (N = 394) completed a survey to assess state mindfulness and theoretically relevant constructs about affect, motivation, and body image. An exploratory factor analysis was used to reduce the item pool on half of the sample. A 19-item and 15-item version of the SMS-PA2 were further tested through confirmatory factor analysis on the second half of the sample demonstrating a theoretically based factor structure representing either a total score or four separate factors – monitoring of the mind and body and accepting of the mind and body. The SMS-PA2 scores demonstrated evidence supporting construct and incremental validity through associations with theoretically relevant variables. Initial evidence shows expanded predictive utility of the SMS-PA2.
This meta‐analytic study aimed to examine the effects of audiovisual stimuli on affective responses during and after exercise and their moderators. A total of 296 effect sizes (Hedge's g) were extracted from 46 independent studies covering 1292 participants. Meta‐analysis was performed using Comprehensive Meta‐Analysis Version 3.3, and potential moderating variables were analysed using univariate meta‐regression models. Audiovisual stimuli increased affective valence during (g = 0.793, 95% CI [0.666, 0.920]) and after exercise (g = 0.792, 95% CI [0.567, 1.016]), and arousal during (g = 0.920, 95% CI [0.742 1.097]) and after exercise (g = 0.666, 95% CI [0.390, 0.962]). There may be publication bias in the meta‐analysis, but the main findings are still valid. The type of audiovisual stimuli (audio‐video > audio or video), exercise habits (active > not reported), and exercise intensities (self‐selected > imposed) moderated the effects. In conclusion, the application of audiovisual stimuli during exercise can elicit positive affective responses. These results provide a viable intervention strategy for exercise and health practitioners to reduce the number of physically inactive individuals and improve exercise compliance and adherence.
Introduction
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) provides notable physiological benefits and is generally well-tolerated across modalities and populations. This study investigated how exercise autonomy support impacts psychological responses to exercise.
Methods
Twenty-nine participants completed three HIIT trials: Conventional-HIIT with 60-sec work segments, Varied-HIIT with a mix of 30, 60, 90, & 120-sec segments, and Autonomous-HIIT with self-selected 30, 60, 90, & 120-sec segments. Affective valence, enjoyment, and intention were measured.
Results
Affective valence during exercise was not different between trials (p > 0.05) but enjoyment during exercise was higher for Autonomous-HIIT (p < 0.05). Enjoyment and intention measured post-exercise were greater for Autonomous-HIIT than Varied-HIIT (p < 0.05).
Conclusion
Autonomous HIIT produced more desirable responses than varied and traditional HIIT sessions. These data suggest that HIIT sessions utilizing self-selected interval durations can produce more positive responses, which provides the basis for recommending autonomy within HIIT exercise.
Regular exercise is beneficial for physical and psychological health. Unfortunately, approximately one in four adults and the majority of adolescents do not meet recommendations for weekly exercise participation. A commonly cited cause for not meeting these recommendations is a lack of motivation, yet few studies have attempted to manipulate motivation. Thus, directional conclusions citing lack of motivation as a cause for insufficient exercise may not be warranted. The current project compares the efficacy of two experimentally manipulated motivational strategies on exercise behaviour in two groups of individuals: those meeting recommendations for exercise participation and those not meeting recommendations. Participants exercised at a self-selected pace after being randomly assigned to watch a video intended to cue either intrinsic or extrinsic motivation. Though effort was largely similar across subjects, effects of the cues on affective response to exercise and post-exercise motivational outcomes differed based on group and condition.
Exercise-related affect should be measured in task to avoid rebound effects (i.e., immediate increases of positive valence, likely due to the relief of exercise cessation), but the general timing and frequency of affect measurement is unclear with respect to resistance exercise, which has a discontinuous nature (i.e., the entirety of the bout is broken up by periods of rest). This narrative review aims to synthesize literature regarding the affect measurement protocols during acute resistance exercise. A systematic search of three databases yielded 28 articles, 26 describing total-body sessions, one focused on lower-body exercise, and one focused on upper body exercise. In-task ratings were recorded in only 12 studies, based on either set completion (e.g., after every, or every third set) or time (e.g., after the midpoint exercise, every 10 min). All ratings occurred during rest intervals, but prompt specificity was reported in only two studies and framed as “right now” rather than “during exercise.” Overall, protocols varied and raise concerns that rebound effects cannot be ruled out because ratings were not taken during physical exertion. Conversely, a higher standard of reporting is necessary to determine that prompts were designed to capture accurate in-task affective responses. Specifically, researchers should indicate the precise verbiage used to obtain in-task ratings, especially if prompts are given postset. Future research should also seek to identify the peak (i.e., most salient point) of a set to represent the in-task affective responses.
The tendency to underestimate how enjoyable exercise will be—an affective forecasting error—is thought to undermine motivation for regular physical activity. We sought to clarify limitations of previous work by examining whether (a) physically inactive individuals show the same forecasting error as physically active individuals, and (b) experienced enjoyment mediates the relation between expected enjoyment and intentions, and whether physical activity levels moderate this relation. Prior to a 30-min workout, physically inactive (60 min of physical activity/week; N 18) and active (150 min of physical activity/week; N 24) individuals reported their expected enjoyment. Afterward, they reported experienced enjoyment and exercise intentions. We found a marginally significant interaction (p .07, partial 2 .08) between group (active, inactive) and time (expected, experienced enjoyment), suggesting the forecasting error differed for active and inactive individuals. Specifically, inactive individuals reported significantly lower expected enjoyment than active individuals (p .02, d .73), but reported similar levels of experienced enjoyment (p .27). We also found that experienced enjoyment mediated the relation between expected enjoyment and exercise intentions for inactive (ab .367, 95% confidence interval [CI] .075, .742) but not active individuals (ab .079, 95% CI .269, .089). The findings suggest that lower expectations for exercise enjoyment characterize physically inactive individuals and provide support for the conclusion that the affective forecasting error undermines motivation for regular physical activity. However, among inactive individuals, experienced enjoyment had a stronger relation with intentions to exercise regularly than expected enjoyment.
Contemporary theories of exercise behavior have been the products of the so-called cognitive revolution, which has shaped the dominant paradigm in psychology over the past several decades. Cognitive theories rely on the assumption that, in making behavioral decisions, humans collect relevant information and make their selections on the basis of a more-or-less rational analysis of this information. Although the dominance of cognitive theories in the field of exercise psychology is unquestionable, evidence suggests that they leave most of the variance in exercise behavior unaccounted and interventions based on them are of limited effectiveness in changing exercise behavior. This chapter reviews the history and evaluates the potential of an alternative approach, namely the hedonic theory of motivation. This idea, long neglected due the fascination of psychologists with informationprocessing models of the mind, attributes a substantial portion of the variance in decision-making to affective processes. Modern iterations of the idea emerging from the fields of neurology and behavioral economics reaffirm the ancient thesis that, in the long run, humans tend to repeat what makes them feel better and tend to avoid what makes them feel worse. Evidence from studies in the context of exercise suggests that affective responses to exercise vary greatly between individuals. Furthermore, despite a still-evolving methodological platform, preliminary studies show that affective responses to exercise predict subsequent exercise behavior. This line of research and theorizing offers a novel and intriguing perspective on the mechanisms underlying behavioral decision-making in the context of exercise. The literature reviewed in this chapter highlights the need for further research on the motivational implications of affective processes and lays the foundation for the development of a hedonic theory of exercise behavior.
Background:
The efficacy of high-intensity interval training for a broad spectrum of cardio-metabolic health outcomes is not in question. Rather, the effectiveness of this form of exercise is at stake. In this paper we debate the issues concerning the likely success or failure of high-intensity interval training interventions for population-level health promotion.
Discussion:
Biddle maintains that high-intensity interval training cannot be a viable public health strategy as it will not be adopted or maintained by many people. This conclusion is based on an analysis of perceptions of competence, the psychologically aversive nature of high-intensity exercise, the affective component of attitudes, the less conscious elements of motivated behaviour that reflect our likes and dislikes, and analysis using the RE-AIM framework. Batterham argues that this appraisal is based on a constrained and outmoded definition of high-intensity interval training and that truly practical and scalable protocols have been - and continue to be - developed. He contends that the purported displeasure associated with this type of exercise has been overstated. Biddle suggests that the way forward is to help the least active become more active rather than the already active to do more. Batterham claims that traditional physical activity promotion has been a spectacular failure. He proposes that, within an evolutionary health promotion framework, high-intensity interval training could be a successful population strategy for producing rapid physiological adaptations benefiting public health, independent of changes in total physical activity energy expenditure.
Summary:
Biddle recommends that we focus our attention elsewhere if we want population-level gains in physical activity impacting public health. His conclusion is based on his belief that high-intensity interval training interventions will have limited reach, effectiveness, and adoption, and poor implementation and maintenance. In contrast, Batterham maintains that there is genuine potential for scalable, enjoyable high-intensity interval exercise interventions to contribute substantially to addressing areas of public health priority, including prevention and treatment of Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Public health practitioners and researchers in behavioral medicine recognize the need to find effective physical activity interventions and prescriptions to curb the growth in inactivity and prevent chronic illness (Conn et al., 2009; Hagger, 2010; Hardcastle et al., 2012; Katzmarzyk and Lear, 2012). For example, researchers in exercise physiology have focused on the minimal dose of exercise needed to gain favorable physiological adaptations to cardiovascular and metabolic systems (Gibala et al., 2012). Efforts to identify a minimal dose of exercise are linked to the problem of exercise adherence with few people meeting current physical activity guidelines of 30 min per day of moderate intensity exercise. Given that time is the most commonly cited barrier to exercise (Trost et al., 2002; Sequeira et al., 2011), exercise professionals have focused attention on the development of time-efficient exercise interventions (Gibala, 2007). A recent development is the advocacy of Sprint Interval Training (SIT) as a means to attain substantial health benefits with a lower overall exercise volume. SIT is characterized by repeated, brief (4–6 × <30 s), intermittent bursts of all-out exercise, interspersed by periods (approximately 4.5 min) of active or passive recovery (Gibala et al., 2012). Research has consistently demonstrated that participation in SIT results in a host of physiological adaptations including improvements in health and fitness indicators (Burgomaster et al., 2006, 2008; Gibala et al., 2006, 2012; Rossow et al., 2010; Tong et al., 2011). In addition, these improvements have been reported to be equal or superior to traditional continuous aerobic training despite SIT involving a substantially lower total overall training volume (Rossow et al., 2010; Tong et al., 2011; Gibala et al., 2012; Cocks et al., 2013). Consequently, SIT is being advocated as a time-efficient alternative intervention for the achievement of fitness and health benefits through exercise (Gibala, 2007; Whyte et al., 2013).
Affect experienced during an exercise session is purported to predict future exercise behaviour. Compared to continuous moderate-intensity exercise (CMI), the affective response to continuous vigorous-intensity exercise (CVI) has consistently been shown to be more aversive. The affective response, and overall tolerability to high-intensity interval training (HIT), is less studied. To date, there has yet to be a comparison between HIT, CVI, and CMI. The purpose of this study was to compare the tolerability and affective responses during HIT to CVI and CMI. This study utilized a repeated measures, randomized, counter-balanced design. Forty-four participants visited the laboratory on four occasions. Baseline fitness testing was conducted to establish peak power output in Watts (Wpeak). Three subsequent visits involved a single bout of a) HIT, corresponding to 1-minute at ∼100% Wpeak and 1-minute at ∼20% Wpeak for 20 minutes, b) CMI, corresponding to ∼40% Wpeak for 40 minutes, and c) CVI, corresponding to ∼80% Wpeak for 20 minutes. The order of the sessions was randomized. Affective responses were measured before, during and after each session. Task self-efficacy, intentions, enjoyment and preference were measured after sessions. Participants reported greater enjoyment of HIT as compared to CMI and CVI, with over 50% of participants reporting a preference to engage in HIT as opposed to either CMI or CVI. HIT was considered more pleasurable than CVI after exercise, but less pleasurable than CMI at these times. Despite this participants reported being just as confident to engage in HIT as they were CMI, but less confident to engage in CVI. This study highlights the utility of HIT in inactive individuals, and suggests that it may be a viable alternative to traditionally prescribed continuous modalities of exercise for promoting self-efficacy and enjoyment of exercise.
Objective:
Two measures of affect-affective attitude (AA) and anticipated affective reaction (AAR)-have frequently been used individually, but rarely simultaneously, in correlational studies predicting health behaviors. This research assessed their individual and combined impact in predicting intention and action for a range of health behaviors, controlling for theory of planned behavior (TPB) variables.
Method:
Self-reported intentions and performance of health behaviors were the main outcome measures.
Design:
Study 1 is a meta-analysis of published studies (k = 16) measuring the relevant variables. In Study 2, adults (N = 426) completed questionnaires assessing TPB variables, past behavior, AA, AAR, and subsequent behavior for a range of health behaviors.
Results:
Across both studies, AA and AAR were only moderately intercorrelated, although both had significant correlations with both intentions and behavior. AA was a significant predictor of intentions and behavior after controlling for TPB variables (Studies 1 and 2) plus past behavior (Study 2). In Study 1, AAR was a significant predictor of behavior, but not intentions, when controlling for TPB variables. In Study 2, AAR was a significant predictor of intentions when controlling for both TPB variables plus past behavior (Study 2), but was not a significant predictor of behavior when controlling for either of these variables. Several relationships were moderated by health-behavior category.
Conclusions:
Both AA and AAR are important predictors of health behaviors and can have independent effects on intentions and action. Studies manipulating both variables to test their independent and combined effects on behavior change are required.
In research clinic settings, overweight adults undertaking HIIT (high intensity interval training) improve their fitness as effectively as those undertaking conventional walking programs but can do so within a shorter time spent exercising. We undertook a randomized controlled feasibility (pilot) study aimed at extending HIIT into a real world setting by recruiting overweight/obese, inactive adults into a group based activity program, held in a community park.
Participants were allocated into one of three groups. The two interventions, aerobic interval training and maximal volitional interval training, were compared with an active control group undertaking walking based exercise. Supervised group sessions (36 per intervention) were held outdoors. Cardiorespiratory fitness was measured using VO2max (maximal oxygen uptake, results expressed in ml/min/kg), before and after the 12 week interventions.
On ITT (intention to treat) analyses, baseline (N = 49) and exit (N = 39) [Formula: see text]O2 was 25.3±4.5 and 25.3±3.9, respectively. Participant allocation and baseline/exit VO2max by group was as follows: Aerobic interval training N = 16, 24.2±4.8/25.6±4.8; maximal volitional interval training N = 16, 25.0±2.8/25.2±3.4; walking N = 17, 26.5±5.3/25.2±3.6. The post intervention change in VO2max was +1.01 in the aerobic interval training, -0.06 in the maximal volitional interval training and -1.03 in the walking subgroups. The aerobic interval training subgroup increased VO2max compared to walking (p = 0.03). The actual (observed, rather than prescribed) time spent exercising (minutes per week, ITT analysis) was 74 for aerobic interval training, 45 for maximal volitional interval training and 116 for walking (p = 0.001). On descriptive analysis, the walking subgroup had the fewest adverse events.
In contrast to earlier studies, the improvement in cardiorespiratory fitness in a cohort of overweight/obese participants undertaking aerobic interval training in a real world setting was modest. The most likely reason for this finding relates to reduced adherence to the exercise program, when moving beyond the research clinic setting.
ACTR.org.au ACTRN12610000295044.
Traditional self-report measures suffer from weaknesses in either the quantitative or qualitative assessment of subjective experience. Researchers interested in the subjective intensity of oral sensation have attempted to reduce these scale limitations by developing rating scales with empirically determined placement of verbal descriptors along a continuous visual analogue scale continuum. In the present research, a similar empirical approach to scale construction was adopted to develop a rating scale of emotional valence. The potential benefits of using an empirically derived valence scale and techniques for validating the scale are discussed.
Factor-analytic evidence has led most psychologists to describe affect as a set of dimensions, such as displeasure, distress, depression, excitement, and so on, with each dimension varying independently of the others. However, there is other evidence that rather than being independent, these affective dimensions are interrelated in a highly systematic fashion. The evidence suggests that these interrelationships can be represented by a spatial model in which affective concepts fall in a circle in the following order: pleasure (0), excitement (45), arousal (90), distress (135), displeasure (180), depression (225), sleepiness (270), and relaxation (315). This model was offered both as a way psychologists can represent the structure of affective experience, as assessed through self-report, and as a representation of the cognitive structure that laymen utilize in conceptualizing affect. Supportive evidence was obtained by scaling 28 emotion-denoting adjectives in 4 different ways: R. T. Ross's (1938) technique for a circular ordering of variables, a multidimensional scaling procedure based on perceived similarity among the terms, a unidimensional scaling on hypothesized pleasure–displeasure and degree-of-arousal dimensions, and a principal-components analysis of 343 Ss' self-reports of their current affective states. (70 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Organizes evidence around adherence models of exercise behavior that consider the exerciser, the exercise setting, and the person–setting interaction in order to determine factors that cause recidivism in exercise programs. The psychology, biology, and history/background of the exerciser are reviewed. Addiction/dependence and stage theory are discussed with regard to the person–setting interaction. Also illustrated are the predictive limitations of studies that have focused solely on screening and diagnosis or on intervention and control rather than on a strategy combining both approaches. The timeliness of controlled research on exercise adherence is reinforced by the growing use of various interventions for the enhancement of exercise behavior in clinical settings and by similarities between adherence to health-related exercise and compliance with other types of medical prescriptions. (108 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Two studies examined the reliability and validity of the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES). In Study 1, each of 37 undergraduates rode an exercise bicycle under control and external focus conditions. As predicted, Ss reported enjoying the exercise more, as measured by the PACES, in the external focus condition. Moreover, there was a significant negative correlation in the control condition between Ss PACES scores and their scores on a measure of boredom proneness. In Study 2, each of 37 undergraduates rode an exercise bicycle and jogged on a minitrampoline in separate sessions; each then chose one of these activities for their 3rd session. As predicted, there was a significant relationship between Ss PACES ratings (completed after each activity) and their choices of activity. Test–retest reliability was high for jogging and moderate for bicycling. The PACES had high internal consistency in both studies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Objectives: Based on Self-Determination Theory [SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985. Intrinsic motivation and self determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum Press], this study examined differences in perceived autonomy support, psychological need satisfaction, self-determined motivation, exercise behaviour, exercise-related cognitions and general well-being, between overweight/obese individuals who demonstrated greater adherence to an exercise on prescription programme and those who adhered less. In addition, this study explored the motivational sequence embedded in SDT by testing autonomy support as a predictor of psychological need satisfaction, autonomy support and psychological need satisfaction as predictors of the motivational regulations, and autonomy support, psychological need satisfaction and the motivational regulations as predictors of behavioural, cognitive and well-being outcomes. Method: Before commencing, at 1-month, and upon terminating a 3-month exercise on prescription programme, overweight/obese individuals (N=49; M Body Mass Index=38.75) completed a multi-section questionnaire tapping all aforementioned variables. Participants' adherence to the scheme was assessed using attendance records. Results: Multilevel regression analyses revealed that, at the end of the exercise prescription, those individuals who adhered more reported more self-efficacy to overcome barriers to exercise versus those who adhered less. In addition, those individuals who showed greater adherence demonstrated an increase in relatedness need satisfaction over time. For the whole sample, need satisfaction predicted self-determined regulation, and collectively, these constructs corresponded to adaptive exercise related outcomes and general well-being throughout the programme. Conclusions: Based on the results it appears that exercise on prescription schemes would benefit from creating services that foster self-determination via the facilitation of psychological need satisfaction.
In this paper we take stock of recent research on how people summarize and evaluate extended experiences. Summary assessments do not simply integrate all the components of the evaluated events, but tend to focus on only a few features (gestalt characteristics). Examples of these de®ning features include the rate at which the transient state components of the experience become more or less pleasant over its duration, and the intensity of the state at key instances, in particular the most intense (peak) and the ®nal (end) moments. It is not yet suciently clear which speci®c gestalt characteristics dominate summary assess-ments of experiences, nor how this diers across types of experiences or measure-ment approaches. To address some of these issues, we describe new research in this area, discuss potential methodological diculties, and suggest directions for future research.
The public health problem of physical inactivity has proven resistant to research efforts aimed at elucidating its causes and interventions designed to alter its course. Thus, in most industrialized countries, the majority of the population is physically inactive or inadequately active. Most theoretical models of exercise behaviour assume that the decision to engage in exercise is based on cognitive factors (e.g. weighing pros and cons, appraising personal capabilities, evaluating sources of support). Another, still-under-appreciated, possibility is that these decisions are influenced by affective variables, such as whether previous exercise experiences were associated with pleasure or displeasure. This review examines 33 articles published from 1999 to 2009 on the relationship between exercise intensity and affective responses. Unlike 31 studies that were published until 1998 and were examined in a 1999 review, these more recent studies have provided evidence of a relation between the intensity of exercise and affective responses. Pleasure is reduced mainly above the ventilatory or lactate threshold or the onset of blood lactate accumulation. There are pleasant changes at sub-threshold intensities for most individuals, large inter-individual variability close to the ventilatory or lactate threshold and homogeneously negative changes at supra-threshold intensities. When the intensity is self-selected, rather than imposed, it appears to foster greater tolerance to higher intensity levels. The evidence of a dose-response relation between exercise intensity and affect sets the stage for a reconsideration of the rationale behind current guidelines for exercise intensity prescription. Besides effectiveness and safety, it is becoming increasingly clear that the guidelines should take into account whether a certain level of exercise intensity would be likely to cause increases or decreases in pleasure.
The purpose of this Position Stand is to provide guidance to professionals who counsel and prescribe individualized exercise to apparently healthy adults of all ages. These recommendations also may apply to adults with certain chronic diseases or disabilities, when appropriately evaluated and advised by a health professional. This document supersedes the 1998 American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Position Stand, "The Recommended Quantity and Quality of Exercise for Developing and Maintaining Cardiorespiratory and Muscular Fitness, and Flexibility in Healthy Adults." The scientific evidence demonstrating the beneficial effects of exercise is indisputable, and the benefits of exercise far outweigh the risks in most adults. A program of regular exercise that includes cardiorespiratory, resistance, flexibility, and neuromotor exercise training beyond activities of daily living to improve and maintain physical fitness and health is essential for most adults. The ACSM recommends that most adults engage in moderate-intensity cardiorespiratory exercise training for ≥30 min·d on ≥5 d·wk for a total of ≥150 min·wk, vigorous-intensity cardiorespiratory exercise training for ≥20 min·d on ≥3 d·wk (≥75 min·wk), or a combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity exercise to achieve a total energy expenditure of ≥500-1000 MET·min·wk. On 2-3 d·wk, adults should also perform resistance exercises for each of the major muscle groups, and neuromotor exercise involving balance, agility, and coordination. Crucial to maintaining joint range of movement, completing a series of flexibility exercises for each the major muscle-tendon groups (a total of 60 s per exercise) on ≥2 d·wk is recommended. The exercise program should be modified according to an individual's habitual physical activity, physical function, health status, exercise responses, and stated goals. Adults who are unable or unwilling to meet the exercise targets outlined here still can benefit from engaging in amounts of exercise less than recommended. In addition to exercising regularly, there are health benefits in concurrently reducing total time engaged in sedentary pursuits and also by interspersing frequent, short bouts of standing and physical activity between periods of sedentary activity, even in physically active adults. Behaviorally based exercise interventions, the use of behavior change strategies, supervision by an experienced fitness instructor, and exercise that is pleasant and enjoyable can improve adoption and adherence to prescribed exercise programs. Educating adults about and screening for signs and symptoms of CHD and gradual progression of exercise intensity and volume may reduce the risks of exercise. Consultations with a medical professional and diagnostic exercise testing for CHD are useful when clinically indicated but are not recommended for universal screening to enhance the safety of exercise.
The 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is used to describe an accelerometer-derived physical activity/inactivity profile in normal weight (BMI < 25 kg/m2), overweight (25 </= BMI < 30 kg/m2), and obese (BMI >/= 30 kg/m2) U.S. adults.
We computed physical activity volume indicators (activity counts/day, uncensored and censored steps/day), rate indicators (e.g., steps/minute), time indicators (employing NHANES activity counts/minute cut points to infer time in non-wear, sedentary, low, light, moderate, and vigorous intensities), the number of breaks in sedentary time (occasions when activity counts rose from < 100 activity/counts in one minute to >/= 100 activity counts in the subsequent minute), achievement of public health guidelines, and classification by step-defined physical activity levels. Data were examined for evidence of consistent and significant gradients across BMI-defined categories.
In 2005-2006, U.S adults averaged 6,564 +/- SE 107 censored steps/day, and after considering non-wear time, they spent approximately 56.8% of the rest of the waking day in sedentary time, 23.7% in low intensity, 16.7% in light intensity, 2.6% in moderate intensity, and 0.2% in vigorous intensity. Overall, approximately 3.2% of U.S. adults achieved public health guidelines. The normal weight category took 7,190 +/- SE 157 steps/day, and spent 25.7 +/- 0.9 minutes/day in moderate intensity and 7.3 +/- 0.4 minutes/day in vigorous intensity physical activity. The corresponding numbers for the overweight category were 6,879 +/- 140 steps/day, 25.3 +/- 0.9 minutes/day, and 5.3 +/- 0.5 minutes/day and for the obese category 5,784 +/- 124 steps/day, 17.3 +/- 0.7 minutes/day and 3.2 +/- 0.4 minutes/day. Across BMI categories, increasing gradients and significant trends were apparent in males for sedentary time and decreasing gradients and significant trends were evident in time spent in light intensity, moderate intensity, and vigorous intensity. For females, there were only consistent gradients and significant trends apparent for decreasing amounts of time spent in moderate and vigorous intensity.
Simple indicators of physical activity volume (i.e., steps/day) and time in light, moderate or vigorous intensity physical activity differ across BMI categories for both sexes, suggesting that these should continue to be targets for surveillance.
Popular theories of health behavior have often been criticized for neglecting an affective component to behavioral engagement.
This study reviewed affective judgment (AJ) constructs employed in physical activity research to assess the relationship with behavior. Studies were eligible if they included: (a) a measure of physical activity; (b) a distinct measure of AJ (e.g., affective attitude, enjoyment, intrinsic motivation); and (c) involved participants with a mean age of 18 years or older.
Literature searches were concluded in September, 2009 among five key search engines. This search yielded a total of 10,631 potentially relevant records; of these, 102 passed the eligibility criteria. Random effects meta-analysis procedures with correction for sampling and measurement bias were employed in the analysis.
Articles were published between 1989 and 2009, with sample sizes ranging from 15 to 6,739. Of the studies included, 82 were correlational and 20 were experimental, yielding 114 independent samples. The majority of the correlational samples reported a significant positive correlation between AJ and physical activity (83 out of 85), with a summary r of 0.42 (95% CI 0.37 to 0.46) that was invariant across the measures employed, study quality, population sampled and cultural variables. Experimental studies demonstrated that persuasive, information-based, and self-regulatory interventions failed to change AJ; by contrast, environmental and experiential interventions showed promise in their capability to influence AJ.
The results point to a medium-effect size relationship between AJ and physical activity. Interventions that change AJ are scarce despite their potential for changing physical activity. Future experimental work designed to evaluate the causal impact ofAJ on physical activity is required.
The expected emotional consequences of future actions are thought to play an important role in health behavior change. This research examined whether anticipated affective consequences of success and failure vary across stages of physical activity change and differentially predict physical activity adoption as compared to maintenance.
Using a prospective design over a 3-month period, a community sample of 329 healthy, middle-aged adults were assessed at 2 time points.
Anticipated positive and negative emotions, stage of behavior change (precontemplation [PC], contemplation [C], preparation [P], action [A], maintenance [M]), and level of physical activity.
At baseline, anticipated positive emotions were greater in C versus PC, whereas anticipated negative emotions were greater in M versus A and in M versus P. Higher anticipated positive but not negative emotions predicted physical activity adoption and maintenance after 3 months.
Although the expected affective consequences of future success and failure differentiated among individuals in the early and later stages of physical activity change, respectively; only the anticipated affective consequences of success predicted future behavior.
Much research in the last two decades has demonstrated that human responses deviate from the performance deemed normative according to various models of decision making and rational judgment (e.g., the basic axioms of utility theory). This gap between the normative and the descriptive can be interpreted as indicating systematic irrationalities in human cognition. However, four alternative interpretations preserve the assumption that human behavior and cognition is largely rational. These posit that the gap is due to (1) performance errors, (2) computational limitations, (3) the wrong norm being applied by the experimenter, and (4) a different construal of the task by the subject. In the debates about the viability of these alternative explanations, attention has been focused too narrowly on the model response. In a series of experiments involving most of the classic tasks in the heuristics and biases literature, we have examined the implications of individual differences in performance for each of the four explanations of the normative/descriptive gap. Performance errors are a minor factor in the gap; computational limitations underlie non-normative responding on several tasks, particularly those that involve some type of cognitive decontextualization. Unexpected patterns of covariance can suggest when the wrong norm is being applied to a task or when an alternative construal of the task should be considered appropriate.
This research was undertaken to validate a combination of methodologies to determine ventilatory threshold (VT).
Three methods were used individually and then combined to determine VT as follows: 1) ventilatory equivalencies, 2) excess CO2 production, and 3) a modified V-slope method. Three groups of participants-endurance athletes (N = 132), healthy, aerobically active adults (N = 31), and healthy, sedentary/low-active adults (N = 22)-were independently evaluated for VT and compared with the criterion standard lactate threshold (LT) defined as the first rise in blood lactate with increasing intensity of exercise.
VT and LT were significantly correlated using the combined VT method within each study group (r = 0.98, 0.97, and 0.95, respectively; P < 0.001). Mean VO2 values at VT and LT were not significantly different between the three groups (P > 0.20). The combined method improved the determination rate of VT and reduced the standard deviation of the LT - VT difference by 80-170% over the individual methods. During test-retest procedures VO2lt and VO2vt determined by the combined method met criteria demonstrating further reliability.
The combined method to determine VT is valid and reliable across a wide fitness range in healthy individuals and improves the determination rate and accuracy of VT determination over the use of single methods.
The literature related to Borg's ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) scale has revealed inconsistencies about the strength of the relationship between ratings of perceived exertion and various physiological criterion measures, such as heart rate, blood lactate concentration, percent maximal oxygen uptake (%VO2max), oxygen uptake (VO2), ventilation and respiration rate. Using sex of participants, fitness, type of RPE scale used, type of exercise, exercise protocol, RPE mode and study quality, we undertook a meta-analysis to determine the strength of the relationship between RPE scores and the six aforementioned physiological measures. The weighted mean validity coefficients were 0.62 for heart rate, 0.57 for blood lactate, 0.64 for %VO2max 0.63 for VO2, 0.61 for ventilation and 0.72 for respiration rate. Analysis of moderator variables revealed that the following study features could account for the variation of results across studies: heart rate--fitness, type of exercise, protocol and RPE mode; blood lactate concentration--sex, RPE scale; VO2--sex, exercise type, RPE mode; ventilation--sex, RPE mode; respiration rate--exercise protocol, RPE mode. The highest correlations between ratings of perceived exertion and the various physiological criterion measures were found in the following conditions: when male participants (whose VO2 or ventilation was measured) were required to maximally exert themselves (measuring %VO2max or ventilation); when the exercise task was unusual [e.g. when participants were swimming, which is less common than walking or running (when heart rate, %VO2max and VO2 are measured)]; or when the 15-point RPE scale (measuring blood lactate concentration) was used. These findings suggest that although Borg's RPE scale has been shown to be a valid measure of exercise intensity, its validity may not be as high as previously thought (r = 0.80-0.90), except under certain conditions.
Early studies of intuitive judgment and decision making conducted with the late Amos Tversky are reviewed in the context of two related concepts: an analysis of accessibility, the ease with which thoughts come to mind; a distinction between effortless intuition and deliberate reasoning. Intuitive thoughts, like percepts, are highly accessible. Determinants and consequences of accessibility help explain the central results of prospect theory, framing effects, the heuristic process of attribute substitution, and the characteristic biases that result from the substitution of nonextensional for extensional attributes. Variations in the accessibility of rules explain the occasional corrections of intuitive judgments. The study of biases is compatible with a view of intuitive thinking and decision making as generally skilled and successful.
A significant proportion of older adults in The Netherlands do not participate regularly in leisure-time physical activity. The Groningen Active Living Model (GALM) was developed to change this situation for the better. Longitudinal results of the validation of the GALM behavioral change model are presented.
We obtained data on potentially mediating variables of physical activity behavior change (self-efficacy, social support, perceived fitness, and enjoyment) from 96 participants in a prospective study during the 18 months the GALM strategy lasted.
Prospective analyses revealed significant differences in several potentially mediating variables, although some of these differences were contrary to our hypothesis. Discriminant analysis resulted in canonical correlations of 0.50 after 6 months and 0.66 after 18 months of program participation between adherers and nonadherers, respectively; 73.8 and 80.0% of the subjects were classified correctly.
Based on the results, it can be concluded that we partially succeeded in manipulating the potentially mediating variables by means of our GALM strategy. Several mediating variables were identified that reliably discriminated long-term adherers from nonadherers, expanding the generalizability of social cognitive theory-driven variables to a Dutch population.
