In the zone: an exploration of personal characteristics underlying affective responses to heavy exercise

Positive affective responses to exercise have been linked with longer term adherence. The Dual-Mode Model indicates that affective responses during heavy exercise (between the ventilatory threshold and the respiratory compensation point) are subject to interindividual variability (zone of response variability). Participants (N = 48) completed measures to assess personal characteristics prior to a graded exercise test (GXT). Responses to the Feeling Scale were recorded during the GXT and subsequently used to group participants as either Negative Responders or Neutral/Positive Responders to heavy exercise. Discriminant Function Analysis was applied and a significant weighted linear composite predicted affective response. Preference for exercise intensity and sex were significant predictors (p = .003). Negative Responders had lower Preference scores and were more likely to be men. The combination of these two variables successfully predicted group membership 71% of the time. Individual differences appear relevant when examining affective responses to heavy exercise

Affect and prefrontal hemodynamics during exercise under immersive audiovisual stimulation: improving the experience of exercise for overweight adults

Objective: Affective responses to exercise are increasingly recognized as contributors to participation and adherence. However, research on methods of improving the affective experience of exercise remains limited, especially for low-active overweight or obese adults. Previous research has established that audiovisual stimulation, acting as attentional distractor, can enhance affective responses, even at vigorous intensity levels. We investigated the effectiveness of low-cost technology (virtual-reality headset and headphones) in improving affective responses over conventional audiovisual stimulation (screen and speakers). Methods: Twenty-one low-active and overweight adults (16 women, age: 34.67±9.62 years, body mass index: 28.56±4.95 kg/m²; peak V̇ O2 for men: 29.14±6.56 ml/kg/min; peak V̇ O2 for women: 22.67±4.52 ml/kg/min) completed three 15-min sessions of recumbent cycling at the intensity of the ventilatory threshold: (a) high immersion (HI), (b) low immersion (LI), (c) Control. Oxygenation of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) was assessed with near infrared spectroscopy. Results: Higher pleasure was reported during HI than LI and control. Participants who reported a preference for low exercise intensity showed higher right dlPFC oxygenation during Control, but this difference diminished during LI and HI. Conclusion: Compared to conventionally delivered audiovisual stimulation, using a virtual-reality headset and headphones strengthens the dissociative effect, thereby further improving affect in response to exercise at the ventilatory threshold among overweight, low-active adults. Presumably by competing with intensifying interoceptive afferents at the level of sensory input, audiovisual stimulation may lessen the reliance on cognitive efforts to attenuate declining affect, as indicated by lower right dlPFC activity, particularly among participants disinclined toward high exercise intensity

Changing Minds: Bounded Rationality and Heuristic Processes in Exercise-Related Judgments and Choices

Experiment 2 was supported by an Outstanding Graduate Student Research Project 20 Award by the Midwest chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine

Exercising for the Pleasure and for the Pain of It: The Implications of Different Forms of Hedonistic Thinking in Theories of Physical Activity Behavior

Exercising for the pleasure and for the pain of it: the implications of different forms of hedonistic thinking in theories of physical activity behavio

Psychologically informed physical fitness practice in schools: A field experiment

Objectives Physical education could play a role in attenuating the decline in physical activity during the childhood-to-adolescence transition and inspiring children to adopt a lifelong physical activity habit. While psychological theories (e.g., Self-Determination Theory, Achievement Goal Theory) offer pointers for desirable changes to practice norms, experimental tests of the effectiveness of theory-based interventions in school settings are lacking. In this study, we compared the effects of a traditional and a novel physical education lesson on affective valence, enjoyment, and perceived satisfaction of the psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Design Within-subjects field experiment, with two counterbalanced conditions. Method The participants were 148 children (4-6th grade, 52% female). Both lessons consisted of practicing aerobic capacity (running), core (curl-ups), and upper-body (push-ups) strength and endurance. In the traditional lesson, practice procedures followed FITNESSGRAM™ test instructions. The novel lesson incorporated elements designed to address basic psychological needs (e.g., freedom to select preferred running path, positive interactions among peers) and other evidence-supported modifications (e.g., music and video). Results Affective valence declined in the traditional lesson but remained stable in the novel lesson. Enjoyment and need-satisfaction for competence were higher after the novel lesson. These differences occurred despite no significant differences in total accelerometer-assessed moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and the intensity of the aerobic components. Conclusions Easily implementable, theory-based modifications to physical education practices could improve the experiences derived by students. In turn, experiencing physical education as more pleasant, enjoyable, and need-supportive could raise the odds of long-term physical activity participation

Affective responses to stretching exercises: Exploring the timing of assessments

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.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Affect and Mindfulness as Predictors of Change in Mood Disturbance, Stress Symptoms, and Quality of Life in a Community-Based Yoga Program for Cancer Survivors

Little attention has been paid to the psychological determinants by which benefits are accrued via yoga practice in cancer-related clinical settings. Using a longitudinal multilevel modeling approach, associations between affect, mindfulness, and patient-reported mental health outcomes, including mood disturbance, stress symptoms, and health-related quality of life (HRQL), were examined in an existing seven-week yoga program for cancer survivors. Participants (N=66) were assessed before and after the yoga program and at three- and six-month follow-ups. Decreases in mood disturbance and stress symptoms and improvements in HRQL were observed upon program completion. Improvements in mood disturbance and stress symptoms were maintained at the three- and six-month follow-ups. HRQL exhibited further improvement at the three-month follow-up, which was maintained at the six-month follow-up. Improvements in measures of well-being were predicted by initial positive yoga beliefs and concurrently assessed affective and mindfulness predictor variables. Previous yoga experience, affect, mindfulness, and HRQL were related to yoga practice maintenance over the course of the study

Different Psychophysiological Responses to a High-intensity Repetition Session Performed Alone or in a Group by Elite Middle-distance Runners

Internal training load refers to the degree of disturbance in psychophysiological homeostasis provoked by a training session and has been traditionally measured through session-RPE, which is the product of the session Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) and the duration. External training load refers to the actual physical work completed, and depends on session volume, intensity, frequency and density. Drafting, which is achieved by running closely behind another runner has been demonstrated to reduce the energy cost of running at a fixed speed and to improve performance. Therefore, it is hypothesized that psychophysiological responses might reflect different levels of internal load if training is performed individually or collectively. 16 elite middle-distance runners performed two high-intensity training sessions consisting of 4 repetitions of 500 m separated by 3 minutes of active recovery. Sessions were performed individually and collectively. Times for each repetition, RPE, core affect (valence and felt arousal) and blood lactate concentrations [BLa] were measured after each repetition. Main time effect was significant and increased across repetitions for [BLa] and RPE (p <0.001), and decreased for valence (p =0.001). Main group effect was significant and values were higher when training individually for [BLa] (p =0.003) and RPE (p =0.001), and lower for valence (p =0.001). No differential responses were found between conditions in terms of repeat time or felt arousal. Findings demonstrate that elite middle-distance athletes running collectively display lower levels of internal training load compared to running alone, despite external training load being similar