Staying active under restrictions: Changes in type of physical exercise during the initial COVID-19 lockdown

Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. The COVID-19 pandemic and the associated governmental restrictions suddenly changed everyday life and potentially affected exercise behavior. The aim of this study was to explore whether individuals changed their preference for certain types of physical exercise during the pandemic and to identify risk factors for inactivity. An international online survey with 13,881 adult participants from 18 countries/regions was conducted during the initial COVID-19 related lock-down (between April and May 2020). Data on types of exercise performed during and before the initial COVID-19 lockdown were collected, translated, and categorized (free-text input). Sankey charts were used to investigate these changes, and a mixed-effects logistic regression model was used to analyze risks for inactivity. Many participants managed to continue exercising but switched from playing games (e.g., football, tennis) to running, for example. In our sample, the most popular exercise types during the initial COVID-19 lockdown included endurance, muscular strength, and multimodal exercise. Regarding risk factors, higher education, living in rural areas, and physical activity before the COVID-19 lockdown reduced the risk for inactivity during the lockdown. In this relatively active multinational sample of adults, most participants were able to continue their preferred type of exercise despite restrictions, or changed to endurance type activities. Very few became physically inactive. It seems people can adapt quickly and that the constraints imposed by social distancing may even turn into an opportunity to start exercising for some. These findings may be helpful to identify individuals at risk and optimize interventions following a major context change that can disrupt the exercise routine

Feeling of pleasure to high-intensity interval exercise is dependent of the number of work bouts and physical activity status

Objectives: To examine the affective responses during a single bout of a low-volume HIIE in active and insufficiently active men. Materials and methods: Fifty-eight men (aged 25.3 ± 3.6 years) volunteered to participate in this study: i) active (n = 29) and ii) insufficiently active (n = 29). Each subject undertook i) initial screening and physical evaluation, ii) maximal exercise test, and iii) a single bout of a low-volume HIIE. The HIIE protocol consisted of 10 x 60s work bouts at 90% of maximal treadmill velocity (MTV) interspersed with 60s of active recovery at 30% of MTV. Affective responses (Feeling Scale, -5/+5), rating of perceived exertion (Borg's RPE, 6-20), and heart rate (HR) were recorded during the last 10s of each work bout. A two-factor mixed-model repeated measures ANOVA, independent-samples t test, and chi-squared test were used to data analysis. Results: There were similar positive affective responses to the first three work bouts between insufficiently active and active men (p > 0.05). However, insufficiently active group displayed lower affective responses over time (work bout 4 to 10) than the active group (p 0.05). Conclusions: Insufficiently active and active men report feelings of pleasure to few work bouts (i.e., 3-4) during low-volume HIIE, while the affective responses become more unpleasant over time for insufficiently active subjects. Investigations on the effects of low-volume HIIE protocols including a fewer number of work bouts on health status and fitness of less active subjects would be interesting, especially in the first training weeks

Comparison of the Physiological, Perception and Affective Responses During Treadmill Walking at Self-Selected Pace by Adult Women of Three Different Age Groups [Comparação das Respostas Fisiológicas, Perceptuais e Afetivas Durante Caminhada em Ritmo Autosselecionado por Mulheres Adultas de Três Diferentes Faixas Etárias]

To compare the physiological, perception and affective responses during treadmill walking at a self-selected pace by previously sedentary women from three age groups. Methods: Sixty-six healthy women were assigned into three groups according to their age: GI (20.0-25.0 yr, n = 22), GII (30.0-35.0 yr, n = 22) and GIII (40.0-45.0 yr, n = 22). Each participant performed (i) an initial medical screening, anthropometric assessment and familiarization; (ii) an incremental treadmill test to determine O2max; and (iii) a 20-min treadmill walking bout at a self-selected pace. During the 20-min of treadmill walking at a self-selected pace, the physiological (oxygen uptake, O2 and heart rate, HR) responses were continuously recorded. The perception (Borg-RPE for the overall body, 6-20) and affective (Feeling Scale) responses were measured every 5 min throughout the test. One-way ANOVA was used for statistical analysis (p < 0.05). Results: one-way ANOVA demonstrated that there were not significant differences in O2 and HR during a 20-min treadmill walking bout at a self-selected pace among the three age groups. However, the % O 2Max, % O2LV, %FC Max, and %FCLV were significantly higher in GIII compared with GI and GII (p < 0.05). Finally, the perception and affective responses during a 20-min treadmill walking bout at a self-selected pace were similar among the three age groups. Conclusion: These findings demonstrated that the physiological but not the perception and affective responses to treadmill walking at a self-selected pace by sedentary women, did differ according to their age group

Gender-based differences in substrate use during exercise at a self-selected pace

The aim of this study was to investigate gender-based differences in substrate use during exercise at a self-selected pace. Seventeen men and 17 women performed a maximal exercise test and a 20-minute bout of self-paced treadmill walking to determine carbohydrate and fat oxidation rates. Gas exchange measurements were performed throughout the tests, and stoichiometric equations were used to calculate substrate oxidation rates. For each individual, a best-fit polynomial curve was constructed using fat oxidation rate (gmin21) vs. exercise intensity (percentage of maximal oxygen uptake, % _ VO2max). Each individual curve was used to obtain the following variables: maximal fat oxidation (MFO), the peak rate of fat oxidation measured over the entire range of exercise intensities; fatmax, the exercise intensity at which the MFO was observed; and fatmax zone, range of exercise intensities with fat oxidation rates within 10% of fat oxidation rates at fatmax. Although the MFO was similar between genders, fatmax was lower in men than in women. Similarly, the ‘‘low’’ and ‘‘high’’ borders of the fatmax zone were lower in men than in women. During exercise at a self-selected pace, carbohydrate oxidation rates were greater in men than in women, despite no gender-based differences in fat oxidation rates. However, fat oxidation contribution to total energy expenditure (EE) was greater in women than in men, despite no gender-based differences in the exercise intensity. In conclusion, although both genders self-selected a similar exercise intensity, the contribution of fat oxidation to EE is greater in women than in men. Interestingly, both genders selfselected an exercise intensity that falls within the fatmax zone

Physiological and perceived responses obtained during gait in self-selected rhythm by women with different body mass indices [Respostas fisiológicas e perceptuais obtidas durante a caminhada em ritmo autosselecionado por mulheres com diferentes índices de massa corporal]

Physiological and perceived responses verified during gait have been widely studied; however, few investigations have tried to compare these responses in groups of different body mass indices during gait in self-selected rhythm. The aim of the present study was to compare the physiological and perceived responses among normative (N), overweighed (OW) and obese ( OB) women during gait in self-selected rhythm. Sixty-six sedentary women, aged between 20 and 45 years and divided in three groups according to their body mass indices participated in the study: (i) N (18.5-24.9kg.m(-2), n = 22); (ii) OW (25.0 - 29.9kg.m(-2), n = 22) and (iii) OB (>= 30.0kg.m(-2), n = 22). Each participant performed a familiarization session and two experimental sessions (maximal incremental test and 20m-walking test in self-selected rhythm) to determine the physiological ( heart rate - HR and oxygen consumption - O(2)) and perceived responses ( perceived exertion - PE) of each session. One-way ANOVA was applied to compare the physiological and perceived responses obtained during gait in self-selected rhythm among the three experimental protocols, applying the Tukey's post hoc test with p < 0.05. Although the obese subjects have registered lower walking velocity (1.30 +/- 0.13m.s(-1)) compared with the normative and overweighed ones (1.69 +/- 0.11 and 1.58 +/- 0.22m.s(-1), respectively) ( p < 0.05), they presented similar physiological response ((58.7 +/- 8.6; 63.1 +/- 12.6; 64.8 +/- 11.1 %O(2) and 75.1 +/- 7.8; 78.8 +/- 8.5; 78.7 +/- 7.2 % HR(max), for the normative, overweighed and obese groups, respectively). Moreover, the perceived responses did not differ between experimental groups (11.6 +/- 1.6; 11.7 +/- 1.6; 12.2 +/- 1.8, respectively). Therefore, it can be concluded that regardless of the BMI, adult women present similar physiological and perceived responses during gait in self-selected rhythm even when walking in different velocities

Psychophysiological Responses to Self-paced Treadmill and Overground Exercise

Speculation exists that a positive affective response experienced during exercise may play an important role in predicting exercise adherence. Previous studies using self-paced exercise protocols have been associated with health benefits and pleasant experiences. However, all of these studies were conducted in laboratories, and consequently, the external validity of the findings may be questionable. PURPOSE: To determine whether environmental settings (treadmill vs overground) differentially influence physiological, perceptual, and affective responses to exercise at a self-selected pace. METHODS: Thirty-four individuals (17 men and 17 women) between 18 and 30 yr volunteered to participate in this study. During the orientation session, individuals underwent an initial screening, anthropometric measurements, and familiarization with the experimental procedures. Next, subjects underwent a maximal treadmill test. In the two experimental trials, participants performed 20-min bouts of treadmill and overground walking at a self-selected pace, which were completed in a counterbalanced order. At least 48 h separated experimental trials. RESULTS: Using repeated-measures ANOVA, overground walking speed was significantly faster than treadmill walking speed (P < 0.01) during the 20-min bout of self-paced exercise. However, exercise intensity (%VO2R and %HRR) and perceived exertion during the session of overground walking were significantly lower (P < 0.05) when compared with those during the treadmill session. In addition, affective valence was more positive during the session of overground walking than during the treadmill session (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: These data extend previous findings by showing that environmental setting influences physiological, perceptual, and affective responses during exercise at a self-selected pace. Self-paced exercise performed over ground resulted in lower perceptual and more positive affective responses

Physiological responses during treadmill walking at a self-selected pace: comparison between genders [Respostas fisiológicas durante a caminhada na esteira em ritmo autosselecionado:comparação entre os gêneros]

The objective of this study was to compare % VO2Max, %HRMax, %HRR, % VO2R, and MET between genders during walking at a self-selected pace and to determine whether the self-selected pace was physiologically effective in maintaining and improving cardiorespiratory fitness. Seventeen men (age: 24.05 ± 3.3 years) and 17 women (age> 22.58 ± 2.67 years) were submitted to two experimental sessions: (I) anthropometric assessment and incremental exhaustion test, and (II) 20-min treadmill walking bouts at a self-selected pace. The independent Student t-test was used to determine differences between genders, at an alpha level of 0.05. No significant differences in %HRMax (58.38 ± 8.86 for men and 62.12 ± 5.91 for women), % O2Max (37.54 ± 10.75 for men and 40.34 ± 7.27 for women), %HRR (36.83 ± 11.77 for men and 38.46 ± 8.33 for women), or % VO2R (31.88 ± 11.17 for men and 34.70 ± 7.74 for women) were observed between genders. However, the walking speed selected (km.h-1) was higher in men (5.96 ± 0.66, p<0.001) than women, a finding that probably resulted in higher MET values for men (6.07 ± 1.57, p<0.05) compared to women (5.23 ± 0.77). In conclusion, both genders selected a walking pace that was not effective in maintaining or improving cardiorespiratory fitness, but MET values were within the range indicated for the maintenance and reduction of body weight. The differences in METs observed between genders might be due to differences in walking speed and anthropometric characteristics

Age and physiological, perceptual, and affective responses during walking at a self-selected pace

The aim of this study was to examine physiological, perceptual, and affective responses during self-paced walking for three age groups. 66 adult women were assigned into three groups by age: 20–25 yr. (n = 22), 30–35 yr. (n = 22), and 40–45 yr. (n = 22). Each participant completed a maximal exercise test and a 20-min. bout of walking at a self-selected pace. The preferred walking speed was similar for all age groups, whereas physiological responses relative to maximal and ventilatory threshold values were greater in the 40–45 yr. group than the other two groups. Nevertheless, perceptual and affective responses were similar for all age groups. These findings suggest that physiological responses, but not perceptual and affective responses, of sedentary women are associated with age during walking at a self-selected pace

The influence of adiposity on physiological, perceptual, and affective responses during walking at a self-selected pace

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of adiposity (%body fat) on physiological, perceptual, and affective responses during walking. 45 women were divided into low, medium, and high tertiles according to %body fat. Each participant completed a maximal exercise test and a 20-min. bout of walking at a self-selected pace. The preferred walking speed was similar among groups, whereas %VO(2) max was greater in the high tertile group compared with the other two groups. Nevertheless, perceptual and affective responses were similar between the groups. These findings suggest that physiological responses relative to maximal capacity but not perceptual and affective responses, of sedentary women are influenced by adiposity during walking at a self-selected pace. However, when the physiological responses are relative to ventilatory threshold, there are no differences between individuals with different levels of adiposity