Exploring the relationship between in-task affect and enjoyment following acute bouts of varying intensity resistance exercise

Exercise intensity has been shown to influence affect during and enjoyment following aerobic exercise, but little is known about this phenomenon in resistance exercise. Purpose: Examine the dose-response relationship between resistance exercise intensity and affective change with emphasis on affective response during exercise. Methods: Males (N=17; M age = 21.12 ±2.45 yrs) and Females (N=5; M age = 22.6 ±4.72 yrs) completed two resistance training protocols on different days. Individual 10 repetition (reps) maximum (10-RM) was assessed on Day 1 for 7 exercises (bench press, leg curls, bent over rows, leg extensions, shoulder press, biceps curls, triceps extensions); on Days 2 and 3 resistance training protocols at 70% or 100% 10-RM were completed (randomly assigned). Measures of affect (Energy, Tiredness, Tension, Calmness) were taken before, Post-0, and Post-20 min after each condition; enjoyment (PACES) was measured immediately after each condition. Feeling Scale (FS) was measured before, after each set (3 sets, 10 reps, 7 exercises), and at 5, 10, 15 and 20 min post exercise. Perceived exertion (RPE) and Felt Arousal Scale (FAS) were measured before, after each of the 7 exercises, and Post-20 min in each condition. Results: Enjoyment was significantly different between conditions (P= .046; 70%=106.55±10.21; 100%=99.23±17.62; effect size d= 0.53). Energy increased following exercise independent of intensity (p< 0.001), then decreased Post-0 to Post-20 (p< .001). Tiredness decreased Pre- to Post-0 (p=0.003), then increased Post-0 to Post-20 (P=0.038), independent of condition. Calmness decreased following both intensities (p=.007), but increased from Post-0 to Post-20 (p<0.001) independent of condition. Condition x Time interactions were significant for Tension with increased Tension in the 100% 10-RM condition relative to the 70% 10-RM condition (p<.001). Tension was significantly increased Post-0 relative to Pre (p= .003) and Tension Post-0 was significantly greater than Post-20 (p<.001) independent of condition. FS values were significantly higher in the 70% 10-RM relative to the 100% 10-RM condition (p=.002). Finally, affect measured during exercise was significantly correlated with enjoyment (rs=0.37, Ps=0.036), but only for the 100% condition. Conclusions: The findings are consistent with previous research and extend that research by examining the link between exercise intensity, affect and enjoyment to resistance exercise. Further, this shows that in-task affect is important to consider in this relationship