Effect Of Differing Intensities Of Exercise On Affect And Enjoyment

The benefits of exercise are well-known and well-documented, yet adherence to exercise regimens is low. There is an intuitive connection between exercise enjoyment and increasing adherence to exercise programs. Exercise intensity may influence affect and enjoyment during exercise, which may help in prescribing exercise programs and increasing adherence rates. Purpose: To examine the intensity-affect relationship and its influence on exercise enjoyment. Methods: Ten participants (N=10; 5 females, 5 males; M age = 20.7 ??1.7 yrs) exercised at two different intensities [below ventilatory threshold (bVT), above ventilatory threshold (aVT)]. Heart rate (HR; Polar monitor) was assessed throughout each condition; affect was assessed pre-, immediately post-, 10-min post-, and 20-min post-exercise; enjoyment (PACES) was assessed immediately post-exercise; and Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) was assessed during exercise with Feeling Scale (FS) and Felt Arousal Scale (FAS) responses assessed before, during, and after exercise. Results: Self-reported enjoyment was significantly (p= .06) different between the two conditions, with greater enjoyment following the bVT condition. Some differences pre-to post-exercise affect were seen, with reductions in Energy, Tiredness, and Calmness following exercise regardless of intensity condition. Tension increased following the aVT condition relative to the bVT condition. During exercise, aVT resulted in a greater reduction in affective valence than the bVT condition, which resulted in a steady increase in valence. Finally, there were no significant correlations between the affect measured during exercise and self-reported enjoyment. Conclusions: The findings are consistent with previous research and extend that research by examining the link between affect and enjoyment. The results are discussed with respect to the affect-enjoyment- exercise adherence link.unpublishednot peer reviewe