| ACUTE
PSYCHOLOGICAL BENEFITS OF EXERCISE PERFORMED AT SELF-SELECTED WORKLOADS:
IMPLICATIONS FOR THEORY AND PRACTICE |
Attila Szabo  |
School of Science, The Nottingham Trent University, UK
| Received |
|
02 May 2003 |
| Accepted |
|
21
June 2003
|
| Published |
|
01 September 2003 |
©
Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (2003) 2, 77-87
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Given that most studies to date examined the connection between exercise
and affect without considering the participants' preferred exercise workload,
in this research the affective-benefits of jogging or running at a participant-selected
pace were investigated in a pilot field and a laboratory experiment. Ninety-six
male and female students (19.5 yrs) took part in the pilot field experiment
whereas 32 women (20.3 yrs) completed the laboratory experiment. In both
experiments, the participants ran/jogged for 20 minutes at a self-selected
pace. They completed an abbreviated version of a 'right now form' of the
Profile of Mood States (POMS - Grove and Prapavessis, 1992) inventory before
and after exercise. In both experiments all dependent measures changed significantly
from pre- to post-exercise, except 'fatigue' and 'vigor' that did not change
in the laboratory. Total mood disturbance (TMD) decreased significantly
in both experiments (68% and 89%). No significant correlations were found
between exercise intensity (expressed as percent (%) of maximal heart rate
reserve) and the magnitude of changes seen in the dependent measures. It
is concluded that exercising at a self-selected workload yields positive
changes in affect that are unrelated to exercise intensity. These results
suggest that the physiological theories linking exercise with positive changes
in affect, in which exercise intensity is instrumental, could not
account for the acute affective benefits of exercise. It is proposed that
a 'cognitive appraisal hypothesis' may be more appropriate in explaining
the acute affective benefits of exercise.
KEY WORDS: Aerobic, affect, emotion, exercise, mood, running,
workload
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