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We aimed to investigate the influence of interoceptive accuracy on affective valence, arousal, and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) during 20 minutes of aerobic exercise at both moderate and heavy intensity among physically inactive men. We divided our participant sample into men with poor heartbeat perception (PHP, n= 13) and good heartbeat perception (GHP, n= 15), based on their cardioceptive accuracy. We measured their heart rate reserve (%HRreserve), perceived affective valence (Feeling Scale; +5/-5), perceived arousal (Felt Arousal Scale, 0–6), and ratings of perceived effort (RPE; Borg scale 6–20) every five minutes during an exercise session on a bicycle ergometer. During moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, the GHP group presented a greater decline in affective valence (p= 0.010; d = 1.06) and a greater increase in RPE (p= 0.004; d = 1.20) compared to the PHP group, with no group differences in %HRreserve(p= 0.590) and arousal (p= 0.629). Psychophysiological and physiological responses to the heavy-intensity aerobic exercise were not different between groups. We concluded that the influence of interoceptive accuracy on psychophysiological responses during submaximal fixed-intensity aerobic exercise was intensity-dependent in these physically inactive men.

Context: The rating of perceived effort (RPE) is a common method used in clinical practice for monitoring, loading control, and resistance training prescription during rehabilitation after rupture and anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). It is suggested that the RPE results from the integration of the afferent feedback and corollary discharge in the motor and somatosensory cortex, and from the activation of brain areas related to emotions, affect, memory, and pain (eg, posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus, and prefrontal cortex). Recent studies have shown that rupture and ACLR induce neural adaptations in the brain commonly associated with the RPE. Therefore, we hypothesize that RPE could be affected because of neural adaptations induced by rupture and ACLR.Study Design: Clinical review.Level of Evidence: Level 5.Results: RPE could be directly altered by changes in the activation of motor cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, and prefrontal cortex. These neural adaptations may be induced by indirect mechanisms, such as the afferent feedback deficit, pain, and fear of movement (kinesiophobia) that patients may feel after rupture and ACLR.Conclusion: Using only RPE for monitoring, loading control, and resistance training prescription in patients who had undergone ACLR could lead to under- or overdosing resistance exercise, and therefore, impair the rehabilitation process.Strength-of-Recommendation Taxonomy: 3C.

We investigated the effects of mental fatigue (MF) on affective responses during an aerobic exercise session at moderate intensity. We submitted 12 insufficiently active adults (50% women; Mage = 24.9 years, SD= 3.0; MBMI = 24.3 kg/m2; SD= 2.6) to two 30-minute pre-exercise conditions: an MF condition (Stroop Color-Word task) and a control condition (watching a documentary) prior to their performance of 20 minutes of aerobic treadmill exercise at 40–59% of heart rate reserve. The minimum washout interval between conditions was two days. Perceived MF and motivation to perform physical exercise were assessed before and after conditions with a visual analog scale of 100 mm. We assessed participants’ affective and exertion responses with the Feeling Scale, Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) and heart rate during every two minutes of physical exercise. Implicit attitudes toward physical exercise were assessed by the Implicit Association Test before the MF and control conditions and after the physical exercise session. The participants in the MF condition reported lower pleasure (Mdifference = −1.57, 95% CI = −2.64 to −0.50, d = 0.93, p= .008) and higher exertion (RPE) (Mdifference = 1.16, 95% CI = 0.04 to 2.27, d = 0.66, p= .043) compared to those in the control condition. Participants who experienced MF also reported a more negative implicit attitude toward physical exercise than in the control condition (β= −0.47, 95% CI= −0.73 to −0.21, d = 1.41, p< .001). While these findings should be cross-validated in subsequent research with a larger and more diverse participant sample, there appears to be value in minimizing pre-exercise mental fatigue to avoid negative MF effects on the exercisers’ affective experience.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of a 12-week self-selected resistance training (SSRT) program on physical fitness and psychophysiological responses among physically inactive older women. We randomly allocated 32 inactive older women (Mage = 66.0 years, SD= 3.0) into either an SSRT (n = 16) or control group (n = 16). Participants performed SSRT three times per week over 12 weeks. We assessed maximal isotonic and isokinetic muscle strength, functional capacity, flexibility, cardiorespiratory fitness, and body composition at baseline and after the intervention. Affective responses and perceived exertion were evaluated after each exercise set throughout the training program. The SSRT group significantly improved their maximal muscle strength in all exercises (Cohen’s d ranging from 1.4-3.3; all p’s< .001), peak torque (knee flexors: d = 1.7; knee extensors: d = 1.6; all p< .001), flexibility (knee flexors: d = 1.7; single hip flexors: d = 1.6; all p< .001; bilateral hip flexors: d = 1.1, p= .001), fat-free mass (d = .9, p= .008), and cardiorespiratory fitness (d = .9, p= .014), compared to the control group. All components of functional capacity improved compared to the control group (Cohen’s d ranging from .8 to 5.5; all p’s≤ .001). Participants perceived the exercise training sessions as pleasant and of low to moderate effort. Thus, a 12-week SSRT program was effective at improving physical fitness and inducing feelings of pleasure among inactive older women.

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 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 %VO2max was greater in the high fertile 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.

Bicycle commuting has economic, environmental, and health benefits. However, it is not clear whether adults meet the physical activity guidelines when performing bicycle commuting in ‘real-world’ scenarios. This study aimed: (1) to verify whether adults reach the maximum heart rate percentage (%HRmax) recommended by the physical activity guidelines when doing bicycle commuting; (2) to compare the cardiorespiratory fitness of adults who meet and do not the physical activity guidelines and how they bicycle commute.