A quantitative analysis and qualitative explanation of the individual differences in affective responses to prescribed and self-selected exercise intensities

“The theories that were examined include reversal theory,([62]) opponentprocess theory,([73,89]) multidimensional arousal theory([81]) and the dual-mode theory.([91,93-97,106,107]) Reversal theory, the opponent-process theory and the multidimensional arousal theory were reviewed by Ekkekakis and Petruzzello.”

“First, as discussed earlier, self-paced exercise tends to approach, but not exceed the VT (Ekkekakis et al., 2006; Lind et al., 2005; Parfitt et al., 2006; Rose & Parfitt, 2007), albeit with evidence for some variability (Ekkekakis et al., 2006).”

“Similarly, Rose and Parfitt([87]) reported that participants after the session at self-selected intensity commented on feeling in control, believing that they were able to cope more easily, 878 Ekkekakis”

“…some other studies showed improvements in tension, anxiety, and calmness after exercise, regardless of exercise intensity (5% below, 5% above, and at lactate threshold) participants have exercised at (Parfitt, Rose, & Burgess, 2006; Rose & Parfitt, 2007; Welch, Hulley, Ferguson, & Beauchamp, 2007).”

“Likewise, vigorous physical exercise can lead to immediate pain and discomfort, but can also lead to postbehavior relief for finishing the exercise session, as well as postoutcome pride and satisfaction with the outcomes of exercise (Ekkekakis, 2009; Rose & Parfitt, 2007).”

“Others have suggested that the affective response – exercise behavior relationship might be further explained by differences in motivation to exercise (Bixby & Lochbaum, 2006; Bryan et al., 2007; Focht, Knapp, Gavin, Raedeke, & Hickner, 2007; Rose & Parfitt, 2007).”

“modality of exercise, with a specific focus on the comparative effect and acceptability of selfselected vs prescribed exercise intensity (and modality), as the former intensity shows better affective responses compared to the latter in both adults and adolescents.(36,37) This review has updated the literature on the e…”

“Following a similar methodological approach used in previous studies [7,15,28], psychological variables were recorded after both exercise conditions.”

“Affect is a general term referring to the subjective experience of any valenced state (Rose & Parfitt, 2007).”

“Being left with no choice but to decide for themselves, these individuals feel less confident and report reduced pleasure during physical activity (Rose & Parfitt, 2007).”

“…on affective responses during physical activity are typically conducted in controlled laboratory settings where participants perform a standardized exercise task such as riding a stationary cycle or running on a treadmill for a specific intensity for a prescribed duration (Rose & Parfitt, 2007).”

“Evidence shows that some people find exercise more pleasant and enjoyable than do others (Ekkekakis, Hall, & Petruzzello, 2005; Rose & Parfitt, 2007; Schneider & Graham, 2009; Welch, Hulley, Ferguson, & Beauchamp, 2007) and that the affective response to exercise appears to have a partial basis in…”

“2)Within each exercise session, intensity would increase over time as has been shown in previous intensity self-regulation studies (28,32,33,36).”

“, behavioral choice procedures), greater preference for self-paced relative to imposed moderate intensity exercise [10–15].”

“As noted by Rose and Parfitt (35), this particular set of instructions may lead some individuals to understand it as ‘‘select an intensity which makes you feel happy,’’ which, in turn, would affect the affective responses during exercise.”

“However, observational studies in both adults and young people report that prescribed (fixed) intensity exercise results in less favourable affective responses and effort perceptions in comparison to preferred intensity exercise [14, 15].”

“The inter-individual variability of affective responses within the heavy intensity domain is rather variable as cognitive factors can still outweigh interoceptive cues and homeostatic disturbance can be perceived as both pleasurable and unpleasurable depending on various factors such as the intensity preference and in…”

“…removal of RPE 17 from the graded exercise test protocol would be beneficial to sedentary populations and certain patient populations that may be negatively affected by the demands of high-intensity exercise (Parfitt, Estron, & Connolly, 1996; Parfitt, Rose, & Burgess, 2005; Rose & Parfitt, 2007).”

“Six studies (Ekkekakis and Lind, 2006; Parfitt et al., 2006; Rose and Parfitt, 2007, 2012;Williams and Raynor, 2013; Hamlyn-Williams et al., 2014) were conducted on a treadmill while four studies (Sheppard and Parfitt, 2008; Stych and Parfitt, 2011; Haile et al., 2013; Oliveira et al., 2015) were…”

“Parfitt and Hughes (24) indicated that the previous activity history of the participant may influence affective responses during exercise and contribute to their perception of ability and perception of the intensity of the exercise (28) and thus their overall affective response.”

“However, recent work in human ‘ultraendurance’ athletes (Pearson, 2006) suggests that neurobiological attributes make a greater contribution to performance than has previously been acknowledged (Kayser, 2003; Baden et al., 2005; Noakes, 2007; Rose and Parfitt, 2007; Noakes, 2009): ‘The brain is the oft-overlooked orga…”

“According to Rose and Parfitt (31), a positive affective response can be achieved if an individual perceives they have the ability to complete an exercise session when they are comfortably challenged, which may drive feelings of excitement and enjoyment (32).”

“In fact, recent work in human ‘ultra-endurance’ athletes (Pearson, 2006) suggests that neurobiological attributes make a greater contribution to maximum performance ability than has previously been acknowledged (Kayser, 2003; Baden et al., 2005; Noakes, 2007; Rose and Parfitt, 2007; Noakes, 2008).”

“…other moments at pleasant high-activation Possible association of FS with LT Suggestion of possible limitations of the FAS in the assessment of perceived activation Rose and Parfitt (2007) Balke treadmill grade exercise with four conditions: below-LT, at-LT, above-LT and self-selected Pre-, during…”

“Second, as an illustration of complementarity, Rose and Parfitt (2007) used a mixed method design to explore people’s affective responses to exercise at intensities below-lactate, at-lactate and above-lactate.”

“Given the support of the Dual-Mode Theory in predicting affective responses (Ekkekakis et al., 2010; Parfitt et al., 2006; Rose & Parfitt, 2007), support for self-efficacy in initiating exercise (Bandura, 1998), and support for self-determination theory in understanding exercise behaviors…”

“…during exercise may differ from those following exercise (Backhouse, Ekkekakis, Bidle, Foskett, & Williams, 2007; Ekkekakis, Hall, & Petruzzello, 2005; Rose & Parfitt, 2007), and thus it is important to examine pre-to-postexercise changes as well as changes in affect throughout the exercise bout.”

“Previous studies showed that exercise at a self-selected pace produces an adequate stimulus to maintain and improve fitness (14,15,17,27) and can be linked to positive perceptual (14,15,17,27) and affective responses (14,17,34), which in turn impacts adherence to physical activity programs.”

“When they are answered (e.g., Backhouse et al., 2007; Ekkekakis et al., 2008; Ekkekakis, Hall, Van Landuyt, & Petruzzello, 2000; Hall et al., 2002; Rose & Parfitt, 2007; Welch et al., 2007), they help to clarify and strengthen the rationale upon which a study is based.”

“Some people tend to feel bad during PA, other typically feel good, whereas others feel neither good nor bad (Backhouse et al., 2007; Ekkekakis et al., 2005; Parfitt et al., 2006; Rose & Parfitt, 2007; Van Landuyt et al., 2000; Welch et al., 2007).”

“55–70 % heart rate (HR) max; 50–65 % peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak)], some individuals experience a positive affective response and others a negative response (Ekkekakis et al. 2011; Rose and Parfitt 2007; Van Landuyt et al. 2000).”

“Previous research in both adults [50] and children [51] demonstrate the benefits of self-selection of exercise intensity on affect.”

“This may be unsurprising given studies show that mood increases after exercise [42], and extensive evidence shows that leisure-time physical activity is positively associated with mental health and wellbeing [43].”

“Empirical evidence suggests exercise enjoyment decreases as intensity increases [48–51], with moderate intensity activities being more enjoyable for some individuals [51].”

“Direct quotes were provided from participants to ensure transferability of categorical assertions made by the researchers and so that readers could experience participant perspectives in their own words (Duncan et al., 2008; Rose & Parfitt, 2007, 2010).”

“…have confirmed the hypothesized decline during exercise above VT, but a positive response below VT in healthy active adults (Ekkekakis, Hall, & Petruzzello, 2008), sedentary men (Parfitt, Rose, & Burgess, 2006), sedentary women (Rose & Parfitt, 2007), and active children (Sheppard & Parfitt, 2008).”

“Two studies that examined LT and the implications for the dual-mode model found evidence in support of the model (Parfitt, Rose, & Burgess, 2006; Rose & Parfitt, 2007).”

“Previous studies (Parfitt, Rose, & Burgess, 2006; Parfitt et al., 2000; Rose & Parfitt, 2007, 2012; Sheppard & Parfitt, 2008) limited their findings by the differences in the intensity of both self-selected and imposed exercise sessions.”

“However, the current study is strengthened by use of self-selected exercise during which participants were free to modify intensity continuously throughout each bout, rather than at fixed increments as previously used (33).”

“exercising at either lower intensities, or at a self-selected intensity [45].”

“In addition, blood lactate levels showed that individuals performed the exercise below the anaerobic threshold interval, indicating that our protocol is in the range of moderate intensity exercise (Rose and Parfitt 2007).”

“…studies examining affective responses at (Ekkekakis et al., 2008; Rose & Parfitt, 2010) and above VT (Ekkekakis et al., 2004; Parfitt et al., 2006; Rose & Parfitt, 2007; Sheppard & Parfitt, 2008; Welch et al., 2007) in the imagery condition, the decline was not as steep as that recorded in the…”

“Affect response to self-paced exercise appears to result in a more positive affect, compared to exercise at a prescribed intensity (Parfitt, Rose, & Burgess, 2006; Rose & Parfitt, 2007).”

“Rose and Parfitt (2008) proposed that one such method was”

“…this scale has consistently been shown to reflect a meaningful change in affective valence during exercise (Ekkekakis et al. 2000; Hall et al. 2002; Rose & Parfitt 2007) and to discriminate between affective states experienced while exercising in natural and urban settings (Kinnafick &…”

“…are similar to those reported in previous studies using self-selected protocols (Lind, et al., 2005; Ekkekakis & Lind, 2006; Parfitt, et al., 2006; Rose & Parfitt, 2007) and are in line with the proposals of the dual-mode model of Ekkekakis, et al. (2005), which suggests an interplay of cognitive…”

“…studies have indicated that exercise performed at an individual’s preferred intensity results in FS responses of between 3 and 4 in men (Parfitt et al., 2006) and between 2 and 3 in women (Rose and Parfitt, 2007) and that this intensity is close to the ventilatory (anaerobic) threshold (Table 3).”

“One cognitive factor often examined in this context are perceptions of competence (e.g., Rose and Parfitt, 2007).”

“In addition, recent research has investigated the use of the ventilatory threshold as a marker of transition from pleasure to displeasure with respect to exercise intensity (Ekkekakis et al., 2004; Rose & Parfitt, 2007, 2008) and exercise duration (Woo, Kim, Kim, Petruzzello, & Hatfield, 2009).”

“The reasons suggested for this include that it is the result of a natural warm-up strategy [7], or that it takes time to locate an intensity that is ‘preferred’ [3], or that over time participants adjust to the metabolic requirements and as they become comfortable choose to increase the intensity [5].”

“60) on the two previous studies [24, 25], which examined changes in perceptual parameters (i.”

“The findings are contrary to those of Rose and Parfitt (2012), who reported that among previously inactive participants fewer preferred self-selected-intensity PA (35%) to PA imposed at the ventilatory threshold (41%; 24% reported no preference).”

“Exercise intensity is generally categorized as severe, heavy, or moderate [18, 19] based on blood lactate levels [20], maximum oxygen uptake (V̇O2max) [21, 22], or power output [22].”

“To determine the sample size required for this study, we used the effect sizes (0.27– 0.60) on two previous studies (Decker & Ekkekakis, 2017; Rose & Parfitt, 2007) that examined the changes in perceptual parameters (i.e., RPE and affect) induced by exercise, with a 2 (condition) × > 6 (time) two-…”