Cited by 161Cardiovascular and exercise physiologySports Performance and TrainingPhysical Activity and Health

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 39 of the 40 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 38 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Continuous and High-Intensity Interval Training: Which Promotes Higher Pleasure?

Open access

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To compare the psychological responses to continuous (CT) and high-intensity interval training (HIT) sessions. METHODS: Fifteen men attended one CT session and one HIT session. During the first visit, the maximum heart rate, VO2Peak and respiratory compensation point (RCP) were determined through a maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test. The HIT stimulus intensity corresponded to 100% of VO2Peak, and the average intensity of both sessions was maintained at 15% below the RCP. The order of the sessions was randomized. Psychological and physiological variables were recorded before, during and after each session. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the average percentages of VO2 during the two exercise sessions (HIT: 73.3% vs. CT: 71.8%; p = 0.779). Lower responses on the feeling scale (p≤0.01) and higher responses on the felt arousal scale (p≤0.001) and the rating of perceived exertion were obtained during the HIT session. Despite the more negative feeling scale responses observed during HIT and a greater feeling of fatigue (measured by Profile of Mood States) afterwards (p<0.01), the physical activity enjoyment scale was not significantly different between the two conditions (p = 0.779). CONCLUSION: Despite the same average intensity for both conditions, similar psychological responses under HIT and CT conditions were not observed, suggesting that the higher dependence on anaerobic metabolism during HIT negatively influenced the feeling scale responses.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

In 15 men, HIT at 100% VO2Peak and CT matched for average intensity produced different acute psychological responses: HIT felt less pleasant and more arousing/exerting during exercise, even though post-exercise enjoyment did not differ. The authors suggest greater anaerobic dependence during HIT negatively influenced feeling-scale responses.

Key findings

  • Average %VO2 did not differ significantly between HIT and CT (HIT 73.3%, SD 3.5% vs CT 71.9%, SD 7.5%; p=.31), but HIT had higher average %HR (88.1% vs 80.4%; p<.001) and VCO2 (3.13 vs 2.71 L·min−1; p<.001).
  • During HIT, Feeling Scale responses were lower (e.g., Q4: −2.17 vs 1.27; Q5: −2.67 vs 0.80; both p<.001), while Felt Arousal Scale and RPE were higher (e.g., Q5 FAS: 5.67 vs 4.20, p<.01; Q5 RPE: 9.67 vs 4.83, p<.001).
  • Post-exercise POMS fatigue increased more after HIT (8.7 vs 4.2; p<.01), but Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale scores did not differ significantly (HIT 97.8 vs CT 96.2; p=.779).
  • HIT sessions were shorter on average (19.2 vs 23.9 min; p=.01), and 8 participants could not complete the HIT session due to fatigue.

Methods

  • Fifteen men from a university community in Rio de Janeiro (mean age 24 years, SD 4; mean VO2Peak 47.9 mL·kg−1·min−1, SD 7.4) attended one CT and one HIT session in a randomized, counterbalanced crossover design.
  • A maximal treadmill test determined VO2Peak, maximum HR, and respiratory compensation point; HIT used 100% VO2Peak stimuli with recovery adjusted to match the CT average intensity, set 15% below RCP.
  • Psychological measures included FS, FAS, CR10 RPE, POMS, and PAES; physiological variables included HR and gas exchange. Sessions were divided into quintiles; analyses used paired t-tests, repeated-measures ANOVA, effect sizes, and circumplex-model representation.

Limitations

  • Stated by the authors: no lactate monitoring; HIT affective responses were recorded after stimuli but not after recovery periods; repeated scale administration could induce reactivity; laboratory testing reduces external validity, though measuring affect during HIT may increase it.
  • Evident from the text: the sample was small (15 men), young, low-risk, and university-based, limiting generalizability; HIT duration was significantly shorter and 8 participants dropped out before completion, which may confound comparisons between conditions.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1371/journal.pone.0079965

Cites

39 of 39 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Figures

Figure 1 Circumplex model to CT and HIT sessions. HIT - high intensity interval training; CT - continuous training; FS - Feeling Scale; and FAS - felt arousal scale.
Figure 1 Circumplex model to CT and HIT sessions. HIT - high intensity interval training; CT - continuous training; FS - Feeling Scale; and FAS - felt arousal scale.CC BY · PubMed Central

Verification

Claims the paper makes

32 Not checked yet · 26 Own result · 10 Own method · 10 Own interpretation · 2 No basis given

Verify all 38 references — free account

Show all 39 claims

  • It may state two separate claims as one. 22
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 30
41 of 41
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The higher VCO2 observed during HIT reflects a greater dependence on anaerobic metabolism.

    “suggesting that the higher dependence on anaerobic metabolism during HIT negatively influenced the feeling scale responses.”
    “The average VCO2 was 2.71 L.min−1 (SD = .36) in the CT condition and 3.13 L.min−1 (SD = .53) in the HIT condition, and the difference between the two conditions was significant (t = 5.70, p<.001, η2 = .69).”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The FS and FAS are related to basic affect, whereas the PAES is related to an emotional state.

    “It is important to consider that the FS and FAS are related to basic affect, whereas the PAES is related to an emotional state”
2 of 2

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

2 of 2

Citations

Cites

Show all 40 references

Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. ACSM (2010) ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription. Baltimore, MD: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
  2. WG Hopkins, 2006, Estimating sample size for magnitude-based inferences, Sportsci, 10, 63
  3. Siri WE (1961) Body composition from fluid spaces and density. In: A BJeH, editor. Techniques of Measuring Body Composition. Washington D.C: National Academy of Science. pp. 233–244.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Metadata

Authors
Oliveira, B. R. R., Slama, F. A., Deslandes, A. C., Furtado, E. S., & Santos, T. M.
Affiliations
  • University Gama Filho (BR)
  • Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (BR)
Corresponding author
Santos, Tony M.
Venue
PLoS ONE
Published
2013-11-26
Volume
8
Issue
11
Pages
e79965
ISSN
1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2126330855
Cited by
161
References
40
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 4
FWCI
18.91
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
  • Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology (medical) › Cardiovascular and exercise physiology
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Orthopedics and Sports Medicine › Sports Performance and Training
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Physical Activity and Health
Keywords
high-intensity interval training, continuous training, exercise enjoyment, perceived exertion, fatigue, anaerobic metabolism, exercise intensity, respiratory compensation point, mood states
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Humans, Male, Models, Theoretical, Psychological Tests, Exercise, Young Adult, Pleasure

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

A language model drew the claims from the paper on 2026-10-10, under version 3 of the claim definition (model deepseek-v4.1-flash, prompt extract-v3).

A second model labelled each claim on 2026-10-10 (model jev-1.13-20260917, definition revision gold-guideline-v0.2).

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review