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 (M age = 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.

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; M age = 24.9 years, SD = 3.0; M BMI = 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 ( M difference = −1.57, 95% CI = −2.64 to −0.50, d = 0.93, p = .008) and higher exertion (RPE) ( M difference = 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.

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships of implicit associations and explicit evaluations with affective responses during an aerobic exercise session, physical activity, and sedentary behavior in adults. Fifty adults (70% women; median age = 31 years; 25th, 75th percentiles: 24.50, 40.50 years old; body mass index = 25.29 ± 4.97 kg/m2) not engaged in regular physical activity completed an implicit association test and a questionnaire of explicit evaluations and wore an accelerometer for 7 days. After the 7-day period, the participants performed 30 min of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise. Every 5 min, the affective response and the perception of effort were recorded. Participants who had more positive implicit associations toward physical activity (vs. sedentary behavior) reported higher affective responses during exercise and engaged in more moderate to vigorous physical activity. Encouraging pleasant physical activity may act to partially improve future physical activity through automatic motivational processes.

Crianças e adolescentes com fibrose cística apresentam muitas complicações na saúde ao longo da vida, que implicam na diminuição da capacidade de exercício. O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar o papel do exercício físico na melhoria da função pulmonar e na qualidade de vida em crianças e adolescentes fibrocísticos. Adotou-se a metodologia da revisão sistemática da literatura. Os resultados mostraram que os sete artigos aqui revisados são recentes, apresentam propostas de melhoria da função pulmonar apoiadas em diferentes programas de exercícios. Contudo, ainda há lacunas em relação à prescrição de exercícios para essa população. Concluiu-se que, apesar da importância do exercício físico para a melhoria da função pulmonar e da qualidade de vida de crianças e adolescentes com fibrose cística, a utilização de instrumentos específicos que avaliem a quantidade e intensidade do exercício ainda é limitada. Palavras-chave: Fibrose cística. Exercício. Criança. Adolescente.