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Purpose This study compared the acute effects of an exergame-based calisthenics (EXG) session versus a traditional calisthenics (TC) session on state anxiety levels in healthy adult men, and compared the mean heart rate, number of repetitions performed, enjoyment, and affective valence reported by the participants between sessions. Methods Thirty-six young adult men performed two 30-min sessions of physical exercise in random order (EXG and TC). The same exercise protocol was used for each session; however, the TC session was guided by an exercise science professional. State anxiety was assessed before and immediately after each session. Heart rate was monitored during the sessions. Enjoyment and affective valence were assessed immediately after the sessions. In addition, the number of repetitions performed was recorded. Results There was no significant interaction between sessions (EXG vs. TC) and time (pre vs. post-session) ( p = 0.102), no significant effect of session ( p = 0.587), and no significant effect of time ( p = 0.121). Participants presented a higher mean heart rate (+ 3.5%, p = 0.020) and number of repetitions performed (+ 43.7%, p < 0.001) in the TC session compared with the EXG session. There was no difference in enjoyment ( p = 0.804) and affective ( p = 0.195) valence between the EXG and TC sessions. Conclusion The EXG and TC sessions did not reduce state anxiety levels. Nor did they increase enjoyment or affective valence in healthy young adult men. However, the TC session evoked a higher mean heart rate and higher training volume than the EXG session. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11332-021-00841-9.

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