Burpee Interval Training Is Associated With a More Favorable Affective Valence and Psychological Response Than Traditional High Intensity Exercise

Abstract

Acute psychological responses to physical activity may help explain long-term adherence to it. Thus, we compared acute psychological responses to different exercise protocols with identical durations. Eighteen moderately active young adults [ Mage = 23, SD = 3 years; MVO2max (maximum oxygen consumption) = 42.8, SD = 4.3 mL·kg−1·min−1; MBMI (body mass index) = 24, SD = 2 kg·m−2] completed three low-volume exercise sessions in a crossover research design: (a) sprint interval training (SIT), (b) burpee interval training (BIT) requiring 10 × 5 second efforts with 35 seconds of passive recovery, and (c) a single bout of vigorous intensity continuous training (VICT) requiring 6 minutes and 5 seconds of running at ∼85% of peak heart rate (HRpeak). We assessed participants’ ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), affective valence, enjoyment, intention, preference, and self-reported recovery and wellness before, during, and after each session. BIT was associated with significantly greater enjoyment, preference, and exercise intention (at 5 × week) than VICT ( p ≤ .05). SIT elicited greater RPE ( M = 5.38, SD = 2.00) than both BIT ( M = 2.88, SD = 1.23) and VICT ( M = 3.55, SD = 1.38) ( p ≤ .05), and we observed a higher increase in RPE over time with SIT versus BIT ( p = .019). For affective valence, SIT ( M = 0.55, SD = 2.12) elicited a more aversive response than both BIT ( M = 2.55, SD = 1.09) and VICT ( M = 1.94, SD = 1.51) ( p ≤ .05), and there was a higher increase in this aversive response to SIT over time ( p < .05). Forty-eight-hour postexercise session muscle soreness was significantly lower with VICT than with BIT ( p = .03). Overall, BIT was associated with more positive psychological responses than SIT and VICT.

Extremely Low-Volume Burpee Interval Training Equivalent to 8 Minutes Per Session Improves Vertical Jump Compared with Sprint Interval Training in Real-World Circumstances

“…Previously, a greater intention to participate 5× a week was noted for BIT vs. SIT (28), which does not support our data. Moreover, we observed a significant trend toward lower self-efficacy across sessions for both groups.…”

“…Sprint interval training and BIT were equal in relation to the type of effort (“all-out”), type of stimulus (multijoint), and work-to-recovery ratio. Passive recovery was accomplished for both interventions, given that this type of rest was well tolerated across running-based SIT and BIT (28). During SIT, subjects were instructed to run as fast as they could, and after recovery, subjects were asked to run in the opposite direction.…”

Remote, Whole-Body Interval Training Improves Muscular Endurance and Cardiac Autonomic Control in Young Adults

“…One possible explanation is that the 14 min HIIT might not be enough of a stimulus to make HRV adaptations appear. On the other hand, 21 min of HIIT might have altered a greater effort to enhance muscle endurance due to the accumulative lactate and peripheral fatigue that whole-body exercises can cause in a longer run [ 57 ]. Ojeda et al provided insight into how whole-body exercises, based on intervallic burpees, create less exertion in an ~6 min protocol than similar intensity-matched exercises [ 57 ].…”

The Influence of Burpee on Endurance and Short-Term Memory of Adolescents

“…Furthermore, its correct execution requires continuous and conscious motor control over its different stages, which are very different from each other and involve all the main body segments (thus, maybe, in some way, mirroring short-term memory capability [ 17 ]). It is noteworthy to recall that Burpee training was already deemed to be associated with more positive psychological responses than other commonly practiced high-intensity exercises [ 18 ]. Therefore, we expected that matching training time between an experimental group and a control group and adding the Burpee exercise to a usual physical education program would further improve both endurance and short-term memory.…”