Differential physical and psychological effects of exercise.

Abstract

The physical and psychological benefits of an 8-week individijalized exercise program for 83 "normal" adults were evaluated. The 49 who completed the program differed from the 34 dropouts on preexercise data only on persistence (p < .05), the pretest time spent in exercise, which indicated a possible motivational difference. Those who completed the program showed statistically significant improvements in terms of persistence (p < .001), fitness (p < .001), and physical self-concept (p < .001) and reduced psychological tension (p < .05), as measured by the Profile of Mood States. Persistence correlated significantly with vigor (p < .01), and fitness correlated significantly with both vigor (p < .05) and physical self-concept (p < .05). Analysis of subjects categorized by initial levels of fitness and stress showed that changes in stress following exercise occurred only for those who were below the mean of the sample both physically and psychologically prior to beginning the exercise program. A number of special strategies to motivate those clients who may benefit most from therapeutic exercise programs as an adjunct to stress management are discussed.

Physical Activity, Aging, and Psychological Well-Being

“…Whereas there is little in the literature to suggest what the optimal length of an exercise program should be to assure psychological health benefits, it does appear from the current review (see Figure 1) that programs Iasting less than I0 weeks have a less consistent effect on PWB than longer study protocols. For example, of the 4 studies employing an exercise protocol of less than 10 weeks, 2 reported no effects on PWB (Blumenthal, effect (Simons & Birkimer, 1988;Wilfley & Kunce, 1986). Both studies showed improvements in mood, although Simons and Birkimer noted that the most significant improvements were seen in those subjects who were most disturbed to begin with.…”

“…The final study of this group was conducted by Wilfley and Kunce (1986) and demonstrated a significant relationship between fitness and the vigor scale of the POMS and physical self-concept in 49 adults completing an 8-week exercise program. However, these relationships were present in preprogram data.…”

Short Form of the Profile of Mood States (POMS-SF): Psychometric information.

“…In addition, the POMS-SF has also been used to measure psychological distress in healthy adults (Labott, Ahleman, Wolever, & Martin, 1990;Wilfley & Kunce, 1986). However, the majority of these studies provide little or no psychometric information regarding use of the POMS-SF with these various populations.…”

Effects of exercise on anxiety: A review

“…One of the findings of the study, relevant here, showed that only the exercise group produced a significant increase in positive mood scores, while the control group did not. Wilfley and Kunce (1986) found a significant reduction in psychological tension (tensiodanxiety), as measured by the POMS instrument, with 49 individuals who adhered to individual exercise programmes. Another type of aerobic exercise, swimming, was used by Berger and Owen (1987) in two studies which supported previous findings.…”

“…However, a number of researchers (e.g. , Hughes, 1984;Wilfley & Kunce, 1986) have challenged this view, suggesting that it is overly optimistic. In addition, many of the investigations are plagued by severe *Address correspondence to: J.H.…”