Exercise slightly above the maximal lactate steady state reduces self-efficacy and increases negative affect

Abstract

Objectives: To examine the effect of exercise at and slightly above the maximal lactate steady state (MLSS) on self-efficacy, affect and effort, and their associations with exercise tolerance.Design: Counterbalanced, repeated measures designMethod: Participants performed two 30‐minute constant‐load cycling exercise at a power output equal to that at MLSS and 10 W above MLSS, immediately followed by a time‐to‐exhaustion test at 80% of their peak power output. Self-efficacy, affect and effort were measured before and after 30 minutes of cycling at and above MLSS.Results: Negative affect and effort higher, and self-efficacy and time to exhaustion were reduced, following cycling at MLSS + 10 W compared to cycling at the MLSS. Following exercise at the MLSS self-efficacy, affect and effort were all associated with subsequent time-to exhaustion. However, following exercise at MLSS + 10 W, only affect was associated with time-to exhaustion. Conclusions: Self efficacy, affect and effort are profoundly affected by physiological state, highlighting the influence of somatic states on perceptions and emotions during exercise. The affective response to exercise appears to be associated with exercise tolerance, indicating that the emotional, as well as physiological, responses should be considered when prescribing exercise training.

What is (perception of) effort? Objective and subjective effort during attempted task performance

“…Indeed, studies show that for physical tasks this also manifests in an increased perception of effort over time (Hortsman et al, 1979;Noakes, 2004 task also occurs in cognitive tasks 69 performed at fixed absolute demands due to the reduction in capacity (i.e. fatigue) that occurs (Wright et al, 2008;Hockey et al, 2013;Richter et al, 2016;Bijleveld, 2018;Bambrah et al, 2019). As such, we would expect actual, and thus perception of, effort to differ independently of the submaximal absolute demands of the task as a result of the reduction in capacity (fatigue) experienced during continued task performance 70 .…”