Affective responses to different prescriptions of high-intensity interval exercise in hypertensive patients.

BACKGROUND: Studies have indicated that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) promotes similar acute reductions on blood pressure (BP) when compared to continuous moderate aerobic exercise. However, it has been associated with lower affective responses to exercise. Therefore, strategies to improve affective responses to exercise are needed. The purpose of this study was to verify the effect of different prescriptions of HIIT on the affective responses of hypertensive elderly women. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study. Twenty hypertensive women (65.3±4.2 years) performed four HIIT sessions: 10×1:1 at ±20% of self-selected intensity [SSI] Self20), 10×1:1 at ±30% of SSI (Self30), 10×1:1 at ±40% of SSI (Self40) and an imposed intensity session 5×2-min intervals at 80-85% interspersed with 2-min intervals at 40-50% VO2peak (ImpVO2) and one control session with participants remaining in the sitting position for 28 minutes. Affect response, rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and heart rate (HR) were recorded every five minutes during exercise, and systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and HR were assessed before and after sessions. The effect of session and moment on the psychophysiological variables was examined by analysis of variance. RESULTS: Affect was lower in the ImpVO2 when compared to SSI sessions. There was no difference in RPE between sessions. The percentage of HRpeak was higher in ImpVO2 compared to SSI sessions. There were no differences in SBP and DBP responses between the sessions. CONCLUSIONS: HIIT prescribed based on SSI promoted higher affective responses than HIIT prescribed from 80-85%/40-50% VO2peak with similar BP responses.

The Absolute and Relative Reliability of Psychophysiological Responses to Self-Selected Exercise Intensity in Elderly Women.

Background: Self-selected exercise intensity (SSEI) promotes higher affect (pleasure) during exercise, but its reliability is still unclear. Purpose: to evaluate the test-retest reliability and the minimum detectable change of the perceptive and physiological responses in two sessions of SSEI on treadmill in elderly women. Method: Twenty elderly women (ages 65.3 ± 4.2 years) performed two 20-min laboratory-based treadmill aerobic exercise sessions with self-selected intensity. During the sessions, %VO2max, %HRreserve, affect, and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were recorded. Reliability was calculated using the intraclass correction coefficient (ICC) and Bland-Altman plots. The minimum detectable change (MDC) was also calculated. Results: ICC values were 0.98 for % VO2max, 0.83 for % HRreserve, 0.85 for affect, and 0.80 for RPE. No differences were observed in mean values between sessions for all the variables. MDCs were lower than 0.7% for VO2max, 11.7% for HRreserve, 0.7 for affect, and 0.8 for RPE. Bland-Altman plots showed a bias of 0.50% for HRreserve, 3.2% for VO2max, 0.05 for affect, and -0.35 for RPE. Conclusion: Self-selected intensity during aerobic exercise performed on treadmill is reliable, which promotes adequate and lower MDC values on physiological and perceptual responses in elderly women.