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Affective Responses to Increasing- and Decreasing-Intensity Resistance Training Protocols.

Jasmin C Hutchinson¹, Leighton Jones², Panteleimon Ekkekakis³

¹Department of Exercise Science and Athletic Training, Springfield College, Springfield, MA,USA.

Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology

|March 8, 2023

Summary

Decreasing the intensity of resistance training during a session leads to more positive feelings during and after exercise. This finding suggests a better approach for resistance exercise enjoyment.

Keywords:

affect opposing slopes remembered pleasure resistance exercise

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Area of Science:

Exercise Physiology
Sport Psychology

Background:

Affective responses significantly influence exercise adherence.
Understanding how training protocols impact psychological states is crucial for long-term engagement.

Purpose of the Study:

To compare the effects of increasing-intensity (UP) versus decreasing-intensity (DOWN) resistance training protocols on affective responses.
To determine how training intensity patterns influence immediate and remembered pleasure during resistance exercise.

Main Methods:

Novice participants were randomly assigned to either an UP or DOWN resistance training group.
Affective valence was measured throughout six training sessions using linear mixed-effects models.
Remembered pleasure was assessed post-exercise.

Main Results:

The DOWN group reported improved affective valence during exercise, while the UP group reported a decline.
Participants in the DOWN group experienced significantly higher remembered pleasure compared to the UP group.
Training intensity pattern significantly moderated the evolution of affective valence within sessions.

Conclusions:

A decreasing-intensity resistance training protocol enhances immediate affective responses during exercise.
The DOWN protocol leads to more positive retrospective evaluations of resistance training.
Manipulating intensity patterns may be a viable strategy to improve exercise affect and adherence.