If you ’re fairly young and healthy, moderate exercise will probably be more enjoyable than you think

By Christian Jarrett It’s that time of year when many of us are trying our best to begin a new exercise habit. One psychological factor affecting our chances is how we think we’ll feel during the exercise, and how that compares to the way we actually feel when we get going, and how we feel afterwards. A new study in Health Psychology has explored whether it’s possible to increase people’s adherence to a new exercise regime by making their expectations more positive. While the main intervention was a disappointment, there is an encouraging message in the results: moderate-to-vigorous exercise is likely to be more enjoyable than you think, and simply knowing this will probably help you enjoy your exercise even more. Bethany Kwan at University of Colorado School of Medicine and her colleagues recruited 101 healthy young men and women aged 18 to 45. None of them were elite or professional athletes. Their initial challenge was to run for 30 minutes on a treadmill in the lab (at a sustained target intensity of 90 to 100 per cent of their heart rate when first out of breath), and to say how they were feeling at several points throughout and afterwards. The researchers then asked them to repeat the same amount of exercise each day for the next seven days, with their adherence assessed via a heart monitor. Before the participants began, the researchers asked them how they expected to feel during the exercise. Crucially, the researchers manipulated ...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Health Sport Source Type: blogs