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This study aimed to understand determinants of recalled in-task affective valence experienced during a regularly performed aerobic bout in adult exercisers aged 55+. Qualitative data were collected (January to March, 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic) using interviews wherein individuals (N = 16, 69% women, 61 ± 5 years) recalled deviations in affective valence in response to a regularly completed bout. Using thematic analyses, two themes emerged regarding how COVID-19 impacted regular exercise behaviors: (a) "loss" and (b) "adaptation." Two themes encompassed the determinants of recalled in-task affective valence: (a) "person-specific conditions" and (b) "external conditions." Finally, an increase in duration/intensity during a pleasant session was indicated by 44% of the participants, while 75% indicated a decrease in duration/intensity during an unpleasant session. The participants indicated that affective valence was determined by previously cited and novel factors that relate to exercise performed in naturalistic environments. Volitional modifications to planned exercise volume appear more responsive to feelings of displeasure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

African American (AA) women have disproportionately high physical inactivity and obesity prevalence rates in comparison to their gender and racial counterparts. AA women experience unique barriers to leisure-time physical activity (LTPA); however, methods to overcome these barriers are less developed. Therefore, this study used semistructured interviews to explore strategies of young, active AA women that support LTPA maintenance and to identify their psychosocial and behavioral characteristics. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire-long was also administered to provide descriptors of participants' LTPA. Ten women (age: M = 26.1, SD = 1.7 years) who met national guidelines for aerobic or muscle-strengthening LTPA at least 6 months (aerobic LTPA: M = 2,578.0, SD = 1,228.5 metabolic equivalent-minutes [MET-min]/week; muscle-strengthening physical activity: M = 4.0, SD = 1.9 days/week) completed the study. Four categories emerged from the interviews: (a) early-life contributors to LTPA participation, (b) characteristics of current LTPA, (c) initiating LTPA participation, and (d) maintaining LTPA participation. Findings revealed participants identified weightlifting as a preferred type of LTPA, identified various planning/preparation methods to overcome LTPA challenges, and relied on social media to initiate and maintain LTPA. This study identified several strategies used by young AA women to maintain regular LTPA and program preferences. These data are important in this understudied group as similar strategies may help inactive young AA women overcome LTPA challenges and promote long-term adherence. This could help prevent health and physical activity disparities in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the influence of health-related fitness on cardiometabolic risk factors in college students. Participants: 75 traditional students (33 men and 42 women, 21.8±1.8 years old) at a university in southeastern U.S. Methods: Height, weight, waist circumference, body composition, blood pressure, lipids, glucose, insulin, c-reactive protein, and glucose tolerance were measured. Indices of insulin sensitivity were calculated. Aerobic and muscular fitness were measured. Regression and correlation analyses, and comparisons of cardiometabolic markers in low- vs high-fit participants were performed. Results: Men and women with low muscular fitness exhibited higher fasting insulin, and poorer insulin sensitivity index scores than those with high muscular fitness. In addition, women with high body fat percentage exhibited higher fasting and 2-hour insulin levels and lower insulin sensitivity index scores than those with low body fat percentages. Conclusions: College students possessing low levels of health-related physical fitness exhibited less favorable cardiometabolic risk profiles.

The current study explored concordance in spouses' perceptions about exercise and how these perceptions predicted observed and self-reported marital functioning using a sample of 64 older married couples. Although couples were similarly motivated to exercise, their views on their physical fitness and potential barriers to exercise were uncorrelated. Dyadic analyses suggested that spouses' exercise perceptions, particularly husbands', were associated with how spouses treated each other during a marital problem-solving task and with their concurrent and future marital satisfaction. Exploring how spouses' views of exercise are related to their marital functioning and for whom these links are most salient may highlight potential opportunities and challenges for those wishing to strengthen couples' individual and relational well-being through exercise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has shown that various modes of exercise may elicit significant increases in resting metabolism for up to 24 hours post-exercise, but typically using untrained or moderately active subjects. The purpose of the present study was to compare excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) between circuit-style resistance training (RT) and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) in young, aerobically fit women. During the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle, seven participants reported to the laboratory for evening and morning baseline resting metabolic rate (RMR) measurements via indirect calorimetry. Participants fasted and slept overnight in the laboratory between RMR measurements. Following the morning RMR measurement, participants were randomly assigned to complete either a total-body, circuit-style RT protocol (30 seconds of lifting at 80% 1RM:one minute rest) or treadmill HIIT (30-second run at 90% VO2 max:one minute stationary recovery). RMR was repeated 14 and 24 hours post-exercise. All procedures were replicated during the follicular phase of the next menstrual cycle using the remaining exercise protocol. Resting VO2 was significantly (p<0.05) higher 14 hours after RT (3.8±0.3 ml/kg/min) compared to baseline (3.4±0.3 ml/kg/min), however HIIT showed no significant change (3.7±0.3 ml/kg/min). Both RT and HIIT showed significantly higher energy expenditure 14 hours post-exercise (33±5 and 33±4 kcals/30 minutes, respectively) compared to baseline (30±3 kcal). Neither protocol sustained a RMR change at 24 hours. Based on the magnitude and duration of post-exercise energy expenditure, EPOC responses may be a worthwhile consideration when prescribing exercise for weight maintenance in young, fit women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Little is known about high-intensity interval training (HIIT) in African-American (AA) women. The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the effects of HIIT and steady-state (SS) exercise on cardiometabolic risk factors in young AA women. Design: A 16-week exercise intervention was conducted 3x/week. Twenty-seven AA women were randomized to SS (n = 11; 32 continuous minutes of treadmill walking at 60-70% of maximum heart rate (HRmax)), or HIIT (n = 16; 32 min of treadmill HIIT alternating 3 min at 60-70% of HRmax with 1 min at 80-90% of HRmax). Two-way repeated measures ANOVA with intention-to-treat analysis was used to identify changes between groups. Significance was accepted at P ≤ 0.05. Results: Of the 27 women who entered the study (age: 30.5 ± 6.8 years; BMI: 35.1 ± 5.1 kg/m2; 5274 ± 1646 baseline steps/day), 14 completed the intervention. HIIT significantly decreased waist circumference (107.0 ± 11.3 to 105.1 ± 11.9 cm) compared to SS, which showed no change. There was a significant time effect for steps where HIIT increased steps/day (5334 ± 1586 to 7604 ± 1817 steps/day), and SS had no change. There were no significant changes in either group for any other measurements. Conclusion: HIIT was more effective at reducing waist circumference and increasing daily steps/day than SS treadmill exercise over 16 weeks. Further research in a larger sample is indicated to evaluate the effects of each protocol on cardiometabolic risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]