Abstract
Endurance physical exercise is accompanied by subjective perceptions of exertion (reported perceived exertion, RPE), emotional valence, and arousal. These constructs have been hypothesized to serve as the basis for the exerciser to make decisions regarding when to stop, how to regulate pace, and whether or not to exercise again. In dual physical-cognitive tasks, the mental (executive) workload generated by the cognitive task has been shown to influence these perceptions, in ways that could also influence exercise-related decisions. In the present work, we intend to replicate and extend previous findings that manipulating the amount of executive load imposed by a mental task, performed concomitantly with a submaximal cycling session, influenced emotional states but not perceived exertion. Participants (experienced triathletes) were asked to perform a submaximal cycling task in two conditions with different executive demands (a two-back version of the n-back task vs. oddball) but equated in external physical load. Results showed that the higher executive load condition elicited more arousal and less positive valence than the lower load condition. However, both conditions did not differ in RPE. This experimental dissociation suggests that perceived exertion and its emotional correlates are not interchangeable, which opens the possibility that they could play different roles in exercise-related decision-making.
Highlights
The code and data for the analyses reported here are available at the Open Science Framework (OSF): https://osf.io/mr8bq/?view_only=5ec6bbde578c4545a72d7303785f0204
The experiment was designed to maintain external physical load constant across the two mental load conditions, which was ensured by setting the cycle ergometer to automatically regulate resistance to keep power output constant
HeartManikin rate (HR), VO2rel, and RER indices were used to test whether the two conditions were matched in terms of internal physical load
Summary
Effects of Mental Demand on Endurance Performance and Related Variables. Scientific interest on the combined influences of physical and mental demands on performance in physical tasks, and ensuing decision making, has increased in the last years [1,2,3]. A number of studies have explored the impact of mental demands on strategic or precision-related aspects of sports performance [4,5], our focus here will be on endurance tasks. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 5576; doi:10.3390/ijerph17155576 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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