Enjoyment And Tolerance Of Exercise Intensity In Objectively Versus Subjectively Regulated Interval Exercise In Older Adults

Abstract

High-intensity interval exercise (HIIE) has led to significant improvements in fitness in healthy and clinical populations, including older adults. Recent evidence suggests that treadmill based HIIE using subjectively regulated HIIE may be more practically applicable to the real world and generates a similar training load for older adults to heart rate regulated HIIE. According to the guidelines of the American College of Sports Medicine, information regarding exercise enjoyment and individual preference for and tolerance of exercise intensity should be considered when developing and modifying exercise prescriptions for successful exercise adherence. PURPOSE: To examine the associations of preference for and tolerance of exercise intensity with physiological performance and perceptual outcomes during single sessions of HIIE using either subjectively (SUB) or objectively (OBJ) prescribed exercise in a treadmill in apparently healthy older adults. METHODS: Fourteen participants (71 ± 9 yrs) completed the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale to measure exercise enjoyment and Preference for and Tolerance of the Intensity of Exercise Questionnaire to measure Preference (PREF) and Tolerance (TOL). Participants underwent an incremental exercise test on a treadmill in order to prescribe the OBJ session. This was followed by two randomly assigned HIIE sessions wherein the intensity of the exercise was prescribed and regulated by either heart rate (OBJ) or ratings of perceived exertion (RPE; SUB). The HIIE bouts consisted of 10 cycles of 1-min intervals at 80-90% and 30-40% HRpeak and at 8-9 and 3-4 RPE values for the OBJ and SUB sessions, respectively. Oxygen consumption (VO2), speed, and incline were measured during the OBJ and SUB sessions. RESULTS: Enjoyment was positively associated with speed during the OBJ (r = .60, p = .02) and SUB (r = .84, p < .01) sessions, incline during the OBJ (r = .60, p.03) session, and VO2 during the SUB (r = .73, p < .01) session. PREF was not significantly associated with any of the outcomes. TOL was negatively associated with incline during the SUB session (r = -.51, p = .05). CONCLUSIONS: Enjoyment and TOL scores, through associations with speed and VO2 in subjectively-regulated HIIT sessions, may be important for personalizing and modifying exercise prescriptions in older adults.