Affective valence predictors from real-world based short sprint interval training

Abstract

Affective valence is typically positive at exercise intensities below the lactate threshold, yet more aversive responses occur at supra-threshold intensities. Nevertheless, the physiological and psychological predictors of affective valence during supramaximal intensities including short sprint interval training (sSIT) have not yet been elucidated. Seventeen (7 women/10 men) moderately active young adults (age = [28.2 ± 5.6] years; O_2max [maximum oxygen consumption] = [52.9 ± 8.1] mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹; BMI [body mass index] = [24 ± 2] kg·m⁻²) completed four low-volume running sSIT sessions (10 × 4 s efforts with 30 s of passive recovery). We recorded participants’ heart rate (HR), root mean square of successive differences of normal RR intervals (RMSSD), heart rate recovery (HRR), ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), feeling scale (FS), intention and self-efficacy during, and after each session. Overall, no significant correlation (p > 0.05) was found between FS and baseline clinical outcomes. No significant correlation (p > 0.05) was detected between FS and any training parameter. No significant correlations were noted between FS and exercise task self-efficacy and intentions (p > 0.05). The regression model was significant (F_3,61 = 5.57; p = 0.002) and only three variables significantly entered the generated model: ΔHRR_{end-120s end} (p = 0.002; VIF = 2.58; 40.8%), time ≥ 90% HR_peak (p = 0.001; VIF = 1.26; 31.6%), and RMSSD_end (p = 0.025; VIF = 2.23; 27.6%). These findings suggest that HR-based measures, particularly those related to in-task stress (time ≥ 90% HR_peak) and acute recovery (ΔHRR_{end-120s end}, and RMSSD_end), may predict affective valence during real-world sSIT.

Keywords

Repeated sprint training / High-intensity interval training / Perceived exertion / Physiological response / Psychological response / Heart rate

Ethical approval statement

(1) Informed consent from each participant was collected; (2) the study was reviewed and received approval to implement by the Ethics Committee of Instituto Superior de Educación Física, Universidad de la República, Uruguay (2/2020 and date of final approval November 4, 2020); and (3) the study was implemented in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.

Funding statement

This research was founded by Proyectos I + D, Comisión Sectorial de Investigación Científica, Universidad de la República, Uruguay 2018, grant number 192. Daniel Boullosa was supported by Grant RYC2021-031098-I funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, by “European Union Next Generation EU/PRTR”, and by a productivity research grant PQ1-D (317126/2021-0) by CNPq (Brazil).

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Stefano Benítez-Flores: Writing - review & editing, Writing - original draft, Supervision, Resources, Project administration, Methodology, Investigation, Funding acquisition, Formal analysis, Data curation, Conceptualization. Flávio A. de S. Castro: Writing - review & editing, Writing - original draft, Supervision, Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis, Data curation. Eduardo Caldas Costa: Writing - review & editing, Writing - original draft, Supervision, Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis. Daniel Boullosa: Writing - review & editing, Writing - original draft, Supervision, Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis. Todd A. Astorino: Writing - review & editing, Writing - original draft, Supervision, Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledge Statement

We thank the participants for their dedication to the study, as well as Analía Acuña for her assistance during data collection.

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