State anxiety responses to 60 minutes of cross training: Figure 1

Abstract

Objectives: Significant reductions in state anxiety following bouts of aerobic exercise have been consistently noted, whereas changes are generally absent after acute resistance training. However, the influence of a single exercise session involving both modes on state anxiety has not been examined. Methods: To address this, state anxiety responses to 60 minutes of cross training were examined in 16 collegiate athletes (12 women, four men). Each subject completed two cross training exercise sessions (30 minutes of resistance training, 30 minutes of bicycle ergometry) in which the order of the exercises was reversed, with a minimum of one week between sessions. Each exercise mode was completed at about 70% of maximum. State anxiety (SAI-Y1) was assessed five minutes before, and 0, 10, and 60 minutes after exercise. Results: Repeated measures analysis of variance showed a significant (p<0.05) main effect for time. However, the main effect for order and the order by time interaction were not significant. Post hoc analysis showed that state anxiety was reduced (p<0.05) from baseline (mean (SD) = 34.8 (7.9)) at 10 minutes (32.1 (7.5)) and 60 minutes (30.4 (5.9)) after exercise, but not at 0 minutes (33.8 (6.9)). Conclusions:The results indicate that combined sessions of aerobic and resistance exercise are associated with reductions in state anxiety, and that the order in which the exercise is completed does not influence this response. R esearch indicates that physical exercise is associated with improvements in aspects of mental health.1 In the case of acute bouts of aerobic exercise completed at intensities prescribed for cardiovascular enhancement, state anxiety reductions last for two to four hours after the cessation of activity.2 3 These anxiety reductions have also been shown to be greater than control or placebo interventions.3 Compared with the large body of research on acute aerobic exercise, relatively few studies have involved resistance training. The findings of this work indicate that acute bouts of resistance training either do not result in reduced state anxiety, 4 5 or result in reductions that are delayed for anywhere from 30 minutes 6 up to 120 minutes after the cessation of exercise. [7][8][9] Hale and Raglin 10 observed reductions in state anxiety after resistance training in persons with average or above average baseline values of state anxiety, but not in persons with baseline values that fell one standard deviation below the published norms. 11Hence, with some exceptions, it appears that acute aerobic exercise is more effective in reducing state anxiety than resistance training.Research has been conducted to investigate the influence of exercise sessions that combine aerobic and resistance activity-that is, cross training-on physiological variables such as VO 2 MAX, insulin resistance, and blood hormone levels, 12-14 but the psychological influences of this form of exercise have not been investigated. Given the apparent differences in the state anxiety responses to aerobic and resistance exerc...

State anxiety and subjective well-being responses to acute bouts of aerobic exercise in patients with depressive and anxiety disorders

“…Higher scores indicate higher levels of anxiety. The SAI has been extensively validated and is the most widely used measure of anxiety in exercise research 2. The internal consistency assessed by Cronbach’s alpha coefficients in the present study was 0.96.…”

“…In 21 (87%) of the studies, acute exercise resulted in a significant reduction in state anxiety. It appears that acute aerobic exercise is more effective than weight training 1 2 3 4. In acute bouts of aerobic exercise, state anxiety reductions last for 2–4 h after cessation of activity 2.…”

“…It appears that acute aerobic exercise is more effective than weight training 1 2 3 4. In acute bouts of aerobic exercise, state anxiety reductions last for 2–4 h after cessation of activity 2. Individuals with high state anxiety and unfit subjects show the greatest improvement post-exercise.…”

Physical Activity and Health

“…Results are relatively unequivocal in this respect. Immediately after a session of physical activity, most people report a decrease in state anxiety, which is still detectable 1-1.5 h after the end of the training (Cox et al, 2004;Hale et al, 2002;Knapen et al, 2009). While the short-term effects of acute physical activity on state anxiety are well documented, the long-term effects of chronic (habitual) physical activity on trait anxiety are still subject to debate: A meta-analysis by Herring et al 2010 confirmed the causal link between regular exercise and trait anxiety, whereas meta-analyses by Long and van Stavel (1995) and Schlicht (1994) did not find convincing evidence in support of this effect.…”

Actividad física y enfermedad

“…Es llamativa la modulación positiva sobre las funciones orgánicas generales, cómo son la inflamación (29,9), la inmunidad (8,30) o la distribución de los depósitos grasos (31). Y también se han apreciado mejorías de las funciones psíquicas, consistentes en un mayor optimismo (32), una menor ansiedad (33) y una mejora del sueño nocturno. Todos estos cambios propician, a cualquier edad, una mayor calidad de vida y disminuyen la morbi-mortalidad, no sólo cardiovascular, sino también global (34).…”