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Strategies to Enhance the Experience of Exercise

Strategies to Enhance the Experience of Exercise

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03453671
Enrollment
78
Registered
2018-03-05
Start date
2017-12-15
Completion date
2018-08-31
Last updated
2018-10-12

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Physical Activity

Brief summary

This study aims to test the effect of three cognitive strategies to affect individuals' subjective experience of cardiovascular exercise. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three strategies to use while exercising, both during an in-person session and self-directed two week exercise period.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALMindfulness

Participants will use mindfulness techniques while exercising

BEHAVIORALDistraction

Participants will distract themselves while exercising

BEHAVIORALSelf-monitoring

Participants will use associative attentional focus while exercising

Sponsors

University of Colorado, Boulder
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
TRIPLE (Subject, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Masking description

Participants will know their own condition (strategy) but not what the other conditions are. The primary investigator will be blind to participants' assignment to condition.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 40 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

1. Between the ages of 18 and 40. 2. Insufficiently physically active for the past 6-months (i.e., does not meet American College of Sports Medicine \[ACSM\] guideline for cardiorespiratory exercise). The ACSM guidelines state that all healthy adults should engage in a minimum of 150 minutes per week of moderate intensity cardiorespiratory exercise, or 75 minutes per week of vigorous intensity exercise, or an equivalent combination of the two). On the eligibility screen assessment, we will define moderate and vigorous intensity exercise. Then we will ask individuals to report how many minutes of moderate and vigorous intensity exercise they engage in per week. We will use the ACSM's rule of thumb that 1 minute of moderate intensity exercise is equivalent to 2 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise. This will help to ensure that prospective participants who exercise for less than 150 minutes per week are not actually meeting the ACSM guidelines for cardiorespiratory fitness by engaging in vigorous intensity exercise. Thus, if total minutes of moderate intensity exercise and total minutes of vigorous intensity exercise (multiplied by 2) per week is equal to or greater than 150, callers will not be eligible for study inclusion. 3. Physically capable of safely engaging in moderate-intensity physical activity (PA) 4. Able and willing to access the Internet daily for two weeks 5. Willing to accept random assignment. 6. Have a smartphone or other mobile device (e.g., iPod Touch) that can play media (important if participants are assigned to the distraction condition) 7. Willing to engage in an exercise intervention specifically involving walking, jogging, running, or hiking (not other types of exercise)

Exclusion criteria

1. Are diabetic or receiving treatment for a metabolic disorder 2. Are currently pregnant 3. Are currently on antipsychotic medications 4. Have a history of cardiac or respiratory disease 5. Are receiving treatment for a heart condition or high blood pressure 6. Experience chest pains during and/or not during physical activity 7. Have a muscle, bone, or joint problem or injury that limit movement, make exercise painful, or could be made worse by exercising 8. Have a close family history of an adverse cardiac event before the age of 50.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Affective valence30 minutesAffective valence during a 30-minute exercise bout
Felt arousal30 minutesFelt arousal during a 30-minute exercise bout
Perceived Exertion (RPE)30 minutesRating of Perceived Exertion during a 30-minute exercise bout
Minutes of exercise2-weeks following initial visitMinutes exercised during 2-week at-home intervention
Affect and perceived exertion: longitudinal2-weeks following initial visitRated affect and perceived exertion during 2-week at-home intervention

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Theory of Planned Behavior: attitudesBaseline to 2-week follow-upattitudes about exercise behavior
Defusion skillsBaseline to 2-week follow-uprated ability to defuse
Theory of Planned Behavior: normsBaseline to 2-week follow-upsubjective norms regarding exercise behavior
Theory of Planned Behavior: self-efficacyBaseline to 2-week follow-upself-efficacy for exercise
Theory of Planned Behavior ConstructsBaseline to 2-week follow-upintentions to engage in future exercise behavior
Distress toleranceBaseline to 2-week follow-upRated ability to tolerate distress

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026