Relationship of Preferred Exercise
Intensity to Mood State and Enjoyment in College Student
A single session of exercise was associated with
improvement of mood states (Berger et al., 2010; Ekkekakis, Hall,
VanLanduyt, & Petruzzello, 2000; Petruzzello et al., 2009).
In addition, many exercise factors seem to influence mood changes, such as
exercise duration, exercise intensity, and exercise enjoyment. The primary
purpose of the study was to examine whether participants who exercise at a
preferred intensity level have more desirable mood changes than those who exercise
at a high intensity level. Undergraduate students (N=55) from physical
education general (PEG) classes at Bowling Green State University (n=23
females, n=22 males) with a mean age of 21.34±1.23
participated in this study. Each participant completed both preferred exercise
intensity level of jogging and high exercise intensity level of jogging for 20 minutes.
Immediately before and after exercise sessions, all participants completed the
Profile of Mood State Inventory and Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale. The
results indicated that there was a significant improvement in the mood of
participants in both exercise intensity groups. Specifically, a significant
decrease of tension, depression, confusion and fatigue was found, and a
significant increase of vigor was also found in both groups. As far as the
anger factor was concerned, the results did not indicate any significant
differences before and after of exercise in both groups. In addition, for the tension
and fatigue, the preferred exercise intensity group had a significant reduction
compared to the high exercise intensity group. For the vigor, the preferred
exercise group gained a significant greater energy after exercise session. For
the exercise enjoyment and the mood changes, the results of correlation
analysis that indicated there was no relationship between exercise enjoyment
and mood changes in both exercise groups. In conclusion, a preferred exercise
intensity level of jogging in college students had greater improvement in mood
states than a high exercise intensity level.