| The use of exercise as a clinical intervention is an effective tool for the Clinical Health Psychologist. Provided the patient is willing to participate and is sufficiently motivated to actively pursue physical and mental health, the effects of exercise are positive and can be extremely powerful. However, the practitioner is faced with the decision of which type of exercise is most effective in producing positive mood effects, especially when dealing with clients with physical limitations such as orthopedic injuries, breathing problems, and cardiac concerns. The aim of the present study was to provide the Clinical Health Psychologist with information to help inform decisions regarding which form of exercise, aerobic or anaerobic, is most effective in producing positive mood effects. To this end, 73 subjects were recruited from exercise classes including yoga (anaerobic), cycling, and cardio-kickboxing (aerobic), and asked to complete questionnaires assessing pre and post-exercise immediate mood factors including fatigue, anger, depression, confusion, tension, and vigor. Subjects also completed measures of depression, and measured their resting and active heart rates. Statistics were performed using class type and heart rate group (aerobic or anaerobic based upon whether the subject's heart rate rose to the anaerobic range of 60--80% of max heart rate or did not) as independent variables with scores on mood factors as the dependent variables. A correlation was also performed to investigate a relationship between depression scores and immediate mood changes following exercise. Statistical analysis indicated no significant difference between aerobic and anaerobic exercise and indicated a correlation between depression scores and positive mood changes. These results indicate the difference between the two types of exercise may be insignificant. Further discussion and directions of future research are given. |
