• Accumulating brisk walking for fitness, cardiovascular risk, and psychological health.

      Murphy, Marie H.; Nevill, Alan M.; Neville, Charlotte; Biddle, Stuart; Hardman, Adrianne E. (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2002)
      PURPOSE: To compare the effects of different patterns of regular brisk walking on fitness, risk factors for cardiovascular disease, and psychological well-being in previously sedentary adults. METHODS: Twenty-one subjects (14 women), aged 44.5 +/- 6.1 yr (mean +/- SD) were randomly assigned to two different, 6-wk programs of brisk walking in a cross-over design, with an interval of 2 wk. One program comprised one 30-min walk per day, 5 d.wk(-1) (long bout) and the other three 10-min walks per day, also 5 d.wk(-1) (short bouts). All walking was at 70-80% of predicted maximal heart rate. Maximal oxygen uptake ((.)VO(2max)), body composition, resting arterial blood pressure, fasting plasma lipoprotein variables, and psychological parameters were assessed before and after each program. RESULTS: Overall, subjects completed 88.2 +/- 1.1% and 91.3 +/- 4.1% of prescribed total walking time in the short- and long-bout programs, respectively. Both programs increased plasma concentrations of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and decreased concentrations of triacylglycerol and total cholesterol (all < 0.05). There were no changes in body mass, but the sum of four skinfolds, waist circumference, and hip circumference were decreased after both walking programs (all P<0.05). Predicted (.)VO(2max) increased with both programs ( P<0.05), but this increase was greater with the program based on short bouts (P<0.05). Both walking patterns resulted in similar decreases in tension/anxiety (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that three short bouts (10 min) of brisk walking accumulated throughout the day are at least as effective as one continuous bout of equal total duration in reducing cardiovascular risk and improving aspects of mood in previously sedentary individuals.
    • Sport and Exercise Psychology: Topics in Applied Psychology.

      Lane, Andrew M. (Hodder Arnold, 2008)
      Sport and Exercise Psychology provides comprehensive coverage of key topics in sport and exercise psychology including the effectiveness of psychological skills training interventions, models for delivery and the development of research approaches studying the impact of psychological skills on performance. A number of specific chapters focus on key issues such as, mood, emotion, emotion regulation, coping, self-confidence, anxiety, imagery, performance profiling and leadership development in players and coaches. Exercise is typically linked to positive psychological states and three chapters review this effect. A chapter focuses on the influence of exercise on self-esteem while the next chapter looks at the use of music and a further chapter looks at dysfunctional effects including addictive states. A final chapter focuses on placebo effects addressing key issues in designing psychological interventions. The integrated and interactive approach, combined with the comprehensive coverage, make this book the ideal companion for courses in applied clinical psychology.