Exercising regularly has multiple well-known benefits: Prevention and control of non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer; Mental health benefits, including preventing cognitive decline and symptoms of depression and anxiety; Contribution to maintain healthy body weight and general well-being. Despite these benefits, their recognition by many practitioners and the consensus among health professionals on the need to advise physical exercise, sedentary lifestyle and physical inactivity continue to be a prevalent public health problem worldwide. One of the most relevant contexts related to exercising is health clubs. These play a particularly relevant role in promoting individual and public health, but the dropout rates among practitioners are quite high, approaching 75% in the first three months and approximately 50% after six months, according to research results from recent decades. Several attempts have been made to help overcome this issue. In particular, several psychological frameworks have been used with distinct and differentiated results. In recent years, more importance has been given to hedonic assumptions related to exercise and new approaches have been proposed to promote continued adherence to exercising. In short, hedonic theory is based on the premise that people can be driven by motivational factors related to the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain. In this context, the relationship between pleasure and displeasure of a certain behavior is studied. When it comes to physical exercise, the evidence seems to support that premise and suggests that more positive affective responses, that is, t he way someone feels during and after exercise, seem to be associated with the quality of the subjective experience, supporting adherence to the practice . Some evidence also suggests that people who exercise for pleasure have a stronger intention to continue exercising. One of the factors that significantly influences pleasure and displeasure is the exercise intensity . Varying the prescription of exercises has demonstrated, in several studies, the existence of a dose-response relation with pleasure and displeasure. In general, increasing exercise intensity is associated with improved pleasure and reduced displeasure. However, the point at which this intensity reverses the sensation of pleasure presents some variability among practitioners. Particularly in the context of health clubs, positive associations were identified between the characteristics of exercise intensity and frequency, habit, subjective vitality and psychological well-being, which suggests a possibly contribution of these characteristics in the variables related to health and well-being in this specific scenario. As postulated by the hedonic framework, contextual features that could provoke a better pleasure-displeasure relationship would be indicative of several positive outcomes. The ability to individually adjust exercise intensity to have an exercise session that provides pleasure may be relevant to professional intervention to support behavior maintenance . In addition to adjusting the intensity level to individual well-being, other possible strategies include, for example, varying the types of exercises or trying a session with exercises that are more individually enjoyable. Knowing whether someone is experiencing pleasure or displeasure can prevent low adherence to exercise and encourage consistent practice over time. At the Sports Medicine Center at Hospital da Luz, physiologists individualize exercise prescriptions to improve the pleasure associated with exercising and thus contribute to its continuity over time . Fontes Ekkekakis P, Zenko Z. Escape from cognitivism exercise as hedonic experience. In: Sport and exercise psychology research from theory to practice. Elsevier Inc, 2016. Faria J, Andrade A, Evemenenko A, et al. Preference for and tolerance of exercise intensity: the mediating role of vitality in exercise habit. Int J Sport Psychol 2021;52: 555-68. Author : João Faria Meet the Sports Medicine Center clinical team from Hospital da Luz network. The content published in the Health Guide is intended for the general public and is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It does not replace individual medical assessment, diagnosis, or personalized clinical advice from a qualified healthcare professional. The content is produced or reviewed by physicians and other healthcare professionals at Hospital da Luz and is based on the knowledge available at the time of publication or the most recent update, as indicated at the beginning of each item.
