Affective and Perceptual Responses during an 8-Week Resistance Training to Failure Intervention at Low vs. High Loads in Untrained Women

Anderson, AlOK, Voskuil, CC, Byrd, MT, Garver, MJ, Rickard, AJ, Miller, WM, Bergstrom, HC, and Dinyer McNeely, TK. Affective and perceptual responses during an 8-week resistance training to failure intervention at low vs. high loads in untrained women. J Strength Cond Res 37(3): 546-554, 2023 - This study examined the effects of resistance training (RT) to failure on the perceptual and affective responses, intent-to-continue RT to failure in a self-initiated session, and affect-intent relationship. Twenty-three untrained women (mean ± SD: age 21.2 ± 2.2 years; height 167 ± 5.7 cm; body mass, 62.3 ± 16.2 kg) completed an 8-week, full-body RT to failure intervention at a low (30% 1RM; n = 11) or high (80% 1RM; n = 12) load. The Borg's rating of perceived exertion (RPE) scale was used to assess the acute (aRPE) and session (sRPE) RPE immediately after repetition failure and each training session, respectively. Immediately, 15-minute, and 60-minute postsession affective responses were assessed using the feeling scale (FS; -5 to +5), and intent to continue to RT was assessed on a scale of 0-100% intention. During week 4 (W4) and week 8 (W8), aRPE (W4: 18 ± 2, W8: 18 ± 2; p ≤ 0.032) and sRPE (W4: 17 ± 2, W8: 18 ± 1; p ≤ 0.018) were greater than that during week 1 (W1; aRPE: 17 ± 2; sRPE: 16 ± 2). The FS responses increased from immediately to 60-minute postsession during W4 (p ≤ 0.019) and W8 (p ≤ 0.049). The correlation between affect and intent-to-continue RT increased from W1 (r = 0.416) to W8 (r = 0.777). Regardless of load, untrained women reported similar perceptual, affective, and intention responses. These variables should be considered to improve RT program adoption and adherence in women.