Immediate Psychological Responses to Aerobic and Resistance Exercise in People With Psychotic Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Psychiatric Rehabilitation.

Both resistance training and aerobic exercise produced large immediate increases in positive wellbeing in people with psychotic disorders.

• Resistance training produced a large increase in positive wellbeing with Hedges' g = 1.24
• Aerobic exercise produced a large increase in positive wellbeing with Hedges' g = 1.31
• Positive wellbeing was assessed using the Subjective Exercise Experiences Scale (SEES) pre- and 10 minutes post-exercise
• Assessments were conducted at two timepoints within an 8-week trial (week 3: n = 52; week 8: n = 48)

Both resistance training and aerobic exercise produced large immediate reductions in psychological distress in people with psychotic disorders.

• Resistance training reduced psychological distress with Hedges' g = -0.91
• Aerobic exercise reduced psychological distress with Hedges' g = -1.05
• Psychological distress was assessed using the Subjective Exercise Experiences Scale pre- and 10 minutes post-exercise
• Primary analyses used linear mixed models for repeated measures

Fatigue responses differed significantly by exercise type, with a significant group-by-time interaction.

• Fatigue increased following resistance training (Hedges' g = 0.43)
• Fatigue decreased following aerobic exercise (Hedges' g = -0.58)
• A significant group-by-time interaction was observed for fatigue
• Fatigue was assessed as one of three psychological response dimensions using the Subjective Exercise Experiences Scale

Higher post-exercise fatigue was associated with greater controlled motivation and depressed mood at baseline.

• Higher fatigue was associated with greater controlled motivation at baseline (β = 1.72)
• Higher fatigue was associated with greater depressed mood at baseline (β = 0.80)
• Baseline assessments included clinical and motivational variables
• These associations were examined to determine whether clinical characteristics were associated with immediate psychological responses to exercise

The study randomized 53 participants with psychotic disorders in psychiatric rehabilitation to either resistance training or aerobic exercise.

• Fifty-three participants were randomized to resistance training or aerobic exercise
• The trial lasted 8 weeks with psychological assessments at week 3 and week 8
• Participants were drawn from a psychiatric rehabilitation setting
• The study design was a randomized controlled trial with linear mixed models for repeated measures as the primary analytic approach