The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of passive recovery with self-selected time on affect, ratings of perceived exertion, and heart rate in self-selected interval exercises (SSIE). Fifteen older women (68.1 ± 3.8 years), weekly practitioners of functional activities participated in three SSIE with self-selected recovery time (SSRT) and one self-selected continuous exercise session, all at 24 min approximately. The SSIE had the following configurations: 1'/SSRT, 1.5'/SSRT, and 2'/SSRT. The results showed that at the beginning of stimulus heart rate in 1.5'/SSRT (107.9 ± 16.5) and 2'/SSRT (114.6 ± 17.1) were significantly greater (p < .05) compared with self-selected continuous exercise (102.8 ± 14.5). The ratings of perceived exertion in self-selected continuous exercise (2.4 ± 0.4; p < .05) were higher compared with SSIE in recovery. No significant differences were found in affect. The SSIE provided similar responses based on recoveries manipulations.
Keywords: aerobic training; affect; health behaviors.