Comparison of affective responses between an online and in-person high-intensity functional training session in sports students

The aim of this study was to compare affective responses between a synchronous online and an in-person high-intensity functional training (HIFT) group exercise session on perceived effort, discomfort, displeasure/pleasure, enjoyment and preference in sports students. Using a randomized crossover design, 24 participants (14 men, 10 women, mean age 22) were randomized into two groups. Both groups completed in randomized order two standardized HIFT sessions, one in-person and one synchronous online. Rating of perceived effort, rate of perceived discomfort, session displeasure/pleasure and exercise enjoyment were measured immediately after ending each session. In addition, 48 h after the last session the participants answers which session they preferred and gave reasons for their preference. The reported pleasure (2.0 ± 2.2 vs. 3.1 ± 1.7, ES = 0.47, scale −5 to +5) and exercise enjoyment (4.2 ± 1.2 vs. 5.1 ± 1.0, ES = 0.56, scale 1–7) were lower conducting the online HIFT session than the in-person HIFT session. The online HIFT session were perceived less effortful than the in-person HIFT session (5.6 ± 1.7 vs. 6.7 ± 1.7, respectively, ES = 0.48, scale 0–10), but no difference in perceived discomfort (4.4 ± 2.0 vs. 4.7 ± 1.9, ES = 0.12, scale 0–10). There was no detectable cross-over effect of the order of the two training sessions ( p ≥ 0.29). The large majority of participants ( n = 22, 92%) preferred in-person group exercise, while only two participants (8%) preferred the online session. In sports students with prior group-training experience, in-person HIFT session demonstrated great perceived effort, pleasure and enjoyment when using self-reported perceptual measures, and was the preferred exercise modality compared with the online session.