Acute affective responses to supervised, community-based exercise in a transdiagnostic clinical sample

Objective Individuals experiencing mental health conditions often experience disturbances in affective state. While pharmacological and psychological treatments remain central, there is increasing interest in accessible strategies for immediate benefits. Evidence from largely non-clinical samples suggests that exercise is associated with positive changes in affect. Methods This pragmatic, retrospective, observational study examined pre-post changes in affective valence (Feeling Scale) and arousal (Felt Arousal Scale) across individualised exercise sessions delivered within a community exercise physiology service in Sydney, Australia. A transdiagnostic clinical sample ( n = 24) contributed repeated session-level data (184 sessions in total). Linear mixed-effects models, variance partitioning and circumplex analyses were used to examine acute affective responses. Results Exercise was associated with increases in affective valence ( M Δ = +1.24 points, d = 0.82) and arousal ( M Δ = +0.63 points, d = 0.52). Lower baseline valence showed greater improvements. Between-person differences accounted for 57% of variance in valence and 77% in arousal, indicating responses may be shaped by individual differences and contextual factors. Circumplex analysis confirmed shifts toward more pleasant affective states, with arousal moving toward moderate levels. Conclusions In a transdiagnostic clinical sample, community-based exercise was associated with immediate affective benefit. These findings potentially support exercise as a feasible strategy for short-term affective regulation.