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The effect of outdoor circuit training on the mental well-being of adults (Master thesis)

Κορτσινίδης, Ανέστης/ Kortsinidis, Anestis

The purpose of this research was to examine the effect of a circuit training program in an outdoor environment on the mental state of adult athletes. The research sample consisted of 15 men and 15 women (n=30), aged 18 to 35, who were divided into two groups, the experimental (n=20) and the control group (n=10). The experimental group participated in an outdoor circuit training program 2 times a week for 4 weeks while the control group did not participate in any exercise program. To assess the mental state, the Subjective Exercise Experiences Scale (SEES) questionnaire (McAuley, & Courneya, 1994) was used, which consists of 12 questions that describe various states that the person may feel and is accompanied by a 7-point Likert scale, where 1 corresponds to not at all while 7 corresponds to too much. Initial and final measurements were taken for both groups before the start and after the end of the experimental procedure. Statistical processing was performed with the statistical package SPSS 25. The analysis for the experimental group resulted in statistically significant differences (p<0.05). The experimental group after the intervention program of outdoor circuit training shows high scores for all 12 adjectives of the SEES. The analysis performed for the two groups, the experimental group in relation to the control group found no significant difference (p>0.05) after the end of the program. In conclusion, it was very important to demonstrate that through this specific program an adult finds positive results not only in his/her physical but also in his psychological health, improving his/her daily life and therefore his/her quality of life. Carrying out more studies on how circuit training can affect the psychological well-being of exercising adults would be helpful, to be able to generalize the conclusion that there are positive effects to the general population.