Selective effects of 8 weeks of high-intensity circuit training on inhibitory control in adult women

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Yin Luo ^*, Yumei Lou ^**, Ya Dou ^* and Yuntao Li ^*

^(*) Faculty of Physical Education, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
^(**) Ningbo University Li Huili Hospital, Ningbo, China

Citation

Luo, Y., Lou, Y., Dou, Y., Li, Y. (2022). Selective effects of 8 weeks of high-intensity circuit training on inhibitory control in adult women. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 53(2), 149-162. doi:10.7352/IJSP.2022.53.149

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to examine the effects of 8 weeks of high- intensity circuit training (HICT) on inhibitory control in adult women. To this end, sixty-seven sedentary women were randomly assigned to either a HICT group (n = 31; meanage = 42.7 ± 8.6 years) or a waitlist control group (n = 36; meanage = 40.2 ± 10.8 years). The HICT consisted of 11 body-weight movements, with the training density determined by work-to-recovery ratio ranging from 1:3 to 3:1. Inhibitory control was assessed by a modified flanker task before and after the intervention. The results indicated an interaction favoring the HICT. Specifically, shorter mean reaction times in incongruent trials were observed following eight weeks of HICT (p = .047, Cohen’s d = 0.38), whereas there was no difference between the pretest and posttest outcomes in the waitlist group. Further analysis of change scores from pretest to posttest on incongruent mean RT ( incongruent RT) also revealed a sig- nificant group difference (p = .023, Cohen’s d = 0.56), with the HICT group having a larger incongruent RT relative to the waitlist control group, and the direction of change was opposite between groups (HICT: -60.3 ± 161.9 ms, waitlist: 18.1 ± 113.4 ms). Overall, the current findings suggest that 8 weeks of HICT may have selective benefits for inhibitory control performance in adult women.

Keywords: sedentarism; physical activity; HIIT; executive function; circuit training

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