Objective. The preference and tolerance constructs may be considered relevant traits for
understanding the relationships between exercise intensity and several variables (e.g.,
enjoyment, exercise adherence, subjective vitality and frequency) and the preference for and
tolerance of the intensity of exercise (PRETIE-Q) has been used to better understand those
relationships. CrossFit is characterized mainly by the intensities present in its execution and,
although it is a relatively recent training program, the number of participants had a considerable
growth in the past few years estimating that about five million people worldwide practice
CrossFit. Nonetheless, the reasons that lead people to adhere and continue practicing CrossFit,
despite the high intensity and the known negative relationships between training at such
intensities and affective responses, are yet unclear. That said, the present dissertation has the
general objective of understanding the relationship between of preference and tolerance for
exercise intensity in a population of recreational CrossFit participants. For that matter two
studies were developed, being the first a systematic review aiming to analyze the utility and
feasibility of the preference for and tolerance of exercise intensity constructs in physical activity
settings. Regarding the second study (a cross-sectional study), we had three main objectives
were: (1) to define the preference and tolerance profiles in CrossFit recreational participants;
(2) to analyze the accordance of intensity-traits with the intensity of current training; (3) to
analyze the relationship between the agreement profile and its moderation effects with
enjoyment, vitality, intention, and frequency.
Methods. A systematic review was made in order to analyze the existing evidence about the
use of the Preference for and Tolerance of the Intensity of Exercise Questionnaire (PRETIE Q). To attain that objective, a broad search of the literature was conducted on the following
databases: PubMed, SportDISCUS, PsycINFO and B-on (the last search was conducted in July
2022) and the systematic review was written following the recommendations by the PRISMA
protocol. A cross-sectional study was also made with a sample of 330 recreational CrossFit
participants enrolled in 15 boxes across the national territory. Preference for exercise intensity,
tolerance to exercise intensity, exercise enjoyment, subjective vitality, intention to continue
exercising, frequency, quality of the experience and intensity-trait agreement were assessed
through psychometric questionnaires. In terms of statistical analysis, descriptive tests, Pearson
correlations and moderation tests were performed.
Results. The systematic review, qualitatively analyzed 36 studies published between 2005 and
2022, depicted results suggesting that both constructs (i.e.., preference and tolerance) appear to
be useful and feasible in a broad variety of physical activity settings, and no relevant limitations
were reported of its use. In the cross-sectional study, the results showed that participants
demonstrated above midpoint score results for preference, tolerance, enjoyment and subjective
while intention and quality of the experience depicted very high scores. Both preference agreement and tolerance-agreement showed positive results meaning that the intensity of most
participants’ current training is in accordance with their preference and tolerance. Positive
correlations were present between most of the variables and none of the tested models depicted
moderation effect.
Conclusion. From the systematic review, we can conclude that the preference and tolerance
intensity traits appear to provide a simple but useful assessment in the relation with several
physical activity outcomes. In the cross-sectional study, the results showed that CrossFit
recreational participants depict similar intensity-trait preference/tolerance when compared with
other non-HIIT activity participants suggesting that, these constructs should be related solely
with the individuals’ characteristics and not with the activities in which they are enrolled.
- PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
- FITNESS
- WELL-BEING
- CROSSFIT
- TID:203110110
A relação da preferência e tolerância pela intensidade do exercício em praticantes recreacionais de crossfit
Santos, F. C. R. D. (Author). 2022
Student thesis: Master's Thesis