Does Emotion Regulation Predict Gains in Exercise-Induced Fitness? A Prospective Mixed-Effects Study with Elite Helicopter Pilots
Metadata
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MDPI
Materia
Emotion regulation Military Training Physical activity Fitness
Date
2020-06Referencia bibliográfica
Cárdenas, D., Madinabeitia, I., Alarcón, F., & Perales, J. C. (2020). Does Emotion Regulation Predict Gains in Exercise-Induced Fitness? A Prospective Mixed-Effects Study with Elite Helicopter Pilots. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(11), 4174. [DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17114174]
Sponsorship
Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Spain DEP2013-48211-R; Spanish Government (Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Secretaria de Estado de Investigacion, Desarrollo e Innovacion) PSI2017-85488-P; Spanish Government (Convocatoria 2017 de Proyectos I+D de Excelencia, Spain) PSI2017-85488-P; European Union (EU) PSI2017-85488-PAbstract
Emotion regulation (ER) is a strong predictor of different aspects of mental health and
wellbeing. However, only recently has ER been examined in relation to physical activity and its
effects on fitness. In the present study, 26 elite helicopter pilots, serving in the Spanish Air Force,
were physically trained for 6 months, and their level of fitness (maximum oxygen consumption
and time to exhaustion in a treadmill-running test) was assessed before and after that period.
Additionally, two indices of emotion regulation (general adaptiveness of ER strategies, as measured
by the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), and negative urgency, as measured by the UPPS-P
questionnaire) measured at baseline were used as prospective predictors of fitness improvement. After
controlling for individual features, baseline fitness, and type of training, better emotion regulation
strategies (more cognitive reappraisal plus less expressive suppression) predicted larger fitness gains
(p = 0.028). Incidental emotion regulation, as measured by the negative urgency index, failed to
predict pre–post-fitness changes (p = 0.734). These results suggest that fostering emotion regulation
skills may improve the effectiveness of fitness training programs.