University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School March 2021 Warming Up and Cooling Down: Perceptions and Behaviors Associated with Aerobic Exercise Balea J. Schumacher University of South Florida Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the Kinesiology Commons Scholar Commons Citation Schumacher, Balea J., "Warming Up and Cooling Down: Perceptions and Behaviors Associated with Aerobic Exercise" (2021). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/8863 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Warming Up and Cooling Down: Perceptions and Behaviors Associated with Aerobic Exercise by Balea J. Schumacher A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Department of Educational and Psychological Studies College of Education University of South Florida Major Professor: Marcus Kilpatrick, PhD Nicholas Martinez, PhD Larry Collins, MPAS Zachary Zenko, PhD Date of Approval: March 12, 2021 Keywords: Cardiovascular training, pre-exercise, post-exercise, attitudes Copyright © 2021, Balea J. Schumacher TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. iv CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 1 Rationale ............................................................................................................................ 1 Problem Statement ............................................................................................................. 3 Research Variables ............................................................................................................. 3 Hypotheses ......................................................................................................................... 4 Operational Definitions ...................................................................................................... 4 Significance ........................................................................................................................ 5 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................................... 6 Guidelines for Aerobic Training ........................................................................................ 6 Health Problems and Benefits with Exercise ..................................................................... 7 Use of Warm-Ups .............................................................................................................. 8 Use of Cool-Downs ............................................................................................................ 8 The Use of Warm-Ups and Cool-Downs ........................................................................... 9 Warm-Ups and Cool-Downs in Older Adults .................................................................. 10 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER 3: METHODS ........................................................................................................... 12 Purpose ............................................................................................................................. 12 Respondents ..................................................................................................................... 12 Procedure ......................................................................................................................... 13 Instrumentation ................................................................................................................ 14 Definitions ............................................................................................................ 14 Demographics ...................................................................................................... 14 Aerobic Exercise Participation............................................................................. 14 Warm-Up Participation ........................................................................................ 15 Cool-Down Participation ..................................................................................... 15 Statistical Analyses .......................................................................................................... 16 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS ............................................................................................................. 17 General Warm-Up and Cool-Down Behavior ................................................................. 17 Specific Warm-Up Behavior with Age ............................................................................ 18 Specific Warm-Up Behavior with Sex ............................................................................ 19 Specific Warm-Up Behavior with Location .................................................................... 19 Specific Cool-Down Behavior with Age ......................................................................... 20 Specific Cool-Down Behavior with Sex .......................................................................... 20 i Specific Cool-Down Behavior with Location ..................................................................21 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION .......................................................................................................22 Overview .............................................................................................................................22 Warm-Up Time ...................................................................................................................22 Location of Warm-ups and Cool-Downs ............................................................................23 Intensity of Warm-Up .........................................................................................................24 Warm-Up Behavior Related to Sex ....................................................................................24 Cool-Downs and Improving Performance ..........................................................................24 Warm-Up and Cool-Down Performance with Age ............................................................25 Conclusion ..........................................................................................................................25 CHAPTER 6: REFERENCES .....................................................................................................27 APPENDICES Appendix A: Survey Questions .........................................................................................32 Appendix B: Informed Consent .........................................................................................36 Appendix C: IRB Approval ...............................................................................................39 ii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Respondent Characteristics ............................................................................................. 12 Table 2: General Warm-Up Behavior ........................................................................................... 17 Table 3: General Cool-Down Behavior ........................................................................................ 18 Table 4: Age with Specific Warm-Up Behavior ........................................................................... 18 Table 5: Sex with Specific Warm-Up Behavior............................................................................ 19 Table 6: Location with Specific Warm-Up Behavior ................................................................... 20 Table 7: Age with Specific Cool-Down Behavior ........................................................................ 20 Table 8: Sex with Specific Cool-Down Behavior ......................................................................... 21 Table 9: Location with Specific Cool-Down Behavior .................................................................. 21 iii ABSTRACT This study investigated the perceptual and behavioral responses regarding the use of warm-ups and cool-downs in aerobically active adults. There were 79 individuals who volunteered to participate in this study. Respondents were recruited by word of mouth or through social media and the Qualtrics survey link/QR code was on all recruitment materials in order to access the survey. The survey consisted of 47 questions. This study aimed to determine whether age, sex, or exercise location impacted perception or behavior related to warm-up and/or cool- down activities before or after the aerobic training exercise sessions. Primary results indicated the following: 1) age is positively correlated with time warming up (p < 0.018, r.018, r2 = 0.214), 2) males spent more time warming up than females (p < 0.008, d = 0.77), 3) outdoor exercisers spent more time warming up than indoor exercisers (p < 0.043, d = 0.57), 4) outdoor