A proposal to compare the effects of two physical exercise modalities on psycho-physical wellness for overweight people: outdoor-based aerobic vs indoor-based combined training

Purpose: This proposal aims to compare the effects of two different physical exercise interventions on overweight people in relation to the physical fitness (PF) components of strength, flexibility, cardiorespi- ratory efficiency (CRE), body composition and to balance as well as on enjoyment and health status. Methods: Sixty subjects aged 50 to 60 years, with 25 \ BMI \ 35, without prior or concomitant diseases will be recruited and will be divided into 3 groups of 20 each: first, combined exercise training (CET) with both aerobic and resistance training at medium–high intensity; second, exclusively aerobic exercise training (AET) at low intensity and a control group (CG). The proposal is a 16-week lon- gitudinal study based on 3 weekly sessions, two of which for CET will be conducted indoor, and one outdoor; instead for AET, two outdoor and one indoor. Physical fitness will be assessed through the Senior Fitness Test battery and Shoulder mobility from Functional Movement Screen on three separate times. Individual workload and exercise intensity will be estimated by lower and upper limbs 1RM and heart rate max. SF-36, IPAQ, PACES questionnaires will also be administered for health status, level of physical activity and enjoy- ment, respectively. Results: It is hypothesized that participants of CET and AET will increase their psycho-physical wellness more than the control group: AET should be more effective in body weight reduction and fat loss, instead the CET should impact more on lean mass, CRE and muscle strength. In addition, as many studies suggest, it is expected that exercising in natural environments will be associated with greater psycho-physical benefits and positive engagement compared with exercising indoor. Conclusions: This proposal aims to be a contribution to adapted physical activity, exploiting the benefits of indoor and outdoor training and emphasising AET and CET training in overweight individuals. References: 1) Thompson Coon J et al. Does participating in physical activity in outdoor natural environments have a greater effect on physical and mental wellbeing than physical activity indoors? A systematic review. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2011. 2) Said M et al. Effects of high-impact aerobics vs. low-impact aerobics and strength training in overweight and obese women. J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2017.