Abstract

In this paper the results of evaluating the immediate effects of the physical exercise in initially sedentary elderly people (n=95) are presented. The participant subjects in the study have been randomly assigned to one of four groups: 1) an aerobic exercise training group (n=30), 2) an no-aerobic group (yoga) (n=27), 3) a social activity control group (n=20), 4) and a waiting list control group (n=18). The Subjective Exercise Experiences Scale (SEES; McAuley & Courneya, 1994) was used for evaluating global psychological responses to the stimulus properties of physical exercise, and the Perceived Exertion Scales (RPE-Scales; Borg, 1982) was used as a measure of the sensation of the perceived effort. Results of 4 months of exercise indicate a significative increment of the psychological well-being in both exercise groups (aerobic and no-aerobic) compared to the pre and post exercise measures, and to the control groups social activity and waiting list. The aerobic exercise group presented higher scores in the psychological well-being, and fatigue between the months of exercise of both groups.