This study evaluated psychophysiological responses to deliberate changes in stride frequency during treadmill walking in a sample of healthy adults (11 men, 8 women). After a familiarization session to determine each participant’s preferred walking speed and preferred stride frequency (PSF1), participants returned for an experimental session comprising four 15-minute, counterbalanced walking conditions: the preferred stride frequency previously measured and imposed in session 2 (PSF2), a newly measured preferred stride frequency in session 2 (PSF3), and ±10% deviations from PSF2. Outcomes recorded included oxygen uptake (V̇O2), affective valence (Feeling Scale), arousal (Felt Arousal Scale), rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and heart rate (HR). Repeated-measures ANOVA found significant main effects of stride frequency on V̇O2, affective valence, and RPE. Planned contrasts showed PSF3 produced lower V̇O2, lower RPE, and higher positive valence compared with the ±10% deviations; PSF3 also elicited lower V̇O2, lower RPE, and more positive valence than PSF2. Heart rate recovery was faster in women, but no sex-by-condition interactions were observed for the primary outcomes. The findings indicate that walking at one’s preferred stride frequency minimizes energetic cost and perceived exertion and is associated with improved affective responses in this sample.
Regular physical activity confers well-documented health benefits, yet many people fail to maintain exercise routines in part because of negative affective experiences or perceived discomfort while exercising. How people feel during activity — including pleasure/displeasure and perceived exertion — can influence adherence. Beyond exercise intensity, kinematic factors such as stride frequency may shape these psychological responses.
Humans tend to select a preferred stride frequency (PSF) that minimizes energy cost. Stride frequency is regulated by central pattern generators (CPGs) in the spinal cord, with modulation from supraspinal input and somatosensory feedback when natural rhythms are perturbed. Departures from PSF increase energy cost in a U-shaped pattern and have been associated with increased heart rate and RPE. However, the impact of imposed stride-frequency changes on affective states (pleasure and arousal) has been less clear.
Modifying stride frequency may increase conscious motor effort to maintain a target walking speed, potentially altering central command and the integration of motor output with cardiovascular and respiratory responses. The authors aimed to investigate the interplay between physiological and psychological responses when stride frequency is manipulated, and whether men and women differ in these responses. The primary hypothesis was that the preferred stride frequency would produce the lowest energy cost, the most favorable affective responses, and the lowest RPE.
Nineteen healthy adults aged 18–35 years (11 men, 8 women) were recruited. The study received institutional ethics approval and participants provided written informed consent. Screening used the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology Get Active Questionnaire; participants were excluded for affirmative responses indicating cardiopulmonary, metabolic, or orthopedic conditions. Additional exclusion criteria included not achieving at least a “fair” score on an O2max test per ACSM guidelines and a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30.
The study took place in a university exercise physiology laboratory. To reduce affective interference, participant interaction and cell phone use were avoided. To control shoe-related variability, participants were provided cushion socks and dressed in T-shirt and shorts. Sessions occurred between 07:00 and 12:00 to limit diurnal metabolic effects. Each participant completed two sessions: a familiarization session and an experimental session.
Session 1 began with explanation of procedures, consent, demographic data and the Get Active Questionnaire. Height and weight were recorded. Participants rested supine for 15 minutes before resting heart rate and baseline psychometric measures (Feelings Scale and Felt Arousal Scale) were recorded.
Preferred walking speed (PWS1) and the corresponding preferred stride frequency (PSF1) were determined during a 15-minute self-selected walk. Participants adjusted treadmill speed during the first 5 minutes and maintained the selected speed for the final 10 minutes while PSF1 was measured. To promote a leisure-walking self-selection, participants were given neutral instructions imagining a comfortable outdoor walk. A 5-minute practice period at PWS1 followed to familiarize participants with metronome beats set to PSF1 and to ±10% frequencies (protocol details reported in the source).
In the experimental session participants completed four 15-minute treadmill conditions in a counterbalanced order: PSF2 (the PSF imposed from session 1), PSF3 (a new preferred stride frequency measured in session 2), and ±10% deviations from PSF2. During these conditions the primary physiological and psychological outcomes were measured: V̇O2, RPE, affective valence (Feelings Scale), arousal (Felt Arousal Scale), and heart rate. The source reports that repeated-measures ANOVA and planned contrasts were used for statistical analysis; specific statistical values are reported in the original article.
The study used repeated-measures ANOVA to evaluate main effects of stride frequency on outcomes. Planned contrasts compared PSF3 with the ±10% deviations and compared PSF3 with PSF2. Effect sizes for significant contrasts were described as medium to large for V̇O2 and RPE, and medium for affective valence where reported. Heart rate recovery differences between sexes were tested and found to be faster in women. No sex-by-condition interactions emerged for the primary outcomes.
The findings support the proposition that a person’s preferred stride frequency aligns with minimized energy cost and reduced perceived exertion, and corresponds with more positive affect during walking. Imposed deviations from preferred rhythm increased energetic cost and worsened perceptual responses. The absence of sex-by-condition interactions for the main outcomes suggests similar patterns of response between men and women in this sample, although heart rate recovery differed.
The authors frame these results in terms of interactions among central pattern generators, central command, and peripheral feedback: deviations from the naturally selected stride frequency likely require greater neuromuscular and cognitive effort, increasing physiological cost and reducing pleasure.
In this sample of healthy young adults, walking at one’s preferred stride frequency minimized V̇O2 and RPE and was associated with more positive affect compared with imposed deviations. No sex differences were observed for the primary outcomes. These results highlight that preserving self-selected gait patterns may reduce energetic cost and improve the affective experience of walking, which could have implications for promoting adherence to walking as a form of physical activity.
Note: The source article contains detailed statistical results, figures and tables and reports where data are publicly available; specific numerical statistics and full methodological parameters are provided in the original publication.