ArticleBMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation2025
The effects of competition on exercise intensity and the user experience of exercise, during virtual reality bicycling for healthy adults across the lifespan.
Article in BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05253703 (Enhancing Exercise Intensity, Motivation and Enjoyment for Younger and Older Healthy Adults), which is not on this map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Enhancing Exercise Intensity, Motivation and Enjoyment for Younger and Older Healthy Adults (VCycle-Competition-HA)
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- How do virtual exercise technology and social presence influence motivation to exercise?Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Engagement in gamified virtual reality sports activities and sports participation intention among adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: the mediating roles of immersion and enjoyment.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- The impact of natural and urban environmental settings on exercise and perceptual responses during virtual reality-based exercise.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundEngaging in regular moderate-to-vigorous exercise is an essential component of promoting longevity and reducing health risks associated with a sedentary lifestyle. However, various barriers can hinder participation in high-intensity exercise. Virtual reality (VR) may enhance exercise adherence by increasing engagement and motivation. Specifically, elements such as visual feedback and competition within VR environments may encourage users to exercise at higher intensities. Though the literature suggests that competitiveness may decrease with age, there is limited research comparing intensity and motivation during competitive exercise across the lifespan. This study aims to compare the effects of visual feedback and competition in a VR bicycling simulation on exercise intensity and user experience (motivation and enjoyment) in middle-aged and older adults and compare them to healthy younger adults.
methodsAdults aged 45-75 participated in three VR cycling conditions: self-competition, competition against others, and visual feedback. Each condition lasted five minutes, during which exercise intensity and visual attention were continuously recorded. Perceived effort and intrinsic motivation were assessed to evaluate user experience. Results were compared with data from a separate study involving younger adults bicycling in the same simulation.
resultsVR was tolerable for middle-aged and older adults with no age-related differences in tolerability observed. For middle-aged and older adults, competitive conditions led to higher exercise intensity compared to visual feedback while there were no differences in intrinsic motivation, enjoyment or visual attention. Across all 3 conditions, participants focused their attention on the task for > 70% of the trials. Compared to young adults, middle-aged and older adults had a lower raw bicycling cadence in the 2 competitive conditions and higher perception of effort in the visual feedback condition. There were no other age-related differences between the two groups.
conclusionThis custom VR bicycling simulation effectively guided visual attention, encouraged high-intensity exercise, and was rated favorably among middle-aged and older adults. Therefore, VR bicycling employing competition and visual feedback may be a useful exercise tool regardless of the user's age, particularly for individuals that have self-developmental competitive profiles.
trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials NCT05253703. Registered at ClinicalTrials.Gov on February 10, 2022.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.