The Resistance Exercise Training for Worry Trial

This protocol details the full methods of two parallel, randomized controlled trials of an eight-week resistance exercise training intervention compared to a wait-list control condition among young adults with and without analogue-Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

Recent meta-analyses support the chronic anxiolytic effects of resistance exercise training among women with diagnosed Generalized Anxiety Disorder. However, the effects of resistance exercise training among those with subclinical, or analogue-Generalized Anxiety Disorder is unknown. This protocol details the full methods of two parallel, randomized controlled trials of an eight-week resistance exercise training intervention compared to a wait-list control condition among young adults with and without analogue-Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Analogue-Generalized Anxiety Disorder status was determined using validated cut-scores for both the Psychiatric Diagnostic Screening Questionnaire Generalized Anxiety Disorder sub-scale score of 6 or greater, and the Penn State Worry Questionnaire score of 45 or greater. The ecologically-valid resistance exercise training was designed according to World Health Organization and American College of Sports Medicine guidelines.