## 4 Discussion
Previous research has shown that manipulating the endpoint can negatively affect exercise performance by disrupting the anticipatory setting of the pace [35]. Teleoanticipatory pacing strategies are crucial to delay fatigue and optimize performance [36]. The protocol used in this study did not modify the duration of the exercise nor deceive the participants of the endpoint. Hence, participants should have been able to fully complete the exercise without calculated or spontaneous adjustments affecting the use of physiological resources in both non-IVR and IVR trials. It is possible that establishing a workload or endpoint may factor into attenuated RPE and HR. Furthermore, the differences in RPE and heart rate between the two conditions may have been a result of the IVR intervention. A commonly reported benefit of IVR is the ability to empower one to escape negative emotions, stresses, and affairs [37]. IVR has even been shown to reduce discomfort and minimize pain to a degree comparable to clinical analgesic treatments [38]. However, the environment in which the user is immersed also matters. Simulated urban environments have been reported to produce feelings of increased fatigue and decreased levels of self-esteem, whereas nature-based environments have yielded decreased levels of negative emotions (i.e., fatigue, tension, depression, etc.) [39]. In the present study, the selected environment incorporated several different natural elements (e.g., waterfalls, rocks, beaches, unique cloud formations, etc.) into view. It is possible that this environment allowed participants to divert their attention away from daily stressors and the exercise they were performing. Consequently, as we showed, a faster deceptive speed would not be noticed by the user or reflected by their HR response (i.e., autonomic nervous system). [PERSON] et al. recently demonstrated a similar phenomenon through heart rate variability analysis wherein lower heart rate responses during IVR were attributed to reductions in stress levels [40]. They noted that the \"calming environment\" altered autonomic nervous system activity, which was responsible for the observed heart rate behavior with virtual reality immersion. The implications of these results should serve as a guide for IVR exergaming as it continues to evolve. The trend of lower HR and RPE scores corresponding to exercising with IVR may suggest that it has the potential to lower the perceived difficulty of exercise, which may be particularly beneficial for sedentary individuals. Furthermore, the lower HR and RPE scores produced in the 3.7 mph trials may suggest that IVR may have utility as a 'deceptive' exercise intervention. None of the participants reported a conscious awareness of the 5.7% increase in speed, nor was it reflected in their RPE. These results suggest that participants may perform exercise at a greater intensity while using IVR. Further research is warranted to determine if prolonged IVR training in different simulated environments can yield similar results. Moreover, a threshold for how much intensity (i.e., speed) can be increased before a participant notices should also be studied. This study is not without its limitations. This study could have benefited from a larger sample size to add statistical power. To this end, the sample was almost entirely composed of fit, college-aged individuals. A more diverse sample would have been ideal to improve generalizability. Additionally, due to the design of the protocol, the findings of the present study may be limited to short-term effects of IVR. Future research should be conducted to examine if these effects would be consistent over a prolonged period of time and/or in response to repeated exercise. Notwithstanding, several other confounding variables may have affected the results of the present study and should be controlled in future studies.