Exercise has been linked with mental health in the literatures of philosophy and medicine throughout recorded history, 1 and it was a popular adjunct to psychiatry earlier this century. 2 High costs of mental health care, coupled with a resurgence of psychosomatic medicine and preventive health care practices, have contributed to current interest in the psychological effects of exercise for disease resistance and health promotion. During the past 15 years, numerous reviews of the research literature have concluded that exercise and physical fitness are associated with reduced anxiety and depression. This also was the consensus of the Workshop on Exercise and Mental Health sponsored by the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health in 1984 3 and the International Conference on Exercise, Fitness and Health in 1988. 4 Another review has concluded that chronic exercise or physical fitness are accompanied by decreased reactivity to psychosocial stressors. 5