Exercise at an onsite facility with or without direct exercise supervision improves health‐related physical fitness and exercise participation: An 8‐week randomised controlled trial with 15‐month follow‐up

Hunter, Jayden; Gordon, Brett; Lythgo, Noel; Bird, Stephen; Benson, Amanda

doi:10.1002/hpja.2

Cited by 13 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…The improvements reported herein were achieved with a total time commitment of < 50 min per week; one third of the current guidelines for moderate continuous exercise [ 48 ]. That the benefits achieved were largely indistinguishable between the two HIIT groups, contests the need for supervision to optimise the benefits of exercise [ 49 ], a notion supported by previous work reporting on middle-aged adults [ 50 ]. Although there appears to be no data reporting the impact of HIIT supervision in older adults, in young [ 34 ] and middle-aged [ 33 ] adults, and in adults with type 1 diabetes [ 51 ] and heightened cardiovascular disease risk [ 52 ], supervision was not shown to enhance adaptation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Equipment-free, unsupervised high intensity interval training elicits significant improvements in the physiological resilience of older adults

et al. 2022

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Background Reduced cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is an independent risk factor for dependency, cognitive impairment and premature mortality. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a proven time-efficient stimulus for improving both CRF and other facets of cardiometabolic health also known to decline with advancing age. However, the efficacy of equipment-free, unsupervised HIIT to improve the physiological resilience of older adults is not known. Methods Thirty independent, community-dwelling older adults (71(SD: 5) years) were randomised to 4 weeks (12 sessions) equipment-free, supervised (in the laboratory (L-HIIT)) or unsupervised (at home (H-HIIT)) HIIT, or a no-intervention control (CON). HIIT involved 5, 1-minute intervals of a bodyweight exercise each interspersed with 90-seconds recovery. CRF, exercise tolerance, blood pressure (BP), body composition, muscle architecture, circulating lipids and glucose tolerance were assessed at baseline and after the intervention period. Results When compared to the control group, both HIIT protocols improved the primary outcome of CRF ((via anaerobic threshold) mean difference, L-HIIT: +2.27, H-HIIT: +2.29, both p < 0.01) in addition to exercise tolerance, systolic BP, total cholesterol, non-HDL cholesterol and m. vastus lateralis pennation angle, to the same extent. There was no improvement in these parameters in CON. There was no change in diastolic BP, glucose tolerance, whole-body composition or HDL cholesterol in any of the groups. Conclusions This is the first study to show that short-term, time-efficient, equipment-free, HIIT is able to elicit improvements in the CRF of older adults irrespective of supervision status. Unsupervised HIIT may offer a novel approach to improve the physiological resilience of older adults, combating age-associated physiological decline, the rise of inactivity and the additional challenges currently posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Trial registration This study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov and coded: NCT03473990.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Equipment-free, unsupervised high intensity interval training elicits significant improvements in the physiological resilience of older adults

et al. 2022

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“…Third, many job roles within universities involve prolonged sedentary behaviour throughout the working day (Alkhatib, 2013), creating a significant opportunity for change (Buckley et al , 2015). This final point may in part explain the recent finding that employees who enrolled into a university workplace exercise programme were mostly overweight with poor cardiorespiratory fitness (Hunter et al , 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, most interventions were of short duration (5–12 weeks) without long-term follow-up, with low overall participation rates acknowledged as a limiting factor to the wider positive impact on employee health and fitness. Since this review, a university-based randomised controlled trial reported a significant decrease in weekly onsite exercise training session attendance by employees over eight weeks (from a mean 1.9 to 1.4 sessions per week), regardless of whether they received 1:1 exercise supervision in addition to onsite facility access or not (Hunter et al , 2018). Collectively, these data suggest that workplace exercise programmes are efficacious for improving health, fitness and exercise participation in the short-term, but these programmes require refinement to increase engagement and adherence.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived barriers and facilitators to workplace exercise participation

Hunter

Gordon

Bird

et al. 2018

IJWHM

Self Cite

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Purpose Workplace exercise programmes have been shown to increase employee participation in physical activities and improve health and fitness in the short-term. However, the limited breadth of employee engagement across organisations combined with declining exercise adherence within individual studies indicates a need for better-informed programmes. The purpose of this paper is to investigate relationships between employee moderate-vigorous physical activity (exercise) participation and their perceived barriers and facilitators to engagement in onsite exercise, to inform the design and implementation of future workplace exercise interventions. Design/methodology/approach An online survey identified employee demographics, exercise (International Physical Activity Questionnaire), perceived barriers (Corporate Exercise Barriers Scale) and facilitators to exercise at an Australian university. Findings Of the 252 full-time employees who responded, most reported meeting (43.7 per cent) or exceeding (42.9 per cent) exercise guidelines over the previous week. A lack of time or reduced motivation (p<0.001), exercise attitude (p<0.05), internal (p<0.01) and external (p<0.01) barriers towards workplace exercise participation were all associated with failure to attain government-recommended volumes of weekly exercise. Personal training (particularly for insufficiently active employees) and group exercise classes were identified as potential exercise facilitators. Walking, gym (fitness centre), swimming and cycling were identified as the preferred modes of exercise training. Practical implications Employees not meeting recommended volumes of exercise might require additional support such as individualised gym and cycling programmes with personal supervision to overcome reported exercise barriers to improve exercise participation, health and fitness. Originality/value This study identifies specific barriers and facilitators to workplace exercise participation perceived by university employees. These findings can be used to inform the design and implementation of workplace exercise programmes aiming to achieve wider workplace engagement and greater exercise adherence, particularly of less active employees.

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“…The majority of respondents indicated that the level of physical activity prior to the current pandemic was moderate or high. Similarly, participants predominately reported that both their general and mental health were “good” or “very good.” The evidence base for the relationships between physical activity, including mind-body focused physical activity, 51 –54 and physical health 51,54 –58 and mental health 52 –54,59 are well established. Additionally, there is evidence of a bidirectional association between mental health and physical activity, 60 –62 suggesting that mental health status may influence the ability or decision to participate in physical activity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

National Internet-Based Survey of the Use, Barriers, Reasons and Beliefs of Mind-Body Practices During the Early Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Hellem

Benavides-Vaello

Taylor-Piliae

2021

J Evid Based Complementary Altern Med

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The purpose of this study was to learn about the use, barriers, reasons and beliefs regarding mind-body practices among adults living in the United States during the beginning months of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. An on-line survey was developed following the Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet e-Surveys (CHERRIES) guidelines and using the online survey software program, Qualtrics® XM, platform. Pilot testing of the survey was conducted for usability and functionality. The final 24-item survey was distributed via email and social media. A total of 338 adults responded to the survey, with 68.8% indicating that they participated in mind-body activities since the start of the pandemic. Physical activity was the most frequently (61.5%, n = 227) used mind-body practice. Further, 2 of the common barriers to engaging in mind-body practices were lack of motivation and wandering mind. Frequently listed reasons for using mind-body practices were to promote health, reduce stress and relaxation. Respondents believed that mind-body practices resulted in less stress. These findings may be applicable for reducing psychological stress related to the pandemic, as the pandemic continues to impact many areas of the United States.

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Exercise at an onsite facility with or without direct exercise supervision improves health‐related physical fitness and exercise participation: An 8‐week randomised controlled trial with 15‐month follow‐up

Cited by 13 publications

References 37 publications

Equipment-free, unsupervised high intensity interval training elicits significant improvements in the physiological resilience of older adults

Equipment-free, unsupervised high intensity interval training elicits significant improvements in the physiological resilience of older adults

Perceived barriers and facilitators to workplace exercise participation

National Internet-Based Survey of the Use, Barriers, Reasons and Beliefs of Mind-Body Practices During the Early Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic

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