Brief Exercise at Work (BE@Work): A Mixed-Methods Pilot Trial of a Workplace High-Intensity Interval Training...

Area of Science:

• Exercise Physiology
• Occupational Health
• Public Health Interventions

Background:

• High-intensity interval training (HIIT) shows promise for enhancing physical fitness and cardiometabolic health markers.
• The workplace presents a feasible setting for implementing HIIT interventions outside traditional laboratory environments.
• The Brief Exercise at Work (BE@Work) program was developed as a workplace HIIT intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a mixed-methods exploratory pilot trial of the BE@Work workplace HIIT intervention.
• To assess the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of workplace HIIT on physical fitness and health markers.
• To gather participant feedback on the intervention experience.

Main Methods:

• A pilot randomized controlled trial involving 54 healthy employees from two workplaces.
• Participants were assigned to 8 weeks of thrice-weekly workplace HIIT (boxing, stair climbing, stepping) or a control group.
• Primary outcome: change in predicted maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max); secondary outcomes: physical fitness, cardiometabolic health, mental well-being, and participant perceptions via focus groups.

Main Results:

• High attendance (82%) and adherence to target heart rates were observed during the HIIT intervention.
• A control-adjusted mean increase in predicted VO2max of 3.9 mL·kg−1·min−1 (Cohen's D = 0.47) was noted.
• Preliminary benefits for muscle power, quality of life, well-being, and perceived stress were observed, alongside some mixed results for other health markers.

Conclusions:

• The BE@Work HIIT intervention demonstrated feasibility and potential effectiveness in a workplace setting.
• Participant feedback indicated both challenging physiological responses and positive post-exercise alertness.
• Findings support the initiation of a definitive randomized controlled trial to confirm the effectiveness of workplace HIIT.