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. 2022 Sep 28;19(19):12308.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph191912308.

Very Low-Volume, High-Intensity Interval Training Mitigates Negative Health Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic-Induced Physical Inactivity

Dejan Reljic  1   2 , Annalena Eichhorn  1 , Hans J Herrmann  1   2 , Markus F Neurath  2   3 , Yurdagül Zopf  1   2
Affiliations

Very Low-Volume, High-Intensity Interval Training Mitigates Negative Health Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic-Induced Physical Inactivity

Dejan Reljic et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Initially, we aimed to investigate the impact of a one-year worksite low-volume, high-intensity interval training (LOW-HIIT) on cardiometabolic health in 114 sedentary office workers. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, LOW-HIIT was discontinued after 6 months and participants were followed up for 6 months to analyze physical activity/exercise behavior and outcome changes during lockdown. Health examinations, including cardiopulmonary exercise testing and the assessment of cardiometabolic markers were performed baseline (T-1), after 6 months (T-2, termination of worksite LOW-HIIT) and 12 months (T-3, follow-up). Cycle ergometer LOW-HIIT (5 × 1 min at 85-95% HRmax) was performed 2×/week. For follow-up analyses, participants were classified into three groups: HIIT-group (continued home-based LOW-HIIT), EX-group (continued other home-based exercises), and NO-EX-group (discontinued LOW-HIIT/exercise). At T-2, VO2max (+1.5 mL/kg/min, p = 0.002), mean arterial blood pressure (MAB, -4 mmHg, p < 0.001), HbA1c (-0.2%, p = 0.005) and self-reported quality of life (QoL, +5 points, p < 0.001) were improved. At T-3, HIIT-group maintained VO2max and QoL and further improved MAB. EX-group maintained MAB and QoL but experienced a VO2max decrease. In NON-EX, VO2max, MAB and QoL deteriorated. We conclude that LOW-HIIT can be considered a promising option to improve cardiometabolic health in real-life conditions and to mitigate physical inactivity-related negative health impacts during lockdowns.

Keywords: cardiometabolic health; exercise; health promotion; lockdown; occupational health management; physical activity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study flow chart.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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