The effect of different types of exercise supervision on adherence, health and fitness in the workplace

This research has identified the importance of providing exercise supervision in the workplace in helping participants to achieve the exercise adherence necessary to bring about improvements to cardiometabolic health and health-related fitness. Thirty-five percent of surveyed university employees reported being physically inactive for the preceding six months. A perceived lack of time and motivation were significantly associated with physical inactivity, while individual-level exercise prescription and supervision was identified as a potential facilitator to workplace exercise participation. Over eight weeks, direct (1:1) exercise supervision resulted in no additional attendance or fitness benefits over and above indirect (standard gym) supervision, and had no long-term (15 months) effects on physical activity participation. However, a more sensitive health and fitness testing battery and a longer intervention period (16 weeks) identified significant between-group differences to exercise adherence, health and fitness outcomes between directly, indirectly and unsupervised exercise. Specifically, both direct and indirect exercise supervision was important for improving employee CRF and upper body muscular strength compared to unsupervised exercise, while direct exercise supervision achieved greater exercise adherence and additional improvements to lower body strength and body composition (reduction in fat mass and increase in lean mass) over and above both indirectly and unsupervised exercise over 16 weeks.