In It Together: A Qualitative Evaluation of Participant Experiences of a 10-Week, Group-Based, Workplace HIIT Program for Insufficiently Active Adults

Abstract

Using guidance from the reach, efficacy, adoption, implementation, and maintenance evaluation framework, we aimed to qualitatively evaluate the participant experiences of a workplace high-intensity interval training (HIIT) intervention. Twelve previously insufficiently active individuals (four males and eight females) were interviewed once as part of three focus groups. Perceptions of program satisfaction, barriers to and facilitators of adherence, and persistence to exercise were explored. HIIT initiates interest because of its novelty, provides a sense of accomplishment, and overcomes the barriers of perceived lack of time. The feeling of relatedness between the participants can attenuate negative unpleasant responses during the HIIT sessions. HIIT, in this workplace setting, is an acceptable intervention for physically inactive adults. However, participants were reluctant to maintain the same mode of exercise, believing that HIIT sessions were for the very fit.

Implementation strategies, and barriers and facilitators for implementation of physical activity at work: a scoping review

“…Table 2 presents an overview of the included studies. Three of the eight studies were undertaken in the United States [32–34, 39], three in Denmark [35, 38, 40], and two in the United Kingdom [36, 37]. The studies were published between 2013 and 2018.…”

“…The studies were published between 2013 and 2018. Four studies were qualitative [32, 33, 36, 39, 40], one study was quantitative [38], and three studies were mixed-methods [34, 35, 37]. The reports included a total of 2,686 participants with a range of 41–1,260 participants per study.…”

“…Five out of eight studies included office workers and/or white-collar workers with mostly sedentary work [32–35, 38, 40]. One study included university employees [36], and one study included participants from five different companies (bus company, hospital, university, city council, and government agency) [37]. One study focused on employees who did not meet the recommendations for physical activity [36], and one study included employees who were experiencing pain in the neck and shoulders [40].…”

“…One study included university employees [36], and one study included participants from five different companies (bus company, hospital, university, city council, and government agency) [37]. One study focused on employees who did not meet the recommendations for physical activity [36], and one study included employees who were experiencing pain in the neck and shoulders [40]. Only one study focused on an occupation with high physical work demands (firefighters) [39].…”

Home‐hit improves muscle capillarisation and eNOS/NAD(P)Hoxidase protein ratio in obese individuals with elevated cardiovascular disease risk

“…As such, the novel virtual-monitoring system may have positively influenced the findings of this study, contributing to the high adherence observed. Previous work in sedentary individuals has shown that immediate feedback illustrating HR can positivity influence participant motivation (Kinnafick et al 2018). Allowing the research team to provide feedback to participants throughout the intervention also probably improved motivation by creating a supportive environment (Petit & Cambon, 2016).…”