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Abstract

Evidence has suggested that among untrained individuals, supervised exercise interventions may elicit greater health benefits and long-term exercise adherence compared to unsupervised exercise interventions. Purpose: This study focused on determining the effectiveness of a five-month supervised exercise intervention compared to a five-week unsupervised duration at a university work-site for faculty and staff members on physical activity behavior, muscular endurance, and cardiovascular health. Methods: An exercise intervention met three times per week for five months to undergo 60 minutes of structured, group exercise led by fitness professionals. This was followed by 5 weeks of independent exercise. Data collected included physical activity behavior via a validated accelerometer, muscular endurance, and cardiovascular health. Results: Repeated measures ANOVA at three time periods were conducted and post-hoc paired samples t-tests to determine where the main effect occurred. The data indicated that participation in a five-month supervised exercise program resulted in improvements of physical activity behavior (p=0.003) and increased muscular endurance via push-ups (p=0.002) and curl-ups (p<0.001). A fiveweek unsupervised program resulted in decreased physical activity behavior, decreased muscular endurance back to baseline levels, and increased resting heart rate (p=0.005). Conclusion: This study suggests that supervised exercise programs for previously sedentary individuals are effective in improving overall fitness. While a period of unsupervised exercise may result in less physical activity and decrease in muscular endurance and cardiovascular health.