NCT05249205

Brief Summary

Many people do not manage to do the recommended amount of physical activity for improving general health and wellbeing, and a common reason for this is lack of time. Sprint interval training (SIT) has been suggested to be a time-efficient alternative to current exercise recommendations, but most SIT protocols are not actually as time-efficient as claimed. However, it has previously been shown that the training time commitment of common SIT protocols can be substantially reduced while remaining effective at improving key health markers such as aerobic fitness, insulin function and blood pressure. For example, the reduced-exertion high-intensity interval training (REHIT) protocol consists of two 20-second 'all-out' cycle sprints within a 10-minute low-intensity exercise session. There is some evidence that REHIT is just as effective at improving aerobic fitness with 2 exercise sessions per week compared to 3 or 4 sessions. However, it remains unknown if improvements in aerobic fitness are reduced if just a single REHIT session is performed each week. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to compare improvements in aerobic fitness levels between a control group (no training intervention), a group performing a single REHIT session per week, and a group performing 2 REHIT sessions per week.

Trial Health

57
Monitor

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
15

participants targeted

Target at below P25 for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Feb 2022

Longer than P75 for not_applicable

Geographic Reach
1 country

3 active sites

Status
terminated

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

February 8, 2022

Completed
13 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

February 21, 2022

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

February 21, 2022

Completed
3.3 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

May 30, 2025

Completed
3 months until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

August 30, 2025

Completed
Last Updated

May 5, 2026

Status Verified

April 1, 2026

Enrollment Period

3.3 years

First QC Date

February 8, 2022

Last Update Submit

April 28, 2026

Conditions

General Health

Keywords

Reduced-exertion high-intensity interval trainingREHITTraining frequencyFitness

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Change in maximal aerobic capacity (VO2max)

    VO2max is the greatest volume of oxygen an individual can consume per minute. It is a key health marker.

    Pre-intervention and 3 days following completion of the intervention.

Study Arms (3)

Control

NO INTERVENTION

Participants in the control group will be asked to maintain their regular lifestyle for the duration of the study. They will not receive an intervention.

REHIT1

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in the REHIT1 group will perform a single REHIT session per week for 6 weeks.

Behavioral: REHIT1

REHIT2

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in the REHIT2 group will perform 2 REHIT sessions per week for 6 weeks.

Behavioral: REHIT2

Interventions

REHIT1BEHAVIORAL

This intervention involves a single REHIT exercise session per week. REHIT involves 10 minutes of unloaded cycling on a stationary bike interspersed with two 20-second 'all-out' cycle sprints against a resistance equivalent to 7.5% of body mass.

Also known as: Reduced-exertion high-intensity interval training / single session per week
REHIT1
REHIT2BEHAVIORAL

This intervention is the same as that for the REHIT1 intervention, but with 2 sessions per week instead of 1.

Also known as: Reduced-exertion high-intensity interval training / 2 sessions per week
REHIT2

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years - 40 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsAdult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

  • Apparently healthy
  • Sedentary or recreationally active

You may not qualify if:

  • Classified as highly physically active on the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ)
  • Answering 'Yes' to any of the questions of a standard Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q)
  • Resting heart rate \>100 bpm
  • Resting blood pressure \> 140/90 mm Hg
  • BMI \> 35 kg/m2
  • Testing positive for Covid-19
  • Pregnant women

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (3)

University of Stirling

Stirling, Stirlingshire, FK9 4LA, United Kingdom

Location

University of Worcester

Worcester, Worcestershire, United Kingdom

Location

Swansea University

Swansea, SA1 8EN, United Kingdom

Location

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
NONE
Masking Details
The nature of the intervention does not allow for blinding.
Purpose
PREVENTION
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Model Details: Randomised controlled trial
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Principal investigator

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

February 8, 2022

First Posted

February 21, 2022

Study Start

February 21, 2022

Primary Completion

May 30, 2025

Study Completion

August 30, 2025

Last Updated

May 5, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-04

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will share

Anonymised IPD can be provided to other researchers on request, if the data are of use to answer a valid research question.

Shared Documents
STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP
Time Frame
After completion of data collection.

Locations

GB(3)