Combined endurance and resistance exercise training for physical and mental health in the academic workplace; significance for both employer and employee.

Brief name: Concurrent exercise training (CT) for physical and mental health in the academic workplace. Why: Full-time desk-based workers may be at greater risk of common mental disorders (CMD) and metabolic syndrome due to low levels of physical activity, or chronic stress. Considering the bidirectional relationship between physical activity and stress, it is clear that increasing physical activity through a concurrent resistance and endurance exercise training intervention (CT) could provide significant mental and physical health benefits to employees within the workplace. The academic workplace is unique in that academics have higher psychological strain and lower job satisfaction compared to other university staff, who already present with greater anxiety and depression than the general population. Considering the paucity of health research within academia, this high-risk cohort lends itself to an investigation of the impact of CT on mental and physical health within the workplace. What, how and where and when: The CT intervention will involve both endurance and resistance training. Participants in the CT group will train for 1 h, three times per week, for 14-weeks. Training will be conducted face to face in small groups (2-6 participants) within climate-controlled exercise facilities at either the UTS city or Moore Park campus’. Training sessions will involve: - A 5 min warm-up circuit at 50% working weight, and dynamic stretching, followed by resistance and endurance training. - Resistance exercises including split squats, hip thrusts and machine-based leg press and leg curl for the lower body, and machine-based chest press, horizontal row and lat pull down for the upper body. - Endurance exercise conducted on cycling and rowing ergometers, with equal duration spent in each endurance exercise modality. - Static stretching of the primary muscle groups at the conclusion of each session. - Resistance training gradually progressed to involve 3 sets of 8-12 repetitions, and load was increased once a participant could complete the required number of repetitions with proper technique on all sets over two consecutive training sessions. Following resistance exercise, endurance exercise will be performed for 15-22min. - Rest periods and repetition velocity were self-determined with consultation from training instructors. The first week of training will educate participants on proper form when completing each respective exercise and familiarise subjects with the RPE scale. Participants will be informed about the principles of progressive overload and will be encouraged to gradually increase aerobic and resistance training loads throughout the program. Who provided: Training sessions will be designed by accredited exercise scientists and supervised by trained instructors (third year undergraduate students) to ensure ongoing safety. Initial sessions will be supervised by the Principle Investigator and Research Student to ensure that all sessions are delivered to a consistent standard, thereafter trained instructors (third year undergraduate students) will manage these sessions independently. How well: Adherence to the intervention will be objectively measured via attendance sheets by the supervisor at each training session