Scientific Programme
Sports and Exercise Medicine and Health
IS-MH08 - Brief, intermittent vigorous physical activity for health: Considerations from a physiological, behavioural, and applied perspective
Date: 09.07.2026, Time: 14:00 - 15:15, Session Room: Auditorium B (STCC)
Description
The latest guidelines worldwide including from the World Health Organization emphasize that any amount of physical activity is better than none. The health effects of each time unit of physical activity are intensity dependent. For a given volume of physical activity, higher amounts performed at vigorous intensity are associated with additional mortality risk reduction. This is likely due in part to greater improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness and protection against the main non-communicable diseases. Brief, intermittent, vigorous physical activity describes a ‘micropattern’ of habitual movement involving sporadic bouts lasting up to one to two minutes and performed either in a planned and structured manner (i.e. “exercise snacks”) or as part of daily living (i.e. “vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity”; VILPA). The approach may be more feasible than traditional longer continuous bouts of physical activity for many adults. It requires minimal time commitment and many applications of the method such as stairclimbing, fast walking while commuting, or bodyweight exercises involve little or no preparation, equipment, or access to facilities. This symposium will consider current evidence regarding brief, intermittent vigorous physical activity for health from a physiological, behavioural, and applied perspective. The presenters are at the forefront of research in each of the areas and will emphasize interdisciplinary collaboration to advance the field.
Chair(s)
Martin Gibala
McMaster University, Kinesiology
Canada
Speaker A
Martin Gibala
McMaster University, Kinesiology
Canada
Read CVECSS Lausanne 2026: IS-MH08 [5139]
The physiological basis of brief, intermittent vigorous physical activity for health
The physiological basis of brief, intermittent vigorous physical activity for health is rooted in high-intensity interval training (HIIT). The method, pioneered by high-level athletes and practiced for over a century to improve performance, simply refers to repeated bouts of relatively hard work interspersed with recovery periods. The notion of interval training to improve health, including in a rehabilitative context or when practiced by individuals who are relatively inactive or deconditioned, has also been advanced for decades. In the latter context, HIIT can be characterized as intermittent bouts performed at vigorous intensity, as demarcated by various indicators related to perceived exertion, oxygen uptake, or heart rate as defined in authoritative public health and exercise prescription guidelines. Physiological responses to HIIT linked to improved health include increased maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), which reflects the peak integrated capacity of the body to transport and utilize oxygen. The clinical correlate of VO2max is cardiorespiratory fitness, which is strongly associated with risk for all-cause mortality and many non-communicable diseases. Despite evidence supporting the efficacy of HIIT to increase VO2max, recent critiques have underscored methodological and statistical concerns regarding many interval training studies. This has spurred a reassessment of the foundational evidence supporting the approach using robust research designs constructed to address limitations of previous studies and the so called “reproducibility crisis” in this area of exercise science. Brief, intermittent vigorous physical activity is an application of HIIT involving short, isolated bouts performed periodically throughout the day. This can be either in a planned and structured manner or sporadically as part of daily living. Randomized controlled trials demonstrate the feasibility of the general approach in ‘real world’ settings. Emerging data also supports the potential for this style of physical activity to enhance glycemic control, highlighting possible utility in the prevention and management of conditions such as type 2 diabetes. The findings from prospective investigations are supported by epidemiological evidence that leverages the capacity of wearable devices such as wrist and thigh accelerometers to continuously record movement at a high resolution, enabling the capture of fine-grain patterns of brief physical activity bouts. These studies demonstrate that a few minutes of daily vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity is associated with substantially lower mortality including in nonexercisers. This presentation will consider current evidence and directions for interdisciplinary collaboration to advance the filed.
Speaker B
Mary Jung
The University of British Columbia, School of Health and Exercise Sciences
Canada
Read CVECSS Lausanne 2026: IS-MH08 [31757]
Why brief, vigorous exercise remains an attractive public health strategy to promote physical activity: Behavioural insights and opportunities
Debate over whether to promote vigorous intermittent exercise such as high intensity interval training (HIIT) in public-health contexts has pitted its allure of time-efficiency against the assumption that it elicits negative psychological responses. What began as engaging academic discussion has escalated to sweeping attacks on the science of intermittent exercise altogether. Adoption and adherence to an exercise regime is much more nuanced than either a “lack of time” barrier or acute experiences of negative affect. This presentation will provide data from recent controlled trials, community-based interventions, and meta-analyses that explore psychological responses and real-world adherence to brief, vigorous exercise, particularly in comparison to more traditional exercise modalities. Overall, the evidence suggests vigorous intermittent and moderate-intensity continuous exercise are equally enjoyable, and hold similar compliance and adherence rates in supervised and unsupervised settings in a variety of populations. Based on these findings, this presentation will discuss directing attention toward improving behaviour-change and maintenance for all types of exercise. Resources are better spent addressing fundamental questions about exercise initiation and adherence, than perpetuating a vitriolic and uncivil debate over the value of vigorous intermittent versus moderate-intensity continuous exercise. We will discuss how debate, incivility and bullying undermine scientific progress and will issue a call for respectful, civil dialogue in academic discussions.
Speaker C
Kathryn Weston
University of Strathclyde, Department of Psychological Sciences and Health
United Kingdom
Read CVECSS Lausanne 2026: IS-MH08 [10833]
Exploring the application of exercise snacks research in promoting vigorous intensity physical activity for health and well-being
Over the last decade, interest on the impact and application of exercise snacks (i.e., short, purposeful structured exercise dispersed throughout the day) has increased. The utility of the approach as a potential public health promotion tool for improving physical health and countering the negative effects of sedentary behaviour is now being explored across different populations, countries and study locations. Drawing upon data from recently published reviews, this presentation will first summarise the existing literature on the application of exercise snacks across a variety of settings, including universities, workplaces and the home, and offer perspectives and critical insight on the variety of exercise snacks models utilised to date. New data on the application and cardiometabolic impact of stair-based exercise snacks in Scottish office workers will then be shared. Important practical and methodological issues associated with conducting and reporting exercise snacks studies will also be appraised. Specifically, challenges regarding study design, activity modes, exercise intensity monitoring, safety and scalability will be discussed. Using examples from the published literature and emerging data, the potential utility of digital health and wearable technologies such as continuous glucose monitors and smartphone applications, to optimise the delivery, monitoring and participant experiences of exercise snacks programmes will also be explored, thus bringing together the considerations of health professionals, researchers and practitioners. The overarching aim is to provide clear, evidence-based directions for future research on the application of exercise snacks and create a platform for international and interdisciplinary collaborations on the topic.