Stair climbing “exercise snacks” integrated into daily life via smartwatch: A proof-of-concept study

Exercise snacking (ES) is a time-efficient physical training that incorporates brief, high-intensity exercise bouts (≤ 1 minute) into daily routines. In previous ES studies personal trainers administered each ES session, which is not scalable for public health interventions. In the present study we evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of a smartwatch-supervised ES program, integrating short stair-climbing ES sessions into daily life. To test for potential effects of the training program we assessed aerobic and anaerobic performance pre and post the ES program. Eight adults (age 36 ± 14 years, 6 females) completed the study. We assessed (1) feasibility (i.e., frequency, duration, and intensity of ES), (2) acceptability (integrability, physical demand, personal trainer experience), and (3) changes in anaerobic performance (Counter Movement Jump, CMJ; Stair Climb Power Test, SCP) and in aerobic performance (Cardiopulmonary exercise test, CPET) before and after a 6-week ES-program. Participants performed an average of 13 ± 2 ES/week, with a mean duration of 51 ± 19 seconds, and a maximum heart rate of 137 ± 16 beats per minute. Participants reported that the program was easy to integrate into daily life, they felt physically exhausted after ES, and considered weekly personal trainer meetings beneficial. Anaerobic performance was significantly higher after the ES, with large effect sizes observed for CMJ height, SCP time, and SCP power. Peak power output was significantly higher for Wpeak in the CPET but not different for VO2_peak. The smartwatch supervised stair-climbing ES paradigm was feasible and well accepted in our cohort. We showed higher performance levels after the ES program, which were, however, not to the same scale as those reported in studies with supervision of the program by a personal trainer. A smartwatch seems to be a potential alternative to a personal trainer in supervising a stair-climbing ES program which should be evaluated in a randomized controlled trial.