The Acute Physical and Cognitive Effects of a Classical Workplace Physical Activity Program Versus a Motor-Cognitive Coordination Workplace Program A Randomized Crossover Trial

Objective: To compare the exercise loads and cognitive effects of a classical workplace program from that for a motor-cognitive coordination workplace intervention. Methods: Twenty-eight (28) employed adults (women 19, men 9) participated in a motor-cognitive coordination and a classical workplace health promotion exercise intervention. Effects on attention and cognition (trail making test [TMT]) as well as exercise load (heart rate and rates of perceived exhaustion [RPE]) were assessed. Results: The motor-cognitive intervention does not improve cognitive abilities (TMT-A: -4.6 +/- 2.2 seconds; TMT-B: -8.5 +/- 3.2 seconds) to a greater extent than the classical workplace health enhancement training (TMT-A: -4.6 +/- 3.1 seconds; TMT-B: -7.4 +/- 3.9 seconds) (P<0.05). The exercise load was not different between the two interventions (maximal heart rate: 107 +/- 8 vs 111 +/- 6 bpm; RPE: 11.8 +/- 1.7 vs 11.9 +/- 1.2 points). Conclusions: The motor-cognitive workplace intervention may be adopted as an additional/alternate enhancement in terms of varied activity, and not as a compensation intervention for workplace health. More research is needed to proof this assumption.