Dr. Richard Metcalfe, Lecturer in Sports and Exercise Physiology, met medical journalist Michael Mosely and a team of scientists to film part of the BBC One documentary, ‘The Truth About Getting Fit’.

Applying a time-efficient exercise intervention that he helped develop, Dr. Metcalfe and Researchers from the University of Stirling installed a bike- specially developed to run the exercise protocol automatically, unsupervised and in an engaging way- in a busy London office to test whether it would be possible for office workers to improve their fitness by doing just 2 minutes of intense exercise a week. In total, the exercise intervention takes 10 minutes-with just 40-seconds of intense exercise-and is done three times a week. Dr. Metcalfe’s research has shown that done regularly in controlled laboratory settings, this type of exercise can boost cardiorespiratory fitness, one of the most important risk factors for future cardiovascular disease.

‌Dr. Richard Metcalfe and the specialized bike helped developed.

Dr Metcalfe, said: “Increasing your fitness levels through regular exercise is one of the best things you can do for your health. However, with such busy lifestyles and increasingly sedentary work environments, for many people it can be difficult to find the time to exercise regularly. We know that this time-efficient exercise protocol works in the laboratory, but this is the first time it’s been tested in an unsupervised office setting”

Participants performed the exercise protocol unsupervised in the office for 6-weeks and had their cardiorespiratory fitness measured before and after, but you’ll have to tune in to BBC One Wednesday 31^st January 8pm to find out the results.