Impact of Alternating Exercise Intensity Interventions on the Physical and Mental Health of Middle-Aged and Young Men

Abstract

Exercise interventions have been shown to improve health levels; however, the effects of different exercise intervention methods remain to be studied. This study designed seven types of exercise interventions, including high-intensity interval training (HIIT), moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT), low-intensity steady-state training (LISS) and various alternating combinations. A 16-week follow-up investigation analyzed the impact of these different exercise interventions on participants’ physical and psychological health. The results indicate that exercise interventions are an effective health promotion method, significantly reducing BMI and body fat percentage, improving metabolic health, cardiovascular health, and cardiorespiratory function and enhancing quality of life and psychological state. Specifically, the HIIT-LISS combination performed best in reducing BMI, regulating blood lipids, and increasing VO2max. Furthermore, HIIT demonstrated the most significant improvement in body fat percentage and blood pressure, with body fat reduced by up to 5.65% and blood pressure decreasing by nearly 9 mmHg, whereas the MICT-LISS showed better effects on heart rate. Although the improvement in psychological health from different exercise interventions was not significant, it increased by over 10% compared to the control group. Overall, the combined effect of HIIT and MICT was found to be the most effective, with mixed exercise interventions showing more pronounced effects on physical health indicators.