Effects of a 6-week at-home exercise intervention on psychological and physical indicators of well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic: Secondary analysis of a pragmatic randomized trial

To examine whether a 6-week at-home exercise intervention, delivered via mobile applications (apps), improves psychological and physical well-being and alleviates ill-being symptoms in adults during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Low active Canadian adults (n = 334) were recruited and randomized to one of three app conditions [Yoga, n = 86; high-intensity interval training (HIIT), n = 82, HIIT + Yoga, n = 83] or a waitlist control condition (n = 83). Those in the exercise conditions (HIIT, Yoga, HIIT + Yoga) were asked to use their respective modules in the apps to complete four 20-min sessions per week for six weeks. Indicators of well-being (flourishing, general mental health, life satisfaction, positive affect, resilience, and perceived physical health) and ill-being (burden of psychosocial problems, negative affect, psychological distress, psychological stress, and physical symptoms) were measured every week over the intervention. After six weeks, compared to the waitlist control condition, those in the HIIT + Yoga condition improved in all well-being outcomes, those in the Yoga condition showed improvements in flourishing, positive affect, and perceived physical health, and those in the HIIT condition showed no improvements in well-being indicators. None of the three exercise conditions demonstrated any improvement in ill-being indicators compared to the waitlist control condition. Engagement with at-home exercise apps over 6 weeks can improve multiple facets of well-being (e.g., flourishing, positive affect), especially when a variety of modalities of exercise are presented. • App-based exercise interventions represent a low-cost, low-barrier pathway to physical activity. • In this trial, app-based at-home exercise did not significantly improve ill-being factors (e.g., distress, negative affect). • However, the apps did improve participants' well-being (e.g., flourishing, resilience). • These effects were most prominent when participants had access to both yoga and high-intensity interval training applications.