Effects of a daily, home-based, 5-minute eccentric exercise program on physical fitness, body composition, and health in sedentary individuals.

Purpose: This study examined the effects of a 4-week home-based bodyweight eccentric exercise program, requiring just 5 min daily, on physical fitness, body composition, and both physical and mental health in sedentary individuals.

Methods: Twenty-two sedentary but healthy individuals (4 men, 18 women; 32-69 years) completed a two-week control period followed by a 4-week intervention. The intervention involved daily exercises consisting of 10 repetitions each of chair squats, chair reclines, wall push-ups, and heel drops, including progressions if necessary. Assessments included isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP), handgrip (HG) strength, push-up and sit-up endurance, sit-and-reach (S&R) flexibility, 3-min step test (3ST), squat jump (SJ), countermovement jump (CMJ), body composition (via dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry), physical health markers (blood based), and mental wellbeing (SF-36 survey and subjective vitality scale [SVS]). Measurements were taken before (PRE-1), after the control period (PRE-2), and after the 4-week training period (POST).

Results: Adherence to the program was 91±12% (18-28 sessions over 28 days). Intraclass correlation coefficients presented moderate-to-excellent reliability within the control period. No significant changes were observed in body composition, resting heart rate, blood pressure, HG, SJ, CMJ, or blood markers after training. However, significant improvements (p < 0.05) were noted in IMTP (13.0±18.5%), push-up (66.1±86.5%), sit-up (51.1±78.7%), S&R (9.1±20.0%), and 3ST heart rate (4.8±7.1% decrease). Mental health scores improved significantly (SF-36 by 16±29% and SVS by 20±3%, p < 0.05).

Conclusion: The 5-minute daily eccentric exercise routine over 4 weeks significantly improved physical fitness and mental health in sedentary individuals, suggesting even a small dose of daily exercise can be beneficial.