Involuntary physical activity from avoiding electrical shock improves endurance in animals, but the effects of voluntary stand-up physical activity (SPA) are less understood.
A 12-week study with male Sprague-Dawley rats compared a control group to a group encouraged to perform SPA by adjusting food height to promote lifting their body weight.
Results showed that the SPA group had lower body weight and improved endurance (higher grip strength, running time, and distance) compared to the control group, suggesting SPA could be a valuable method for enhancing exercise capacity without forced stimuli.