Functional Activity Strength Training (FAST)

A Brief Digital Exercise Program to Improve Physical Function Among Older Adults

This study is a randomized trial of 100 older adults with mobility disability, who performed a similar brief daily, resistance training program. The investigators set out to answer the following question "Will a digital, brief daily exercise program be feasible, acceptable, and effective among older adults with walking limitations?" To answer that question, participants were assigned to an intervention or delayed-treatment control group. Intervention participants were assigned to complete two 30-second lower body exercises and two 30-second upper body exercises. Fitness tests were completed remotely three times during the 12-weeks (i.e., at baseline, week 6, week 12).

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Walking, Difficulty
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Daily exercise intervention

Detailed Description

This is a 12-week delayed-control randomized trial to answer the following question "Will a digital, brief daily exercise program be feasible, acceptable, and effective among older adults with walking limitations?" Participants who screen eligible will be assigned to one of four conditions, an immediate workout group, an immediate workout group with activity monitor, a delayed workout group or a delayed workout group with activity monitor. Participants will complete a daily 4-minute exercise routine at home and to record their results using an electronic survey. Other outcome measurements will be conducted remotely at baseline, 6, and 12 weeks.

The investigators hypothesize that participants in the AMRAP condition will report significant reductions in functional physical limitations, increased gait speed, and increased physical performance (i.e., increased exercise repetitions) from baseline to 6 weeks compared to those randomized to the delayed-treatment control.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 102
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Pennsylvania
    • Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States, 17033
      • Penn State Hershey Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 65 years and older (Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 65 and older
• Difficulty with walking
• Providers must provide consent for their patient
• Access to the internet
• Must have a camera on computer, tablet, or smartphone
• Fluent in Egnlish

Exclusion Criteria:

• Chest pain or a heart condition on the PAR-Q
• Planning to have surgery in the next 3 months
• Cognitive impairment
• Unable to exercise
• Being currently physically active

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention Condition; The exercise intervention consists of a 4 minute daily routine that includes 2 upper body and 2 lower body exercises.	Behavioral: Daily exercise intervention; Participants will complete four exercises each day, The first two weeks they will be instructed to complete as many repetitions as possible, each day, for 15 seconds and progressing to 30 seconds per exercise after the first two weeks. Participants are asked to increase their goal repetitions by 1 or 2 from their previous best each week. For all exercises with modifications, we will encourage participants to move to the next most difficult modification once they can do 15 repetitions of that exercise.
No Intervention: Delayed-Treatment Control Group; The exercise intervention consists of a 4 minute daily routine that includes 2 upper body and 2 lower body exercises. Participants in the this arm will not start the exercise intervention until the day after the week 12 assessment.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
30-Second Chair Stand	Leg strength and endurance test - number of chair stand repetitions in 30 seconds	Baseline
30-Second Chair Stand	Leg strength and endurance test - number of chair stand repetitions in 30 seconds	6 weeks
30-Second Chair Stand	Leg strength and endurance test - number of chair stand repetitions in 30 seconds	12 weeks
Five Time Sit to Stand Test (5TSTS)	The Five Times Sit to Stand Test measures one aspect of transfer skill. The test provides a method to quantify functional lower extremity strength and/or identify movement strategies a patient uses to complete transitional movements. The score is the amount of time (to the nearest decimal in seconds) it takes a patient to transfer from a seated to a standing position and back to sitting five times.	Baseline
Five Time Sit to Stand Test (5TSTS)	The Five Times Sit to Stand Test measures one aspect of transfer skill. The test provides a method to quantify functional lower extremity strength and/or identify movement strategies a patient uses to complete transitional movements. The score is the amount of time (to the nearest decimal in seconds) it takes a patient to transfer from a seated to a standing position and back to sitting five times.	6 weeks
Five Time Sit to Stand Test (5TSTS)	The Five Times Sit to Stand Test measures one aspect of transfer skill. The test provides a method to quantify functional lower extremity strength and/or identify movement strategies a patient uses to complete transitional movements. The score is the amount of time (to the nearest decimal in seconds) it takes a patient to transfer from a seated to a standing position and back to sitting five times.	12 weeks
Single Leg Stance Test (SLS)	Assessment of static postural and balance control.	12 weeks
Functional limitations	Physical Functioning Questionnaire from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey	12 weeks
Falls	Falls over the past 3 months will be assessed using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey.	12 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Walking gait cadence	Gait cadence will be measured in 50% of the participants using an activPAL device.	10 day period pre and post intervention
Pain on the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) survey	Survey using questions from the NIH-supported Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS). The minimal value for pain interference is not at all, while the minimum value for pain intensity is no pain. The maximum value for pain interference is very much, while the maximum value for pain intensity is worst pain imaginable. A higher score generally means a worse outcome.	12 weeks
Fatigue on the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) survey	Survey using questions from the NIH-supported Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS). The minimum value for fatigue is not at all, while the maximum value is very much. A higher score generally means a worse outcome.	12 weeks
Self-Efficay for Physical Activity (SEPA)	5-item measure that assesses an individual's confidence for engaging in exercise in the presence of barriers.	12 weeks
Percent of sessions attended	Patients will be considered adherent to the intervention when they enter their daily exercise performance data via daily survey. The percent of sessions attended will be calculated by dividing the number of sessions attended by the total number of sessions offered and multiplying the result by 100.	12 weeks
Heart rate	resting and maximal heart rates will be collected during the maximal exercise performance tests	12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): May 1, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 6, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): January 6, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 8, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 24, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): January 26, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 11, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 8, 2025
• Last Verified: July 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mobility Limitation
• Other Study ID Numbers: STUDY00016054

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No