Development of a Power Training Program to Improve Mobility in Older Veterans

NCT ID: NCT07210645

Last Updated: 2025-10-07

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 30 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2026-04-06
• Study Completion Date: 2030-12-31

Brief Summary

The overall purpose of this study is to develop a power training intervention in partnership with Veterans participating in Gerofit and to evaluate the program's acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary participant outcomes (leg power, physical function and self-report participation).

Detailed Description

The overall purpose of this project is to co-design a power training intervention for Veterans engaged in Gerofit and to assess its feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary participant outcomes. Gerofit Veterans and exercise providers will participate in co-designing the power training intervention through interviews and feedback sessions. The power training program developed will be tested in the subsequent randomized feasibility pilot. This pilot aims to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary outcomes of a power training program in older Veterans participating in Gerofit using an explanatory sequential mixed methods design. Veterans newly enrolled in the Gerofit program will be randomized into power training and standard of care groups and will participate in exercise sessions over 6 months. Feasibility and acceptability will be assessed by Veteran adherence to program components and by validated surveys. Quantitative data collection will inform qualitative interviews with Veterans on the acceptability and feasibility of the power training program at its completion. Clinical outcomes will be collected (leg power, physical function, and self-report participation) at baseline, 3 months and 6 months and will be compared between the Gerofit power training and Gerofit standard of care groups. Study findings will lead to the development of a power training program that optimally meets Veteran and Gerofit program needs. In addition, study outcomes will guide implementation of a power training program into Gerofit programs aimed at enhancing mobility outcomes in older Veterans.

Conditions

Physical Deconditioning; Mobility Decline

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Gerofit Power Training Intervention

This group will be randomized to receive Gerofit power training intervention for 6 months. They will receive power training as part of each Gerofit exercise session. Gerofit exercise sessions also include aerobic, flexibility, and balance training.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Gerofit Power Training

Intervention Type: OTHER

Gerofit Power Training will include a power training exercise prescription which will focus on having participants perform concentric portions of each resistance exercise as fast and as safely as possible with the eccentric component performed in a slow and controlled manner. The target dose of the power training intervention is 40-60% of the participant's 1-repetition maximum for 4-6 repetitions across 3-6 sets for each exercise. Exercises will focus on the major groups of the upper and lower body. All other Gerofit program components (balance, aerobic, and flexibility) will be consistent with the standard of care group. Sessions will be the same duration as the standard of care Gerofit group (60-75 minutes). The power training and standard of care groups will only differ in the form of resistance training performed.

Gerofit Standard of Care

This group will be randomized to receive standard of care exercise Gerofit exercise prescription for 6 months. Standard of care exercise for the Gerofit program includes combined aerobic, strength, flexibility and balance training.

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Gerofit Standard of Care

Intervention Type: OTHER

Gerofit standard of care is a 60-75 minute multimodal exercise program which includes 20-30 minutes of aerobic training, traditional strength training of the major upper and lower body muscle groups (1-3 sets of 8-12 repetitions at moderate load), flexibility training and balance training.

Interventions

Gerofit Power Training

Gerofit Power Training will include a power training exercise prescription which will focus on having participants perform concentric portions of each resistance exercise as fast and as safely as possible with the eccentric component performed in a slow and controlled manner. The target dose of the power training intervention is 40-60% of the participant's 1-repetition maximum for 4-6 repetitions across 3-6 sets for each exercise. Exercises will focus on the major groups of the upper and lower body. All other Gerofit program components (balance, aerobic, and flexibility) will be consistent with the standard of care group. Sessions will be the same duration as the standard of care Gerofit group (60-75 minutes). The power training and standard of care groups will only differ in the form of resistance training performed.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Gerofit Standard of Care

Gerofit standard of care is a 60-75 minute multimodal exercise program which includes 20-30 minutes of aerobic training, traditional strength training of the major upper and lower body muscle groups (1-3 sets of 8-12 repetitions at moderate load), flexibility training and balance training.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

Pilot Study Criteria:

• Veterans 65 years of age and older
• New enrollees of the Rocky Mountain Regional Gerofit Program
• ability to function independently in a group setting

Exclusion Criteria

• inability to perform basic activities of daily living
• oxygen dependency
• unstable cardiac disease
• moderate to severe cognitive impairment (Montreal cognitive assessment scores < 24)
• proliferative diabetic retinopathy
• relative exclusions for participation in the in-person Gerofit exercise program including: open wounds, incontinence, and lack of transportation
• inability to ambulate
• progressive neurological diagnoses (e.g. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis)
• individuals with planned orthopedic surgeries in the next 3 months

• Minimum Eligible Age: 65 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

VA Office of Research and Development

FED

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Mattie E Pontiff, PT, DPT, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center, Aurora, CO

Locations

Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center, Aurora, CO

Aurora, Colorado, United States

Countries

United States

Central Contacts

Mattie E Pontiff, PT, DPT, PhD

Role: CONTACT

MATTIE.PONTIFF@CUANSCHUTZ.EDU

(337) 578-2252

Jennifer E Stevens-Lapsley, PhD

Role: CONTACT

Jennifer.Stevens-Lapsley@va.gov

(303) 949-9304

Facility Contacts

Mattie E Pontiff, MD

Role: primary

MATTIE.PONTIFF@CUANSCHUTZ.EDU

337-578-2252

Other Identifiers

25-1070

Identifier Type: OTHER

Identifier Source: secondary_id

RRD8-001-24W

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id