Politécnico de Leiria

The older population is the least likely to engage in regular physical activity and to meet international recommendations for performing 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week. Additionally, older adults living in care institutions tend to have even lower levels of physical activity compared to those living in the community. This physical inactivity among institutionalized older adults carries harmful consequences, such as the loss of muscle mass and strength, both of which are associated with decreased balance and an increased risk of falling, an adverse event with personal, physical, economic, social, and potentially fatal implications. Although this situation is well described in the literature, little is known about whether increasing physical activity levels from near-optimal (almost 150 minutes of physical activity per week) to optimal (more than 150 minutes per week) can influence muscle strength and balance in institutionalized older adults, and thereby reduce the burden related to falls.
This type of research is essential, as weekly frequency may be a variable to consider in the prescription of physical exercise for this population. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends using the FITT principle (Frequency, Intensity, Type, and Time) to guide exercise prescription. By adjusting these factors, individuals can tailor workouts to their specific goals and fitness levels. While attention has been given to the type of training, its intensity, and its duration, it is important to recognize that total weekly volume may be a determining factor for improvements in components of physical fitness.
Considering that this population tends to be physically inactive, incorporating physical activity two or three times per week may lead to different outcomes. While exercising twice per week may seem suboptimal, as it does not meet international guidelines, engaging in physical activity three times per week may be the minimum necessary to observe positive effects on muscle strength and balance.

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if pleasure-oriented exercise intensity manipulation increases physical activity (PA) behavior in patients who have suffered acute coronary syndrome during a cardiac rehabilitation program. The main question it aims to answer is:
• the manipulation of exercise intensity performed to produce more pleasure and arousal will impact the PA behavior? Researchers will compare the PA levels and affective responses to see if the manipulation of exercise intensity guided to pleasure and arousal works to increase PA behavior compared to the control group who will follow a conventional exercise program.
Participants will do:
* sixteen individualized hospital exercise sessions (two per week) and complementary physical activity program integrated into their daily life
* be evaluated before and at the end of the exercise sessions and after 3 months

The goal of this randomized controlled trial is to evaluate the efficacy of a physical activity coaching intervention - delivered through an eHealth platform both during and after pulmonary rehabilitation - to enhance physical activity levels and health-related outcomes in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). All participants will attend the pulmonary rehabilitation program for 2 months; the experimental group will receive a physical activity coaching intervention at the end of the 1st month of the rehabilitation program, which will continue for 6 months following the completion of the program. Assessments will be conducted at the beginning, midway, and at the end of the coaching program, as well as 3 months and 6 months after its conclusion.