Table 6 Summary of the 4-month home-based aerobic and resistance exercise training prescription, materials, and behavior change interactions

Home-based resistance and aerobic training

Based on the exercise training guidelines for adults. Aerobic-training; 10–30 min of moderate-intensity walking (1000 steps/10 min) performed 3 days a week. Resistance training; 1–2 sets, 10–15 repetitions of 1–10 exercises targeting lower body, upper body, and core muscle groups performed 3 days per week

Program variation

Orange—Aerobic and resistance training time and intensity increased over 16 weeks, and exercise guidelines achieved and maintained on week 6. Blue—as above, exercise guidelines achieved and maintained on week 8. Green—as above exercise, guidelines achieved and maintained on week 10

Materials

Exercise equipment

Aerobic equipment; Yamax CW-300 Digi Walker™ pedometer. Resistance equipment; elastic resistance bands varying in 5 increments of strength

Online Videos

Demonstrations of resistance training exercises including modifications for differing levels of physical capability

Program manual

An introduction to the staff, safety information, guidelines for exercise in MS, description of equipment, and a detailed description of the resistance and aerobic exercises to be performed and how to progress over 4 months. Comparison tables of orange, blue, and green programs

Calendars

Four undated calendars to facilitate exercise planning

Logbook

Annotated booklet for participants to note exercise participation, feelings, and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) after each session. Aerobic training recorded per session as; length of time (in minutes) walked and number of steps per session, 5-point scale (stars) to describe how participants would rate the session, 100-point slider to describe enjoyment of exercise session, and RPE on 1–10 scale. Resistance training recorded per session as; number of sets, repetitions and resistance band utilized for the prescribed exercise per session, 5-point scale (stars) to describe how participants would rate the session, 100-point slider to describe enjoyment of exercise session, and RPE on 1–10 scale

Behavioral change interaction

Tele-chats

Designed to provide participants with feedback and information on progression through the exercise program as well as to provide social accountability

Newsletter

Newsletters provide material on specific behavioral change content, information from other resources, testimonials of individuals who have experienced benefits of exercise, and tips for participants to try at home