A physical activity program for women living with metastatic breast cancer

The intervention comprised an 8-week program of 16 exercise sessions conducted in the participant’s home or a local park, supervised by an exercise specialist. An unsupervised walking program was also prescribed for the duration of the 8-week intervention. Each supervised session consisted of a 10-15 min brisk walk followed by 30-40 min of resistance training. The short walk was monitored via a pedometer and Borg’s rating of perceived exertion (RPE), with a target zone of 11-13 to reflect a moderate intensity. The resistance exercises included chest press, horizontal row, upright row, bicep curl, calf raises, lunges and either sit-to-stands or squats. Each exercise was individualised based on training experience and baseline strength. Upper body exercises were delivered using a Smart Stick™ and Smart Toner® and the lower body exercises used body weight resistance, with the addition of hand weights as required. Each resistance exercise involved 2 sets of 10-12 repetitions, with one-minute recovery between each set. Resistance training was performed at a moderate intensity. The volume and intensity of each exercise was recorded in an exercise diary by the trainer at each session. The unsupervised walking program was conducted in the same manner as the supervised walk, with steps counted using a pedometer and a target RPE of 11-13. Women were asked to walk on days they were not seeing their trainer and encouraged to increase the number of steps taken each week by 10%. The number of steps taken during each walk was recorded in a diary maintained by the participant.