2.1. Participant Recruitment and Enrollment
RECRUITMENT
Approval for human subjects research was obtained by the Institutional Review Board of the lead researcher’s university prior to the study. A recruitment flyer was distributed to members of a membership-based village organization that assists older adults in maintaining independent living. Inclusion criteria included being 60 years of age and older, community-dwelling, not participating in resistance training twice a week during the past 6 months, and having a laptop or desktop computer with a camera and WiFi. Due to this being a sample of convenience, sample size for statistical power was not calculated for this study, but rather determined by interest and availability of members of the organization during the narrow time window of implementation. Additional participant recruitment and additional program offerings were not possible so it was deemed that sample size would be based on availability rather than statistical power.Prospective participants who indicated interest were scheduled for a two-step screening process, which started with a virtually hosted consent visit with the research team, where informed consent was obtained. The Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q+) was used to determine if it was safe for an individual to participate in the exercise program [Following the screening meeting, the participant was officially enrolled into the study and was randomized into one of two groups, which determined the order each participant would receive their pre-test and post-test assessments: virtual first, where participants completed their initial functional fitness assessment battery through a virtual appointment with a trained research staff member or in-person first, where participants completed their initial functional fitness assessment battery during an in-person appointment with a different set of trained research staff. Participants completed the second of their functional fitness assessment batteries between 48 and 72 h after the other assessment’s delivery format. The same order of assessment format for each participant was performed at post-test.Despite modifications made in terms of the set up and instructions to accommodate setting, ensuring participant understanding and safety, the virtual and in-person assessments that the participant performed were the same. All of the assessments were carried out using the same standardized script and were executed in the same order. The in-person and virtual assessments are explained in greater detail below. Participation in all phases of the project was voluntary and participants could drop out of the study at any time and for any reason.In total, 16 participants were initially enrolled into the study. Two did not finish the intervention period and one only completed 50% of the exercise sessions. Thirteen participants completed at least 70% of the exercise sessions and were assessed at both pre-test and post-test timepoints. Participants included ten females and three males with a mean age of 82.56 (±6.96) years and mean weight and height of 67.49 (±20.93) kg and 1.68 (±0.1073) m, respectively. Body mass index mean was 23.51 (±4.81) kg/m