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We all know that exercise is good for us, but as we age, our joints might feel creaky or we may have more aches and pains. That may make exercise harder.

Now a new study at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health hopes to help people age 65 and older get moving again.

“Sit less by moving more,” explained Amal Wanigatunga, Ph.D., the principal investigator of the Sedentary to Active Rising to Thrive trial, also known as the START Trial.

Federal guidelines suggest that we get 150 minutes of exercise every week. However, Wanigatunga said, “Those guidelines are hard to reach, particularly for older adults. This trial is trying to find easy, simple, gradual ways to start on a path to be more active.”

Two visits to Hopkins

After a short phone call, participants will visit Hopkins’ Bayview campus for some tests and bloodwork. Then they’ll go home and walk just three minutes a day, adding three minutes each day for 10 days.

At the end of 10 days, they will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: One group will continue to walk for 10 minutes three times a day, and the other will walk for 30 minutes once per day.

Wanigatunga emphasized that this is “very light walking.” The message to everyone who participates is: “I don’t want you to sweat; I don’t want you to push yourself; I just want you to get up and walk very lightly. We’re just building the behavior, the consistency.”

During the two months of the study, participants will wear a wrist monitor that records their activity levels. They’ll also record their experience in a diary. Hopkins researchers will call them periodically to check in.

In the summer months, researchers will remind participants to stay hydrated. “We’re asking them to only walk at the pace they normally walk, like to their mailbox. This is not an exercise trial per se.”

Volunteers get to see results

After two months of walking — either three times a day or once a day — participants return to Bayview for the same tests they took on the first day. They’ll get to see the results of their wrist monitor, which will tell them how active they’ve become.

Then, four months later, researchers will check in by phone. They’ll also mail another wrist monitor to measure movement for seven days.

Light walking is something almost everyone over 65, no matter how sedentary, can try.

“People can reach the 30-minute [goal]. I’m confident that they can do it. They are resilient. They can do it. You just have to give them a process,” Wanigatunga said.

“We’re trying to remove all perceived barriers to starting” a walking habit, he said.

To learn more about the START study, or to volunteer, call (410) 550-3362.