Table 1.

An example of exercise rehabilitation report using the CERT⁹

Checklist Item # (Section)	Description	Sample Therapeutic Approach
1 (What: Materials)	Detailed description of the type of exercise equipment	•Treadmills, strength equipment that controlled the plane of movement and weight-bearing exercises were used during the exercise intervention. •Pilates balls and rubber bands were also included in the program.
2 (Who: Providers)	Detailed description of the qualifications, expertise and/or training	•A physician conducted a complete medical examination. •The patient was referred to a clinical exercise physiologist (CEP) for exercise rehabilitation.
3 (How: Delivery)	Describe whether exercises are performed individually or in a group	•Exercise sessions were performed individually.
4 (How: Delivery)	Describe whether exercises are supervised or unsupervised; how they are delivered	•All exercises were supervised and delivered at a medical exercise facility using a cloud-based app to track patient progress.
5 (How: Delivery)	Detailed description of how adherence to exercise is measured and reported	•The patient used a Bluetooth heart rate monitor that provided instant feedback on a mobile app. •The physician and CEP were able to track the patient's progress and record it automatically.
6 (How: Delivery)	Detailed description of motivation strategies	•Encouragement and positive reinforcement were applied during supervised exercise sessions.
7a (How: Delivery)	Detailed description of the decision rule(s) for determining exercise progression	•Exercise progression was individualized based on self-reported complete recovery from the previous exercise session. •Any emerging long COVID symptoms were noted.
7b (How: delivery)	Detailed description of how the exercise program was progressed	Aerobic exercises •Frequency: Start 3, progressing to 5 days/week •Intensity: Start at rating of perceived exertion (RPE) 11, progressing by an increase RPE of 2 until an RPE of 14 on a 6-20 scale is reached •Time: Started with 10 minutes, progressing by 2 minutes every week •Type: Walking Resistance exercises •Frequency: 2 days/week, progressing from 1 set of 8 reps of bodyweight exercises, progressing to 3 sets, 8-12 reps with TheraBands Flexibility exercises •Frequency: 3 days/week, performed 3 days/week and maintained throughout the exercise intervention •Time: 10-15 minutes/session •Type: Tai Chi
8 (How: Delivery)	Detailed description of each exercise to enable replication	•A cloud-based platform and mobile app were used to assign customized exercise routines. •Videos of each exercise were available on the mobile application.
9 (How: Delivery)	Detailed description of any home program component	•The patient was encouraged to replace extended time in sitting activities with some unstructured physical activity such as free movement and walking.
10 (How: Delivery)	Describe whether there are any non-exercise components	•Pursed-lip breathing technique with a physical therapist on nonexercise days to decrease dyspnea (shortness of breath).
11 (How: Delivery)	Describe the type and number of adverse events that occur during exercise	•None reported.
12 (Where: Location)	Describe the setting in which the exercises are performed	•All supervised exercise sessions took place in a medical exercise facility.
13 (When, How Much: Dosage)	Detailed description of the exercise intervention	Aerobic exercises •Frequency: 3-5 days/week •Intensity: subjective and based on an RPE of 11 to 14 on a 6-20 scale •Time: Started with 10 minutes •Type: Walking Resistance exercises •Frequency: 2 days/week, 8-12 reps with TheraBands Flexibility exercises •Frequency: 3 days/week, performed 3 days/week •Time: 10-15 minutes/session, Type: Tai Chi
14a (What/How: Tailoring)	Describe whether the exercises are generic (one size fits all) or tailored	•Exercises were individually tailored.
14b (What/How: Tailoring	Detailed description of how exercises are tailored to the individual	•Baseline clinical exercises were used to develop a progressive tailored exercise rehabilitation program.
15 (What/How: Tailoring	Describe the decision rule for determining the starting level	•The starting levels were based on pre-exercise clinical assessments.
16a (How Well: Compliance and Planned)	Describe how adherence or fidelity is assessed/measured	•A mobile app was used to record and track exercise progression.
16b (How Well: Compliance and Planned)	Describe the extent to which the intervention was delivered as planned	•Acute physiological responses to exercise were visible to the patient and CEP. •The patient's own data were used to develop subsequent exercise sessions using an online app, considering objective measures (eg, physiological responses to exercise, oxygen saturation, resting blood pressure) and subjective feedback (eg, RPE, dyspnea rating, symptoms).