Behavioral control of exercise in adults: Studies 7 and 8

Building on our previous six study series, the current studies 7 and 8 eval uated behavioral methods of improving adherence to exercise in adults. The studies tested the effectiveness of a single exercise modality versus choic e of a variety of exercises and were conducted as part of a 12-week extende d studies college course in San Diego, CA. Recruitment efforts were targete d to individuals who reported that they were sedentary and(or had experienc ed difficulty adhering to regular exercise. Participants were 42 adults (32 F 10M; mean age = 42.0) in Study 7 and 48 adults (35F, 8M; mean age =47.9) in Study 8. In each study, subjects were randomly assigned to a single focu s or variety exercise condition. There were no significant group difference s in class attendance or out-of-class exercise adherence rates in Studies 7 or 8. In Study 7, significantly lower drop-out rates were detected in the single focus group (19%) than the variety condition (47.6%) (p = 0.04). No significant group differences were detected for drop-out rates in Study 8. Suggestions for further research are offered.