Low-Cost Strategies for Increasing Exercise Behavior

Two low-cost methods (social support and a brief relapse preparation training procedure) for increasing the number of participant-controlled jogging episodes over a five-week period were investigated. Participants were 58 undergraduate women not currently involved in exercise. A 2 x 2 factorial design was employed wherein participants received either support alone, relapse preparation alone, both of these interventions, or neither intervention. Jogging during the study was measured via self-report, with reliability assessed using unobtrusive observers. Participants receiving either social support or relapse preparation alone initiated significantly more jogging episodes than control participants. Participants receiving both interventions did not differ significantly from controls. The most likely reason for this finding appeared to concern the cohesiveness of the jogging groups in the condition receiving both interventions. At a three-month follow-up, a significantly greater percentage of participants in the relapse preparation alone condition reported consistent jogging than in the other three conditions. Differential changes in predicted aerobic fitness levels (Cooper, 1977) between conditions, and a significant positive correlation (.41) between number of jogging episodes and improvement in fitness across conditions were also found. These results supported the findings suggested by the self-report data.