Like so many things in life, exercise involves a decision

A recent article I read mentioned a study that looked at motivation and exercise. The results of the study were not only interesting but also confirmed what I have thought about exercise for a long time…that we fluctuate in our motivation to exercise, sometimes even on a weekly basis. Researchers from Penn State University recruited 33 college students and assessed over a ten-week period both the students’ weekly intentions to be physically active and their activity levels. During each of the ten weeks, participants were instructed to log on to a website and to rate their intentions to perform physical activity for the week ahead. To assess physical activity, participants were instructed to wear pedometers each day for the first four weeks.  The team found that for many of the participants, the motivation to exercise fluctuated on a weekly basis, and these fluctuations were linked to their behavior. The results appear in the current issue of the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology. [Read more…]