A case for leveraging integrated regulation strategies to optimize health benefits from self-determined exercise behavior

Affective Determinants of Physical Activity: A Conceptual Framework and Narrative Review

“…The notion that persons are motivated to pursue actions and activities, such as PA, that assist them in living a values-aligned life is a central tenant of acceptancebased approaches and is very near in concept to intrinsic motivation Deci, 2000b, 2007;Teixeira et al, 2012). According to practitioners of acceptance-based approaches, by leveraging the desire to live a values-aligned life and drawing out discrepancies between aspirations and actions (for instance, an individual who reports valuing her longevity, vitality, and/or ability to function independently into older age but is being unwilling to engage in PA due to associated unpleasant feelings), it may be possible to build self-identification with PA and increase intrinsic motivation for PA (Stevens and Bryan, 2015). Likewise, the concept of exposing oneself to different -potentially aversive -experiences and experiential contexts (e.g., the presence of uncomfortable feelings or sensations such as muscle cramping or shortness of breath during PA) is also an integral component of acceptance-based therapies and behavioral interventions.…”

“…Likewise, the concept of exposing oneself to different -potentially aversive -experiences and experiential contexts (e.g., the presence of uncomfortable feelings or sensations such as muscle cramping or shortness of breath during PA) is also an integral component of acceptance-based therapies and behavioral interventions. Acceptance-based approaches promote the development of mindful awareness and psychological acceptance skills that may increase willingness to experience and tolerate discomfort during PA (Stevens and Bryan, 2015), and indeed, evidence suggests that acceptance-based interventions show promise for increasing PA behavior (Ulmer et al, 2010;Butryn et al, 2011Butryn et al, , 2018Goodwin et al, 2012a;Kangasniemi et al, 2015;Pears and Sutton, 2020).…”