You can’t always get what you want: expectations, outcomes, and adherence of new exercisers

Reciprocal relationships between self‐efficacy, outcome satisfaction, and attendance at an exercise programme

“…At the beginning of the exercise programme, task self-efficacy was the strongest predictor of attendance, although by 12 months, the relationship was small and negative, suggesting that behaviour is no longer dependent on whether one feels capable of performing it. While previous research indicates outcome satisfaction (Neff & King, 1995;Wilcox et al, 2006) and exercise self-efficacy (Blanchard et al, 2002;Larson, McFadden, McHugh, Berry, & Rodgers, 2017;Rodgers et al, 2013) play a role in behavioural maintenance, this is the first study to examine these constructs simultaneously over time. These findings are consistent with previous research that has found confidence for physical tasks important to behaviour during the initial months of exercise programmes (Rodgers et al, 2009(Rodgers et al, , 2013Selzler, Rodgers, Berry, & Stickland, 2016), and confidence for overcoming barriers important to longerterm exercise performance (Blanchard, Rodgers, Courneya, Daub, & Knapik, 2002; Schwarzer & Luszczynska, 2015).…”

“…Physical capabilities are important to get people started with exercise programmes, while facilitating outcome satisfaction and honing skills for overcoming barriers associated with exercise are important for maintaining exercise. While previous research indicates outcome satisfaction (Neff & King, 1995;Wilcox et al, 2006) and exercise self-efficacy (Blanchard et al, 2002;Larson, McFadden, McHugh, Berry, & Rodgers, 2017;Rodgers et al, 2013) play a role in behavioural maintenance, this is the first study to examine these constructs simultaneously over time. However, the degree that these constructs contribute to decisions to continue and terminate an exercise programme remains unclear.…”

“…Dissatisfaction with outcomes experienced and lack of scheduling capabilities were identified as contributors to programme dropout, along with an unmet desire for accountability and socialization (Larson, McFadden, McHugh, Berry, & Rodgers, 2018). For the completers, the change in environment and lack of accountability to other people contributed to participants' inability to maintain their exercise behaviour after the study (Larson et al, 2017), suggesting that continued development of confidence for adapting to barriers and changing environmental circumstances are important to maintain exercise long term. However, participants reported a drastic decrease in exercise frequency and intensity after completing the 12month programme, suggesting that outcome satisfaction alone is not enough to maintain exercise adherence.…”

“…Dissatisfaction with outcomes experienced and lack of scheduling capabilities were identified as contributors to programme dropout, along with an unmet desire for accountability and socialization (Larson, McFadden, McHugh, Berry, & Rodgers, 2018). Among completers, satisfaction with outcomes, particularly outcomes that were unexpected (i.e., improved mood, improved sleep, improved energy), facilitated adherence (Larson et al, 2017). However, participants reported a drastic decrease in exercise frequency and intensity after completing the 12month programme, suggesting that outcome satisfaction alone is not enough to maintain exercise adherence.…”

“…However, participants reported a drastic decrease in exercise frequency and intensity after completing the 12month programme, suggesting that outcome satisfaction alone is not enough to maintain exercise adherence. For the completers, the change in environment and lack of accountability to other people contributed to participants' inability to maintain their exercise behaviour after the study (Larson et al, 2017), suggesting that continued development of confidence for adapting to barriers and changing environmental circumstances are important to maintain exercise long term. However, more research is needed to better understand the complexity of factors associated with decisions to continue and terminate exercise participation.…”