Scheduled for Health Free Communications, Thursday, April 27, 2006, 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM, Convention Center: 150DEF


A Life Narrative-Based Exercise Philosophy and Curriculum for Exercise Adherence

Karen F. Rickel1, Sharon K. Stoll1 and Jennifer M. Beller2, (1)University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, (2)Washington State University, Pullman, WA

Life narrative-based exercise philosophy and curriculum has been the focus of earlier research on how to overcome the problems associated with lack of commitment to exercise. Life narrative-based exercise philosophy states both the objective and subjective values of exercise would better facilitate commitment to exercise. Earlier studies were limited to pilots of 53 collegiate students in courses emphasizing a subjective approach, i.e., yoga. The present study continues the earlier premise that curriculum can assist students in the search for meaning in their exercise and fitness protocols, beyond the classical objective based results approach in courses almost solely objectively focused. Subjects for this study involved 123 (68 control and 55 intervention) college students voluntarily enrolled in either a Pilates or aerobics university class. Both classes participated in a 9 week course that was supplemented by web instruction and a brief introduction of each lesson read by instructor that challenged and inspired students to a new cognitive perception of a total body/self. The instrumentation (The Rickel Exercise Value Inventory-RVI, is a valid self report survey (Cronbach Alpha objective .82, subjective .84) questionnaire consisting of seventeen Likert questions and one open ended question. The questionnaires assessed subjects' commitment to physical activity using objective and subjective questions. An intervention curriculum designed to facilitate an increase in subjects' commitment to physical activity used brief in-class instruction and expanded lessons using a web-based program called WebCT. A repeated measures ANOVA was run in SPSS version 13.0 to analyze the difference between the main factors and interactions (i.e. time and group) on the dependent variables (the selected measurements of fitness and commitment to activity) from pre-test and post-test. Alpha was set at p<.05. By time, regardless of group membership, both objective (pre = 30.57 + .69; post 33.45 + .51) and subjective (pre 19.70 + .50; post = 20.53 + .45) values increased from pre to post-test [F(1,119)=5.45, p=.02]. However, examining the interactive effects, although not statistically significant, by group membership over time, the intervention groups had mean increases on the objective (4.29) and subjective (1.97) scores while the control group was only (2.37 on the objective and 0 on the subjective) [F(2,119)=2.85,p=.06]. The purpose of both classes was to develop physical fitness levels and skills. The data improves upon earlier studies showing potential to increase subjective values for exercise in traditionally objective focused courses, which could be a powerful means to a life committed to exercise.
Keyword(s): exercise/fitness, play, technology

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