David Kawahata, Duke Biber
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among exercise habit strength, self-control, and the valuation of physical effort with vigorous exercise participation in adults who were participating in an 8-week exercise program. Participants engaged in the Mindless to Mindful (M2M) program, an 8-week behavior-change intervention integrating tailored coaching and self-regulation strategies. The average vigorous exercise was 4.2 hr (SD = 2.17) per week. There was a significant decrease in fat mass (t(124) = -16.306, p < .001, d = -1.458) and an increase in exercise habit strength (t(124) = 5.565, p < .001, d = 0.498), self-control (t(124) = 3.618, p < .001, d = 0.324), and the relative valuation of physical effort (t(124) = 2.837, p = .003, d = 0.254) from pre- to post-M2M. These findings align with TEMPA and add novelty by suggesting that approaching and avoiding physical effort can be modified through a self-regulation intervention.