Effects Of Exercise Intensity On Self-Efficacy, Self-Control, And State Motivation

Self-control and self-efficacy have been shown to have a large influence on exercise behavior. Availability of self-control resources plays a role in exercise initiation and their amount can vary throughout the day. An EMA-based approach therefore provides valuable insight into exercise decisions made in a natural environment and can capture momentary levels of self-control.In addition to psychological factors, exercise intensity can also affect exercise adherence and self-efficacy. Understanding these effects within a natural environment is therefore important to understand when making adherence recommendations. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of exercise intensity on self-efficacy, perceptions of self-control, and adherence in an ecologically valid context. METHODS: 10 participants (4 female; age = 23 ± 4 years; BMI = 24 ± 4; VO2max = 35 ± 3 ml/kg/min) completed exercise testing followed by 2, 2-week experimental periods. Participants were instructed to complete both 1) moderate exercise 5 times a week for 2 weeks and 2) vigorous exercise 3 times a week for 2 weeks with at least one week between conditions. Participants responded to phone-based questionnaires 3 times a day and completed pre- and post-exercise surveys. Measures of self-control, self-efficacy, and motivation state were included. RESULTS: Self-control measured before and after moderate and vigorous exercise did not differ (p > 0.05; ES < 0.15). Motivation state measured pre-exercise was higher for moderate exercise compared to vigorous exercise (p < 0.05; ES ~ 0.2). Correlations between self-control for both moderate and vigorous exercise were strongly positive (r > 0.70) and significant (p < 0.05), while correlations between adherence, self-efficacy, and self-control were strongly positive (r ~ 0.50) but not significant (p > 0.05) within the analysis of this developing data set. CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate that the interactions amongst self-control, self-efficacy, and motivation state are complex and require considerable attention to understand how each impacts engagement in both moderate and vigorous aerobic exercise. Future research should aim to disentangle these relationships and interactions.