Thinking about maintaining exercise therapy: Does being positive or negative make a difference?

Abstract

Objective: To investigate social-cognitive and exercise differences in individuals who think positively or negatively about upcoming exercise while engaged in programs of maintenance exercise therapy for cardiovascular disease and other chronic health conditions. Method and Results: Participants ( n = 40) completed measures relative to exercise adherence. MANOVA revealed positive thinkers were significantly higher in exercise frequency, self-regulatory efficacy, positive affect, willingness to adapt and lower in decisional struggle than negative thinkers. Conclusions: Thoughts about exercise therapy are related to social cognitions crucial to motivating self-regulatory actions influencing exercise. Negative thoughts may suggest less ability to adapt to maintenance exercise challenges.