Fostering Fitness Environments for the Adherence of Physical Activity via Mastery Goal Orientation - Research Paper Example

?Fostering Fitness Environments for the Adoption and Adherence of Physical Activity in a Personally Owned Gym via Mastery Goal Orientation Introduction: In today’s world, the fast paced and busy lifestyle of humans makes them unable to take care of their physical health. The situation has become quite grave with the ever increasing emergence of various health problems, such as obesity, high cholesterol level, diabetes and so on. Obesity is now declared as a global epidemic and the United States hold account for “the highest adult obesity rates in the world” (Bassett & Winter-Nelson, 2010). These kinds of health diseases not only hamper the life of the people but also prove to be fatal in the long run. Thus, it is highly significant that appropriate measures be taken in order to curb these problems, such as, through the adoption and adherence of physical activities as well as promotion of fitness activities. With the alarming rate in which the problems are increasing, it becomes absolutely necessary to foster fitness environments though various available settings. I personally want to make a difference and strive towards making solutions available to these problems through a personally owned gym. The purpose of this paper is to provide a psychosocial action plan that would enhance the training of current as well as future gym members regarding promotion of physical activities in a gym setting. Various studies and researches have been conducted to analyze the significance of physical activity in ones life and these studies have resulted in the formulation of number of theories as well as different approaches for the adoption and adherence of physical activity in daily life. According to CDC (2012), the highest ever recorded rate of obesity in the world is “35.7%” and this belongs to the US (Ricciardi, 2012). While some may say that it is due to lack of exercise programs and physical activity programs, but the fact is that the problem is not lack of such programs, but adhering to these already initiated programs. It has been found out that goal orientation as well as motivation climate play a crucial role in promoting adoption as well as adherence to physical activities in a gym setting. Lewthwaite (1990) says that adherence to exercise depends on “goals” as well as the “belief that these goals can be achieved” and this is called goal orientation (Ricciardi, 2012). Xiang, McBride, Bruene, and Liu (2007) have proposed that out of the four types of goal orientation, “low task/low ego, low task/high ego, high task/low ego, or high task/ high ego,” people under high task groups had “increased levels of expectancy belief” as well as a “greater intention for future participation” in physical activities (Ricciardi, 2012). Moreover, Wang et al. (2002) considered the variables of physical activity participation, goal orientations and perceived competence in 824 students between the age group of 11 to 14, and revealed that the “highly motivated” students were the ones to possess the “highest activity levels” (Ricciardi, 2012). Both the current as well as future members of my gym thus need to be motivated to the maximum possible extent so that their participation in physical activities will increase likewise. I propose to keep coaches who are professionals and who possess great leadership skills, which in turn will assure that they are good motivators. Now, these coaches will clearly define the respective goals to the members as well as instill in them self-confidence that they can surely achieve their respective goals. It is a known fact that humans have different behaviors that prove to be their dominant features. Therefore, in order to understand how to promote participation of people in physical activities, their behaviors need to be studied and analyzed first. For this purpose various behavior models have been proposed and one among them is “transtheoretical model of behavior change (TTM),” which explains “how, rather than why,” behavior changes take place (J Adams, M White, 2003). Compared to the conventional intervention approaches which have had limited success, TTM is highly recommended for “activity promotion” due to its success in making people change their “unhealthy behavior” (Adams & White, 2003). There are also “ecology models” that try to influence people’s behavior through “environmental factors,” but fail to be effective as they do not “exactly” explain “how the environment” influences the “everyday behavior” of individuals (Stephens, 2008). One of the worksite intervention programs was the “Jump start to health study,” which maintained the advantage of a “low cost” as well as ease to “incorporate in clinical practice,” but it failed as it created “dilution of the real effect of the intervention” through contamination (Adams & White, 2003). The “Project Active,” a gym based exercise program study proved that “moderate intensity lifestyle exercise is as effective as vigorous, structured activity sessions” in the case of cardiovascular risk reduction (Adams & White, 2003). Studies have shown that this is basically because participation as well as adherence to physical training is “greater when it is of moderate intensity” (Biddle et al, 2000). Therefore, I intend to buy and install more training equipments that are of moderate intensity so that the clients can exercise at their own pace without much pressure. Conclusion: Therefore, the paper analyzes various available literature on the importance and relevance of physical activity in an individual’s life. It also shows various studies that have been conducted with regard to how to adopt as well as adhere to physical activities. Furthermore, the paper proposes certain elements that would benefit the current members as well as increase prospect of future gym members in a personally owned gym. Through the paper one can clearly understand the significance of exercise and physical activity of the sort for the training as well as development of the people and their health. Therefore, the need for fostering fitness environment for the adoption and adherence of physical activity is greatly realized. The exercise training available in my gym will be efficient and effective as I have learnt how people can be motivated, what their exercise preferences are and how their behavior changes. With the help of my gym, I would like to direct people to a proper lifestyle that they can only benefit from. References Bassett, Thomas J, & Winter-Nelson, Alex. (2010). The Atlas of World Hunger. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Retrieved from Ricciardi, Adrian A. (2012). Prediction of Exercise Adherence with Goal Orientations and Motivational Climate. Colorado: Colorado State University. Retrieved from Adams, J., White, M. (2003). Activity promotion using the transtheoretical model. Retrieved from Biddle, Stuart J.H., Fox, Ken. & Boutcher, Steve. (2000).Physical Activity and Psychological Well-Being. London: Routledge. Retrieved from Stephens, Christine. (2008). Health Promotion: A Psychosocial Approach. England: Open University Press. Retrieved from Read More