The role of self motivation in exercise adherance

Thesis written in partial completion of the requirements for Master of Science in psychology, counseling; Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225. Followed a group of people taking part in an employer sponsored exercise program at the ARCO Oil Refinery in Ferndale, Washington for one year to see if the Self-Motivation Index, created by Rod Dishman, predicted which individuals were likely to continue the program thoughout the year. It did not.

Participants who were still exercising after a year were very likely to describe how exercising felt to them and did not view a lapse in participation as meaning they couldn't or wouldn't come back to it. The most common reasons given for dropping out were that they didn't have enough time and/or they missed a couple of weeks for some reason (illness, family schedule, etc.) and gave up.