Psychology of Exercise in Behavioral Coaching

The psychology of exercise is an essential component that helps individuals accomplish personal fitness goals. It is also vital in facilitating effective coaching of others to develop healthier lifestyles (Lox et al., 2019). Thesis statement: The paper’s author will provide a brief descriptive summary of their client. The author will explain why the psychology of exercise is significant in behavioral coaching when performing their own fitness program and when working with other individuals. The paper will expound on the process of recognizing individuals’ current stage of change, describing in detail how comprehending the stage of change will help with exercise and lifestyle goal setting. The author will explain the process of how one can recognize their exercise and lifestyle goals. Lastly, the paper will state the rationale for the fitness assessment of the clients and a conclusion.

Background on Your Client

The client is a 30-year-old male whose profession entails working as a computer analyst. The client maintains a five times weekly workout, including an intense 20-30-minute cardio exercise. The client also observes a healthy balanced diet that consists of chicken, beef, shrimp, potatoes, rice, sweet potatoes, asparagus, green beans, broccoli, eggs, and oatmeal.

The psychology of exercise in behavioral coaching helps to understand the client’s background information, habits, and lifestyle. Upon the first encounter with the client, asking comprehensive questions about their hobbies, family, job, and current or past exercising and activity habits provides valuable insight into the client’s overall well-being and motivations.

These are various questions that can be asked when meeting new clients. These questions include What is your current job? How does it affect exercise habits and activity levels? How do you manage work stress, and does it affect your fitness goals? How do your family members influence your fitness goals? What are your hobbies, and how do they affect your exercise and overall well-being?

These comprehensive questions help to understand better the new client’s overall lifestyle habits, motivations, and barriers (Lox et al., 2019). They are beneficial in helping create a well-tailored coaching approach unique to the new client’s preferences, needs, and circumstances. They provide the means to prepare an effective and more sustainable fitness plan that leads to better outcomes for the client (Lox et al., 2019).

Psychology of Exercise in Behavioral Coaching

The psychology of exercise is very helpful when applied to behavior coaching since it helps create fitness programs for personal gain and when working with others. Only by understanding the dynamics of determinants of participation in exercise and the stages of change model can a coach help and navigate through various barriers that limit exercising and achieving fitness goals (Seniuk et al., 2020). it enables the coaches to develop tailored exercise plans that result in sustainable fitness outcomes.

The determinant of participation in exercise incorporates personal, social, and environmental factors that impact individuals’ decisions to participate in frequent physical activities and exercises. Personal factors entail individuals’ beliefs, past and current experiences, and motivations (Seniuk et al., 2020). Social factors include individuals’ cultural norms, peer influences, and support systems. Environmental factors include exercise facility accessibility, safety apprehensions, and available resources. By recognizing and addressing these determinants, coaches can develop effective personalized fitness programs and maximize their long-term adherence and success (Lox et al., 2019).

The Stages of Change Model is an essential tool that helps evaluate individuals’ readiness to implement their new exercised habits. The model consists of five mean stages: pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance (Lox et al., 2019). By comprehending clients’ current stage, coaches can offer effective and efficient support, interventions, and guidance to enhance the progress of achieving the clients’ desired behavior change outcome.

TMBC Stages of Change Model

The Trans-theoretical Model of Behavior Change (TMBC) is a tool for identifying individuals’ stages of change. It enables the development of tailored exercise plans and lifestyle fitness goals suited for specific clients. TMBC consists of five stages that include:

The pre-contemplation stage. This is when individuals are unaware of the need for a behavior change. The second stage is contemplation. This is when individuals acknowledge the need to change their behavior; however, they still need to be more interested in taking action to change (LaMorte, 2022). They are still weighing the pros and cons of adopting a new behavior at this stage.

The third stage consists of preparation, where individuals plan a short-period action plan. They research and gather significant information to help them set attainable goals and identify barriers that might limit them from achieving their set goals. The fourth stage is the action stage (LaMorte, 2022).

This stage involves individuals implementing their new exercise for behavior change and working towards achieving the goals. The stage focuses on enabling individuals to overcome obstacles and staying motivated to accomplish their lifestyle fitness goals. Maintenance is the last stage in the TMBC stage of the change model (LaMorte, 2022). The stage involves individuals remaining consistent with their newly adopted behavior by developing effective strategies to help prevent relapses while ensuring long-term success.

Understanding one’s present stage of behavior change is important. It enables the crafting of unique and personalized lifestyle goals and exercises that are attainable and realistic. For example, individuals in the pre-contemplation stage can profit from information concerning the benefits of exercise and the various risks they might face for not having a fitness goal plan (Seniuk et al., 2020). The TMBC stage of change model assists individuals at the preparation stage in setting SMART goals and identifying potential barriers.

Exercise and Lifestyle Goals

Identifying exercise and lifestyle goals involves adopting an organized approach that encourages self-reflection, detailed assessment, and setting realistic and achievable goals. A complete worksheet is instrumental in helping streamline the exercise and lifestyle goals process (Sutton, 2020). It ensures that all important aspects of behavior change are covered.

The Rationale for Fitness Assessment

A fitness assessment is essential for understanding clients’ current physical conditions. It enables coaches to design effective exercise programs unique to only their clients. This is why a comprehensive fitness assessment should provide clients with crucial information about their body composition, including body mass index, fat percentage, and waist-to-hip ratio (Lox et al., 2019). The assessments should also cover cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength and endurance, body motion flexibility, and balance and stability.

Individuals who would benefit from a fitness assessment are beginners new to exercising since they need to understand their current fitness level to help them set realistic goals (Seniuk et al., 2020). Individuals with specific goals such as weight loss, muscle gain, or improving athletic performance would also benefit. The assessment will help tailor exercise programs that favor their goals. Also, individuals with health concerns would benefit from the fitness assessment since it will help them develop safe and effective exercise plans that improve their health outcomes with the help of their healthcare providers (LaMorte, 2022).

Conclusion

The psychology of exercise in behavior coaching is vital for both personal fitness programs and working with clients. Coaches must comprehend the determinants of participation in exercise and adopt the Stages of Change Model to help identify their current stages and create efficient plans for behavioral change. Fitness assessments are essential tools in exercise psychology for coaches and clients. It provides valuable information on individual fitness conditions. This enables the development of unique exercise programs for both clients and trainers. The psychological facets of exercise and identifying one’s Stage of Change are influential in helping create realistic and attainable exercise programs for long-term success in both personal and client-based fitness lifestyles. It enhances motivation, prevents injuries, and ensures clients reach their preferred set goals while sustaining a healthy and active lifestyle.

References

LaMorte, W. W. (2022). The transtheoretical model (Stages of change). School of Public Health. https://sphweb.bumc.bu.edu/otlt/mph-modules/sb/behavioralchangetheories/behavioralchangetheories6.html

Lox, C., Ginis, K. A., Gainforth, H., & Petruzzello, S. J. (2019). The psychology of exercise: Integrating theory and practice.

Seniuk, H. A., Witts, B. N., Williams, W. L., & Ghezzi, P. M. (2020). Behavioral coaching. PubMed Central (PMC). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3640883/

Sutton, J. (2020, July 10). Goal setting worksheets for achieving goals. PositivePsychology.com. https://positivepsychology.com/goal-setting-templates-worksheets/