Teaching instructors to make classes more fun didn't build stronger exercise habits
Who it’s about: Students, Young adults
- No difference
Showing coaches how to make class fun did not build a stronger habit to go than a talk on training.
- Rule: Make it enjoyabletested
- Action: Exerciseused
- Rule: Practise with a groupused
- Rule: In weekly sessionsused
Randomised trial of 132 university sport course members in Germany · vs classes whose instructors learned about training · they rated themselves · ⚠ whole groups were assigned, not people; numbers unreliable; many people dropped out
The study
Who took part
132 people in 10 sport courses at a university in Germany, such as yoga and basketball. Almost all were students. They were about 22 on average, and about 1 in 4 were women.
What they did
Each course's instructor had one 1-hour workshop. Half learned ways to make classes more fun, such as helping people feel skilled and get to know each other. The other half learned about training, such as warm-ups and skills. Courses then ran once a week for 10 weeks.
What happened
People in both groups rated their habit of going to class as a little stronger at the end. The two groups did not differ. How automatic going to class felt each week did not differ either. Fewer than half went to the last class, and the paper's group counts don't match. No one checked if instructors used what they learned.
Source
Investigating the relation between positive affective responses and exercise instigation habits in an affect-based intervention for exercise trainers: A longitudinal field study (2022)
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.994177 (opens in a new tab)Tools in this study
Rule · how3
Make it enjoyableShape the activity so it feels fun, social or satisfying while you do it.
