All four people in coached exercise with weekly pledges came to every session
Who it’s about: Adults, People with a health condition
- No comparison
All four people who had coached sessions, weekly pledges and a pin board came to all 24 sessions.
- Action: Exerciseused
- Rule: With a coach or therapistused
- Rule: Ask someone to expect youused
- Rule: Check in once a weekused
- Action: Track your progressused
Very small randomised trial of 6 inactive adults with epilepsy in Iowa · no comparison group · behaviour was recorded · ⚠ groups weren't properly compared
The study
Who took part
6 adults with epilepsy in Iowa, USA, who did not exercise regularly. 4 were in the exercise group and 2 in the other group. They were aged 19 to 33, about 28 in the middle, and half were women.
What they did
The exercise group did 50-minute exercise sessions with a staff member, 3 times a week for 8 weeks. They wrote plans for coming to sessions and for what to do if something got in the way. Each week they signed a pledge to come next time. They marked each session with a pin on a board and won prizes along the way. The other group kept a weekly seizure diary and got the same online habit lesson, but no exercise sessions.
What happened
All 4 people in the exercise group came to all 24 sessions, and no one dropped out. Starting exercise felt more automatic for them by the end, but the groups were too small to compare. The two groups were not compared with any test.
Source
Feasibility, Acceptability, and Appropriateness of an 8-Week Supervised Aerobic Exercise Intervention for Adults With Epilepsy: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial (2026)
DOI: 10.2196/97392 (opens in a new tab)Tools in this study
Rule · how often3
Check in once a weekA short weekly review of progress: a call, message or consultation, or going over your own log. Not the weekly sessions of a course.
