In an overview of reviews of systematic reviews, there are further risks of bias, in addition to those deriving from the primary studies and those deriving from the review of those studies. Particularly, the overlap of reviews regarding the included individual studies may bias the findings. According to the purpose of this overview, i.e. to synthesise the wide range of interventions and behaviour change techniques used to promote adherence and to summarise the evidence of their efficacy, the overlap of reviews regarding intervention or population was not an exclusion criterion. For considering the overlap of primary studies among the reviews, CL extracted the primary RCTs from the included reviews, identified the unique trials and compared the frequency of their use across the reviews (see results overlap of review and Additional file 2). Furthermore, where two or more reviews provided findings on the same technique (e.g. on the efficacy of behavioural graded activities), the overlap of primary studies was assessed specifically for that finding. If the evidence came from the same study, this was taken into account and marked accordingly in Table 5 to avoid double counting and overestimation of evidence.

14. Goal Setting

Author CL conducted the search in the seven different databases and removed duplicates, using the Zotero bibliography management tool. Following this, authors CL and PP both independently screened the titles and abstracts of the resulting sources (see Fig. 1 Flow diagram). After removing the excluded studies, PP and CL independently screened the remaining full texts in an unblinded standardised manner. You can manage relapses and setbacks by developing a relapse prevention plan, which involves identifying high-risk situations and developing strategies to cope with these situations.

Having Trouble Sticking to Your Exercise Program? Stay Motivated With These 13 Exercise Adherence Strategies

Write out a plan for your first four weeks and post it on your fridge or somewhere else you can easily see it. Include what exercise you will do on each day, what time you will do it, and when you will have rest days. In sum, exercise programs supervised by at least one physical exercise professional may increase adherence to physical exercise. Every year, hundreds of randomized controlled trials aimed to evaluate the effects of physical exercise on health-related variables are published. That is the consequence of a large investment of public and private institutions and the work of many researchers, who have demonstrated that physical exercise leads to numerous benefits in many different pathological and non-pathological populations [3].

Maintaining Motivation and Overcoming Barriers

The external driving force behind an individual’s motivation is usually based around something that can be obtained immediately, or in the near future. It refers to doing an activity simply for the enjoyment of the activity itself, rather than its instrumental value. A patient who has had many unsuccessful attempts to maintain exercise may feel demoralized and unlikely to succeed on another attempt, or may have renewed vigor, information on a different approach, or simply feel they are in a better position to make sustained change than in the past. In this second step, practitioners listen for themes the patient discloses about change (“change talk”) and gently guide the conversation to stay on these points. Patients at this early point in the process may also be offering “sustain talk,” that is, talking about why they might want to keep their lifestyle habits as they are.

exercise adherence strategies

Social Support:

Furthermore, we are aware that our own cultural background and experiences may have influenced the analysis and synthesis of the results and that conclusions drawn in this overview of reviews may not be suitable for every setting around the world. Therefore, we encourage the readers to critically assess the applicability of the findings to their specific context. An example of an evidence-based exercise programme is the SARAH study published by Sarah Lamb et al. in the 2015 RCT for patients with rheumatoid arthritis involvement in hands.

Goal-Setting and Planning for Exercise

A practitioner can ensure that the patient knows that the sustain talk was heard while also helping the patient to think more closely about change. For example, if talking about exercise with a sedentary patient, a provider first could ask the patient to talk about what they like about their current lifestyle, and then focus the patient’s attention on what they might like about exercise/PA. Accelerometers, pedometers, and fitness trackers are popular applications of technology for obtaining reliable estimates of PA. These technologies allow both patients and providers to collect high volumes of data concerning daily PA. Examples such as “exercise with a little discomfort is not bad” or “pain does not equal harm” are concepts that we must explain to ensure adherence to the program we have delivered. This was then combined with the Cochrane highly sensitive search strategy to find controlled clinical trials.

5. Initial Exploration of Participant’s Characteristics, Barriers, and Facilitators

Or if you miss that class after work, you’ll know you’ll need to set your alarm early the next morning! [Grab my free bodyweight exercise PDF below so that you have an alternative “anywhere exercise” plan. There are seven exercises and three progression levels for each exercise, so you can choose the one that’s right for you].

exercise adherence strategies

Fransen 2007 published data only

A fitness instructor’s role can now be viewed as more than just teaching exercise, you play a significant part in motivating clients to exercise and in adhering to the training programme you prescribe. Imagine a practitioner asks a patient to rate on a scale from 1–10, 10 being highest, how ready they feel to stop smoking now. If the patient is mildly ready, e.g., 3 out of 10, the provider can ask why the motivation is not lower (1 or 2). The patient then would have a chance to articulate the motivation that is already present, which can then be explored and reinforced. An example could be Behavioural Change techniques or Cognitive-Behavioural Programs to achieve changes in the patient’s routine, where psychologists will play an indispensable role.

References to studies included in this review

The next time you are setting your exercise goal or planning your week’s workouts, think twice about “should-ing” on yourself. Utilize the phrase “I want,” “I desire,” or “I am” to increase the positive emotions about engaging and planning to engage in exercise. All of these phrases will significantly help improve exercise behavior and exercise adherence long term. Several reviews in this field include adherence-related outcomes, showing potential efficacy as well as limitations of the use of digital tools [72–83]. All included reviews (and as far as reported, also the original RCTs) were conducted in economically developed countries; however, social-cultural and context-specific factors influence participation and adherence [67–71].

First, the results of the global analysis revealed that initial exploration of participant’s characteristics, barriers, and facilitators seemed madmuscles review to be crucial to enhance exercise adherence in general chronic patients and older adults. Concretely, thirty-six reviews identified the importance of pre-participation evaluation of participants’ previous lifestyle habits as well as their physical and mental health status. Besides, 29 reviews stated that possible barriers and facilitators to exercise may need to be contemplated before the program’s delivery. The next most distinguished key aspect, mentioned by twenty-nine articles, was to study participants’ preferences and backgrounds to enhance the integration of exercise in their lifestyle. Moreover, regarding the program design characteristics, twenty-three reviews stated that developing an individualized exercise intervention could be a key point to enhance adherence rates.

Initial Evaluation of our Patients

Mostly, they refer to adherence as the extent to which a person’s behaviour corresponds with treatment goals, plans or recommendations ([30],cf. [5]). McLean and colleagues [30] expressed that within physiotherapy, the concept of adherence is multi-dimensional and could refer to attending appointments, following advice or undertaking prescribed exercises. The terms adherence and compliance were sometimes used interchangeably, referring to the degree of treatment attendance or accomplishment of physical activity levels, participation and recommendations, irrespective of how the treatment goals and plans were established.