Masters Thesis

From Theory to Practice: A Workshop for Enhancing Motivational Climate in an Exercise Setting

Purpose of the Project: The purpose of this project is to review the research literature on motivational climate in physical activity settings and present interactive workshops for fitness professionals containing the motivational impact of different environments on exercise behavior with regards to participation and commitment to exercise. Procedure: Fitness professionals were invited to attend workshops on improving the motivational climate in exercise settings. The workshop was voluntary to attend and held at a fitness studio in San Francisco, California with a television screen for presentation materials. The workshop presented theories and previous research on motivation climate and the attendees were asked to share thoughts and examples from their own experiences. Workshop attendees were also asked to complete a workshop evaluation questionnaire. Findings: Based on the feedback from the workshop evaluation questionnaire, the workshop was successful in providing fitness trainers with multiple motivation strategies they could implement into their practice as fitness professionals. Additionally, the trainers noted the terms and theories that they were previously familiar with as well as what was new information. Conclusions: This workshop on enhancing the motivational climate in exercise settings is an important tool for personal trainers, group fitness instructors, and coaches who want to learn more about motivation, behavior change and ways to help their clients sustain an exercise program. This workshop can be adapted for teachers, managers and other types of leaders in any type of education or instructional setting.

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