How Chatting on the Phone Can Help Your Fitness
They discovered that:
"The intervention group showed significant improvements in functional capacity relative to the control group (15% net VO2max increase in men, 9% in women), high exercise adherence rates (90% for men, 75% for women), and 1.5-kg body weight decreases in men."
The researchers chose telephone counseling instead of face-to-face contact because it has most of the same benefits without similar drawbacks (time consuming, need to be in the same geographical location). They also saw it as a good alternative to the social motivational benefits of gym classes, when people are only able or willing to exercise at home.
This shorter study was followed by the "Stanford/Sunnyvale Health Improvement Project I" which ran for 2 years and concluded that:
- Those involved in home-based exercise, with phone calls, were more likely to stick with it than those just taking part in exercise classes
- People who received more phone calls were fitter at the end of two years
You can find an abstract here and the full text here.
What could this mean for you?
If you rarely muster the motivation to go the gym, can you ask a friend to give you a ring on an appointed day? They can check up on how you've been doing that week, or encourage you to go to that class after work.
Perhaps your motivation is rock-solid, but you've got a friend or relative who could use some encouragement. Next time they moan that they "always forget to exercise", why not offer to give them a call as a gentle reminder?
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Sounds like a workout buddy kinda-- though with just the phone, that makes it easier!
You never want to let others down, or, moreover, let yourself down and have to admit it to others!
ReplyThis does sound like it would work. It is the right amount of follow-up, without feeling like nagging.
ReplyThis is what I do with my parents when I know they're on a health kick. I ask them how they're doing on their program and my dad tells me it always gets him motivated to keep on track...he jokes that he's got to be skinnier the next time he sees me, lol!
ReplyThis sounds awesome. I would actually pay for a service like this -- a motivating personal trainer calling me a few times a week to give me a pep talk.
It would be nice to rely on friends and family, but I feel like that might be uncomfortable for me. It's too easy for me to feel hurt by people I am close to. I also am not sure I want to have to be responsible for helping them at this point.
ReplyWhere'd you find the service?
ReplyI've never heard of an actual service like this (the one I wrote about in the post was a scientific study), but it could be a great money-spinner for any budding entrepreneurs reading...!
Ali
ReplyI have come across a service like this -- but I'm struggling to remember what it was called. There are sites such as http://www.myfoodphone.com/ that offer some kind of feedback - but not quite the same as the study referenced above.
ReplyI'm a wellness coach, and this is what I do. I've been having a hard time getting people to understand how valuable it is & how it will make them so much more successful in their health goals than personal training or nutritional coaching.
I'm licensed through a company called Wellcoaches. It's like Life Coaching only we work with folks on health related topics: stress, sleep, nutrition, activity, and smoking. It's made a HUGE difference in my clients lives.
http://www.elizabethsherman.com
ReplyA call or not, I think having someone else you are accountable is key to staying consistent. I don't know where I would be if I didn't have that phone call or text to confirm our daily workout
ReplyHere's a little different take on talking on the phone and exercise.
I have a client who calls his mom every Sunday morning. He rides his stationary bike at home while he talks to her for 30-45 minutes.
He says he forgets that he's on the bike, but still gets a good sweat going.
Reply