Increased exercise variety may increase exercise adherence

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22395266

J Strength Cond Res. 2012 Mar 5. [Epub ahead of print]
The Effect of Variety on Physical Activity: a Cross-Sectional Study.
Juvancic-Heltzel JA, Glickman EL, Barkley JE.
Source
1Department of Sport Science and Wellness Education, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio 44325; 2School of Health Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242.

Abstract
It has been repeatedly demonstrated that increasing the variety of available food and purchasing options reliably increases eating and consumer spending behavior respectively. However, the potential pro-behavioral effect of increasing the variety of exercise equipment options on the amount of exercise individuals perform is very limited. The purpose of this investigation was to compare the amount, enjoyment (liking) and effort perception of resistance training exercise versus sedentary alternatives during a high variety (HV) resistance exercise equipment condition (10 choices) versus a low variety (LV) equipment condition (two choices). During each condition (HV) and (LV), children (8-12 years), young adults (18-26 years), and older adults (≥ 60 years) had free choice access to both resistance exercise equipment and sedentary activities for a total of 20 minutes. The amount of time allocated to resistance exercise, the total number of repetitions performed, and session liking were measured during each condition. Participants significantly (p ≤ 0.05 for all) increased: repetitions performed (126.4 ± 71.7 vs. 88.0 ± 48.8), the amount of time allocated for exercise (14.3 ± 6.3 min vs. 12.1 ± 6.5 min) and liking (8.1 ± 1.5 cm vs. 7.1± 2.1 cm) during the HV condition relative to the LV condition. RPE was not significantly (p = 0.13) different from HV (4.2 ± 2.4) to LV (3.8 ± 2.3). Increasing the variety of exercise equipment available to children, young and older adults increased their exercise participation and enjoyment of that exercise without altering their perceived exertion. The practical application from this research is that increasing the variety of exercise equipment available to one';s clients may increase their exercise adherence.