The Importance of Perceived Competence in Fitness/Exercise Programming
A physically active child will have a better chance of being a physically active adult. There are three major motives should be considered when then the motivation of children is concerned (Weis, 2000). These motives are developing and demonstrating physical competence, gaining social acceptance and support, and fun. Weis has suggested that intervention (exercise programs) designed around these motives will be more successful in leading children to healthy habits.
Perceived competence is an individual’s judgment about his or her ability in a particular area. Weis goes on to state that youth who have a high perceived competence are more likely to enjoy the activities they are involved in. The opposite is true for children with low perceived competence. The enjoyment ties into another motivational factor for children. That factor is fun. Exercise programs designed for children should have a level of high perceived competence or that competence should be attainable. This is important in forming lifelong physical activities which will benefit the children.
Since children often look towards adults (parents, teachers, coaches, etc.) for social support, it would be appropriate to apply similar motivational tactics for adult physical activity and exercise programs. Adults are role models for children and can be motivated in similar ways while helping mold children’s perception of physical competence. Perceived competence is shown to be a major factor in maintaining a successful program.
We often look at exercise and the skills involved in exercise as being part of a healthy lifestyle and habit. Professionals are knowledgeable about exercise and the numerous benefits it has. However, even professionals often overlook the difficulty of developing healthy habits. It is easier to regurgitate information to a person and expect that person to apply it. However, the psychological aspect of living a healthy lifestyle can never be stressed enough. It is important to find different methods by which to motivate individuals. Every person has different intrinsic and extrinsic reasons for making decisions.
Knowing this, it is important to treat exercise programs as individualized education plans. Behavioral change may seem necessary and important, but it involves physical and emotional changes for a client or patient (Franklin et el., 2000). Each client or patient is learning a new life skill that takes time to incorporate into a routine standard of living. This is especially true of people who are obese and functioning at low fitness levels (Franklin, 2000).
Self-efficacy is a major intervention which should be utilized when dealing with exercise adherence. In Advances in Exercise Adherence, self-efficacy received the most support out of 20 variables as a determinant for success in developing healthy physical activity habits. A client’s perceived competence in physical activity affects self-efficacy. If a client sees that success is easier to obtain because mastery of a skill is imminent or attained, there is a better chance of the client reaching a maintenance level of physical activity. The opposite is also true. As mentioned before, a person who has always functioned at a low fitness level will not have a high perceived competence. Therefore, it is more likely that the person will become frustrated with reaching fitness objectives and goals more easily than someone with high perceived competence.
Perceived competence helps people develop new skills. This is true in learning exercise skills or learning skills. A person will be encouraged to develop habits if he or she can gain confidence in the skills which the habit involve. The learning of the skills leads to increased confidence and intention to change (Roitman et al., 2001). This allows clients or patients to gain confidence by increasing the perceived competence in the activity. This increases the chance of a person wanting to continue with a program. This also has an affect on self efficacy.
When asked about the importance of perceived competence in the success of an exercise or rehabilitation program, exercise specialist Jennifer Ahlin, MS, said she believes it is a major part of the success rate. Ahlin said that some of her clients come in with negative attitudes and low perceived competence. These clients have a difficult time meeting goals and have low attendance rates. Many of her clients are coming from previously sedentary lifestyles; they have a low confidence level and are intimidated by the challenges and goals which are presented. Ahlin said she tries to counteract the feeling by introducing them to skills which they have a higher perceived competence in. For example, she may ask a client to run on the treadmill for 20 minutes the first day. The second day she may ask the client to ride the stationary cycle for 20 minutes. The client’s rate of perceived exertion may be more on the treadmill at 5 minutes than it is on the cycle. However, the patient’s heart rate and blood pressure may be the same on the treadmill and cycle. Ahlin then encourages the patient to do the cycle as long as the target heart rate is still achieved. This is a way of allowing the client to exercise on a machine on which he or she has a higher confidence level. Clients may feel less confident on the treadmill because it made them feel more fatigued.
Skills involved with exercise, fitness, or athletics are more easily attained and continued when a person believes he or she is competent. As mentioned, an exercise program is like an individual education plan. It should be made to fit each person. This plan must also involve the psychological aspect of the athlete. People have individual differences. These individual differences reflect the abilities each person possesses. Realizing this can be a tool in increasing perceived competence because a program can be tailored towards a person’s abilities.
There is also a dynamic of perceived competence in group settings. Competence in groups developed from a number of sources can lead to a collective efficacy (Carron and Hausenblas, 1998). Collective efficacy is efficacy shared by a group of individuals using their resources to respond to specific demands. Perceived competence by a group gained by prior performance is one source of collective efficacy. The confidence gained by the efficacy increases the group’s chance of success. This group’s efficacy really increases if it is competing against another group whose perceived competence is not as high because of a lack of prior experience.
Perceived competence is important in a successful exercise program. The review of literature displays ways in which perceived competence is important in an exercise program. All behavior change protocols have self-efficacy as a major role in the long term maintenance of any program. A high perception in skills used in a program is a major contributor to self-efficacy. These are the reasons that perceived competence is worth studying. It is also important to design exercise programs that enable clients and patients to develop high-perceived competence, improve performance, and create chances for success.
References
Carrron, A. and Hausenblast, H. (1998). Group Dynamics in Sports. Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Technology.
Carron, A., Hausenblast. H., and Eastbrooks, P. (2003). The Psychology of Physical Activity. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies.
Dishman, R. (1994). Advances in Exercise Adherence. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Weis, M. (2000). Motivating kids in physical activity. Presidents Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Research Digest Series 3, IV 11.