Comparison of walking recommendations in previously inactive women.

PURPOSE: To compare the number of steps accumulated by women instructed to walk 10,000 steps per day (10K group) with those told to take a brisk 30-min walk on most, preferably all, days of the week (30-min group). METHODS: Daily steps were compared for 58 sedentary women (mean age 45.0+/-6.0 yr) randomly assigned to either the 10K or the 30-min group. Subjects wore a sealed pedometer for 2 wk for baseline physical activity assessment. Those averaging 0.05) between the groups for baseline steps. During the intervention, there was a significant difference (P<0.005) between groups in daily steps. The 30-min group walked 8270+/-354 steps per day, and the 10K group walked 10,159+/-292 steps per day. The 30-min group averaged 9505+/-326 steps per day on the days that a 30-min walk occurred, and 5597+/-363 steps per day when no walk occurred (P<0.05). The 10K group averaged 11,775+/-207 steps on days when they walked at least 10,000 steps, and 7780+/-231 steps on days that their target was not achieved (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Women walk more when told to take 10,000 steps per day compared with those instructed to take a brisk 30-min walk. On days when women took a 30-min walk, their average step count was near 10,000.

A comparison of motivational factors and barriers to physical activity among traditional versus nontraditional college students.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the motivational factors and the barriers to physical activity (PA) in traditional college students (TS) and nontraditional college students (NTS) and determine if differences exist between these 2 groups. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 746 college students; 628 were TS (19.1 ± 1.2 years), and 118 were NTS (31.2 ± 8.6 years). METHODS: In fall 2010, students voluntarily completed a demographic questionnaire, Barriers to Being Active Quiz, and Exercise Motivations Inventory-2 (EMI-2). RESULTS: EMI-2 revealed that TS and NTS differed on 8 of the 14 motivational factors for exercise. There was a significant difference between TS and NTS for the following barriers: fear of injury (p = .001), lack of resources (p = .017), and lack of skill (p = .003). CONCLUSION: Based on these findings, interventions can be developed for the varied needs of a diverse student population as it pertains to PA participation.

A Phenomenological Investigation of Women's Experiences With Personal Training.

Personal training is a rapidly growing industry in a country that is in dire need of physical fitness and health improvements. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to better understand women's experiences with personal training. To address the research question, eight female participants ages 24 to 54 years were interviewed using the following phenomenological question: "When you think about your current experience with personal training what stands out for you?" The interviews were conducted, transcribed, and qualitatively analyzed to identify themes in participants' responses. The ground that emerged was positive experience within which existed four figural themes: Relationships, trainer qualities, outcomes, and motivation. Results reveal new insight for professionals in the fitness industry and provide future directions for research in kinesiology and exercise psychology.