Starting An Exercise Program
1. How would you help an individual that wants to start an exercise program through the five different stages of change (pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action and maintenance)? Be specific, be creative, and be compassionate and supportive.
CONTEMPLATION
This person wants to start an exercise program, making this person past the pre-contemplation stage and in the contemplation stage. If he is asking about starting an exercise program he may be exploring the effort, time, or cost of changing. To help, I would explain the benefits of starting an exercise program and the procedure of getting started (small, do-able changes over a period of time so I don’t scare him off!) I would also offer reading material, info on different …show more content…
gyms, and go over the different styles of exercise (classes, groups, weightlifting, aerobic exercise, and sports) so he may understand he could find an enjoyable form of exercise that fits his life and personality…again, trying not to scare him off by making exercise NOT sound scary or like torture.
PREPARATION
To help the person going through the preparation phase, I would set an appointment to talk about goals and starting a plan of action.
I would also recommend physicians who can give the individual clearance to start an exercise program, numbers/prices to gyms, schedules of exercise classes, descriptions of exercise classes, meeting times of support groups/sports groups, and maybe sign him up for a gym membership. And of course support through any questions or feelings!
ACTION
Once in the action stage I will keep contact with the individual to reinforce the positive behaviors and offer support if any obstacles rise. I will also help the person in reassessing their goals and exercise program to keep him interested and motivated.
MAINTENANCE
Once in the maintenance stage I would slowly distance my reinforcement behaviors, leading the person to become self-sufficient. This stage may also need reassessing of goals and exercise programs periodically to keep the individual from becoming bored or discontented.
2. You are working with a client who gets up late for work, skips breakfast and stops at Dunkin Donuts for coffee and donuts on the way to work. How would you help him to break that behavioral …show more content…
chain?
I would discuss the behavior with him. We would go over the details of what behaviors happen before and after this occurs. Does is behaviors before this morning scenario instigate the “problem”? Probably. We would work to see what causes him to wake up late (maybe going to bed late), and if he could change behaviors to help him not wake up late (go to bed earlier). I would not only focus on one possible behavior change- maybe he can make breakfast the night before and store it in the fridge so he only has to warm it before leaving for work. We would also look to see how his behaviors in the morning can influence behaviors later in the day. Does he eat a large lunch because the donut and coffee didn’t hold him ‘till noon? Does he drink another three cups of coffee at work because he is feeling sluggish? After assessing his behavioral chain, we could then determine what the consequences are and construct strategies to help him to break one, or multiple, areas of the behavioral chain.
3. What cognitive strategies would you employ when working with a female client who is currently a size 22 and wants to be a size 8 for her high school reunion in three months’ time?
I would let her know that although I could possibly help her lose some weight in three months, to drop down to a size 8 would be more of a long-term goal. I would reassure her that she would be just as beautiful at the high school reunion whether a size 22 or size 8. I could help her try and reach a goal of a size 18 or 20, and tone up a body part that she can show off (such as arms or legs). I would also refer her to a nutritionist who could probably help her, more than me, with the quick short-term weight loss that she wants.
4. Name three metaphors you could use to make a client feel okay about having relapses in their efforts to switch to a healthier diet.
One is a metaphor about a baby walking.
Babies fall a lot when learning to walk, but we keep encouraging them. We don’t tell them “forget it—you will never walk”. A second metaphor is using football to demonstrate relapses. In football the team’s long-term goal is to win. But the team also has a short-term goal of gaining yardage. Even though the team may not gain any yardage they don’t give up the game; they keep playing working towards the long-term goal of winning. I will tell the client to think of the other times he has relapsed, and think how he still came back, and how much he has gained in that period of time. My favorite metaphor from the internet is: saying “oh I’ve already ruined my good eating today I’ll just eat crap” is like saying “oh I dropped my phone on the floor I’ll just smash it till it
breaks”.
5. The three-step protocol for behavior management/ lifestyle coaching is: • Assessment • Teaching • Evaluation Why are these steps important?
The only way to establish the clients concerns or goals is with an assessment. It also helps establish rapport between the lifestyle coach and client. The lifestyle coach needs to gather information from the client to learn about his stages of change, behaviors, situation, and family history, expectations, previous behavior change attempts, and exercise history. These help the lifestyle coach to modify plans and support especially for that client. Because most of a person’s behavior are behaviors they have learned, they must learn how to change their negative behaviors. It is essential for the coach to teach the client. The teacher may give the client verbal feedback or describing observations. With the verbal feedback and/or enlightened by observations, the student can learn behavior modification. Evaluation is also important. Evaluation should be continuously evaluating the effectiveness of the coaching and client efforts. It is used to adjust and modify the goals, implementation, strategies, and effort. Without evaluation there is no way to establish if goals have been met or if the process is successfully working or helping.
CONTEMPLATION
This person wants to start an exercise program, making this person past the pre-contemplation stage and in the contemplation stage. If he is asking about starting an exercise program he may be exploring the effort, time, or cost of changing. To help, I would explain the benefits of starting an exercise program and the procedure of getting started (small, do-able changes over a period of time so I don’t scare him off!) I would also offer reading material, info on different …show more content…
gyms, and go over the different styles of exercise (classes, groups, weightlifting, aerobic exercise, and sports) so he may understand he could find an enjoyable form of exercise that fits his life and personality…again, trying not to scare him off by making exercise NOT sound scary or like torture.
PREPARATION
To help the person going through the preparation phase, I would set an appointment to talk about goals and starting a plan of action.
I would also recommend physicians who can give the individual clearance to start an exercise program, numbers/prices to gyms, schedules of exercise classes, descriptions of exercise classes, meeting times of support groups/sports groups, and maybe sign him up for a gym membership. And of course support through any questions or feelings!
ACTION
Once in the action stage I will keep contact with the individual to reinforce the positive behaviors and offer support if any obstacles rise. I will also help the person in reassessing their goals and exercise program to keep him interested and motivated.
MAINTENANCE
Once in the maintenance stage I would slowly distance my reinforcement behaviors, leading the person to become self-sufficient. This stage may also need reassessing of goals and exercise programs periodically to keep the individual from becoming bored or discontented.
2. You are working with a client who gets up late for work, skips breakfast and stops at Dunkin Donuts for coffee and donuts on the way to work. How would you help him to break that behavioral …show more content…
chain?
I would discuss the behavior with him. We would go over the details of what behaviors happen before and after this occurs. Does is behaviors before this morning scenario instigate the “problem”? Probably. We would work to see what causes him to wake up late (maybe going to bed late), and if he could change behaviors to help him not wake up late (go to bed earlier). I would not only focus on one possible behavior change- maybe he can make breakfast the night before and store it in the fridge so he only has to warm it before leaving for work. We would also look to see how his behaviors in the morning can influence behaviors later in the day. Does he eat a large lunch because the donut and coffee didn’t hold him ‘till noon? Does he drink another three cups of coffee at work because he is feeling sluggish? After assessing his behavioral chain, we could then determine what the consequences are and construct strategies to help him to break one, or multiple, areas of the behavioral chain.
3. What cognitive strategies would you employ when working with a female client who is currently a size 22 and wants to be a size 8 for her high school reunion in three months’ time?
I would let her know that although I could possibly help her lose some weight in three months, to drop down to a size 8 would be more of a long-term goal. I would reassure her that she would be just as beautiful at the high school reunion whether a size 22 or size 8. I could help her try and reach a goal of a size 18 or 20, and tone up a body part that she can show off (such as arms or legs). I would also refer her to a nutritionist who could probably help her, more than me, with the quick short-term weight loss that she wants.
4. Name three metaphors you could use to make a client feel okay about having relapses in their efforts to switch to a healthier diet.
One is a metaphor about a baby walking.
Babies fall a lot when learning to walk, but we keep encouraging them. We don’t tell them “forget it—you will never walk”. A second metaphor is using football to demonstrate relapses. In football the team’s long-term goal is to win. But the team also has a short-term goal of gaining yardage. Even though the team may not gain any yardage they don’t give up the game; they keep playing working towards the long-term goal of winning. I will tell the client to think of the other times he has relapsed, and think how he still came back, and how much he has gained in that period of time. My favorite metaphor from the internet is: saying “oh I’ve already ruined my good eating today I’ll just eat crap” is like saying “oh I dropped my phone on the floor I’ll just smash it till it
breaks”.
5. The three-step protocol for behavior management/ lifestyle coaching is: • Assessment • Teaching • Evaluation Why are these steps important?
The only way to establish the clients concerns or goals is with an assessment. It also helps establish rapport between the lifestyle coach and client. The lifestyle coach needs to gather information from the client to learn about his stages of change, behaviors, situation, and family history, expectations, previous behavior change attempts, and exercise history. These help the lifestyle coach to modify plans and support especially for that client. Because most of a person’s behavior are behaviors they have learned, they must learn how to change their negative behaviors. It is essential for the coach to teach the client. The teacher may give the client verbal feedback or describing observations. With the verbal feedback and/or enlightened by observations, the student can learn behavior modification. Evaluation is also important. Evaluation should be continuously evaluating the effectiveness of the coaching and client efforts. It is used to adjust and modify the goals, implementation, strategies, and effort. Without evaluation there is no way to establish if goals have been met or if the process is successfully working or helping.