Exercise slips in high-risk situations and activity patterns in long-term exercisers: An application of the relapse prevention model

Background: Key factors in successful long-term exercise maintenance are not well understood. The Relapse Prevention Model (RPM) may provide a framework for this process. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among characteristics of exercise high-risk situations, components of the RPM relevant to exercise slips, and follow-up exercise outcomes in long-term community exercisers. Methods: We obtained long-term exercisers' (N = 65) open-ended responses to high-risk situations and ratings of obstacle self-efficacy, guilt, and perceived control. High-risk situation characteristics, cognitive and behavioral coping strategies, and exercise outcomes were examined. Results: High-risk situation characteristics included bad weather, inconvenient time of day, being alone, negative emotions, and fatigue. Being alone was associated with lower incidence of exercise slip. Positive cognitive coping strategies were most commonly employed and were associated with positive exercise outcome for both women and men. Guilt and perceived control regarding the high-risk situation were associated with exercise outcomes at follow-up, but only among the men (n = 28). Conclusions: Findings confirm and extend previous work in the application of the RPM in examining exercise slips and relapse. Measurement issues and integration approaches from the study of relapse in addiction research are discussed.