Cardinal, B. J. (1995). The stages of exercise scale and stages of exercise behavior in female adults. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 35, 87-92.

Stages of change

This study attempted to determine if a sample of adult women differed on measures of exercise level, physical activity level and VO2peak based on their stage classification.

178 adult women, who were clerical staff recruited from a major university, mean age 38.64 years.

Participants were identified through the University telephone directory and contacted by campus mail. Participants completed mail-in measures of stage status, Blair's self-report 7 day physical activity recall measure, and the Godin Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire.

Participants rated themselves on a five tier ladder to determine stage of readiness.

0 (precontemplators) = "I presently do not exercise and do not plan to start exercising in the next 6 months.

1 (contemplators) = "I presently do not exercise, but I have been thinking about starting to exercise within the next 6 months."

2 (Preparation) = "I presently get some exercise but not regularly."

3 (action) = "I presently exercise on a regular basis, but I have only begun doing so within the past 6 months."

4 (maintenance) = "I presently exercise on a regular basis and have been doing so for longer than 6 months."

5 % were staged into precontemplation. 22% were classified into contemplation. 13% percent were in preparation, and 13% were classified in action. 23% were classified into maintenance. Those in later stages reported significantly greater physical activity involvement than did those in earlier stages as measured in metabolic equivalents and VO2 peak as assessed by the Godin questionnaire and Blair's 7 day measure. The stage of change framework provided by the TTM appears to stage individuals into distinct groups of readiness to adopt physical activity, and greater stage involvement is associated with greater self-reported activity.