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Research points to four areas where you should focus your support of members’ exercise efforts2:1) The development of exercise plans that incorporate member preferences, physical abilities and positive emotional responses; 2)The provision of behavioral skills, e.g., relapse prevention, self-reward, thought restructuring, dissociation;3) The structuring of a goal-setting system that acknowledges short-term physical, emotional and energy-level gains; and 4) The development of ongoing social support systems.

This article will concentrate on the fourth area: social support. Methods that advance social support can be extremely productive, andare probably the easiest of the four support areas to accomplish.

Some may think that simplyoffering a comprehensive list of group exercise classes addresses social support, butit does not. Rarely will the typical new exerciser (who lacks confidence) freely participate in such classes.

The “threat” of not having the required skills, as well as possessing, perhaps, an unfavorable body image, will all but rule out what seems to be obvious opportunities to meet, interact and form bonds with other members.

What isneeded is an approachspecifically tailored to the new, apprehensive exerciserwho,without directed support, is likely to drop out. What can be done to encourage new exercisers to maintain their programs? Recent research provides ideas for exercise maintenance programs.