Long-term Physical Activity Behavior After Completion of Traditional Versus Fast-track Cardiac Rehabilitation.

Background: Despite the health benefits associated with regular physical activity (PA), many cardiac patients fail to maintain optimal levels of PA after completing cardiac rehabilitation (CR). The long-term impact of different CR delivery models on the PA habits of cardiac patients is not completely understood.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to use a multisensor accelerometer to compare the long-term impact of a traditional versus fast-track CR on the PA of patients with coronary artery disease 6 months after CR entry.

Distinguishing among perceived control, perceived difficulty, and self-efficacy as determinants of intentions and behaviours.

Perceptions of control hold a dominant position in social cognitive theories yet there is a lack of conceptual and empirical clarity regarding what kind of control is most associated with particular behaviours. Three prominent types of control are perceived control (PC), perceived difficulty (PD), and perceived confidence or self-efficacy (SE) for performing the desired behaviour. Three studies are presented with a primary goal of distinguishing PC, PD, and SE from each other, and a secondary goal of determining which of the three is the superior predictor of health-related intentions and behaviours.

The motivational implications of characteristics of exercise bouts.

The purpose of this research was to examine the psychological adaptations to two different exercise prescriptions. The dependent variables were three types of self-efficacy: task (for elemental aspects of the behavior); coping (for exercising under challenging circumstances); and scheduling (for arranging one's time commitments to exercise regularly). Participants were randomly assigned to one of two 12-week exercise prescriptions: a higher-intensity, shorter-duration condition (about 70 percent VO(2max), n = 21) and a lower-intensity, longer-duration condition (about 50 percent VO(2max), n = 23).