★The Stages of Change

The stages of change – where are you?

For a person to successfully adopt a healthier behavior — whether it’s to exercise, lose weight, or stop smoking — it may not be as simple as just deciding to do it. Behavior change expert James Prochaska and his colleagues developed a theory, which has been supported by numerous studies, showing that people cycle through a variety of stages before a new behavior is successfully adopted over the long term.
It may help you to understand how this works. As you read the description of each stage — specifically as it relates to exercise — you may find yourself nodding and saying to yourself, “Yes, that’s me!”
Stage 1: Pre-Contemplation
People at this stage have no plans or desire to exercise. They aren’t even considering exercising. People at this stage are generally unaware of the specific benefits that exercise can bring — exercise may seem more like a hassle than something worth doing. Or, they may simply have “failed” in the past and have given up.
There’s no point in talking about how to start an exercise program if you are at this stage. Instead, it is important to think about why exercise might be good for you personally — by helping you to lose weight, feel better, have more confidence, live longer, sleep better, or have less stress. The benefits must be identified before a person will consider exercise.
If you are at this stage, a good activity is to ask four friends or family members why they exercise. That may unveil real-life benefits and inspire enough interest to compel you to take the next step.
Stage 2: Contemplation
A person at this stage is thinking, “I think I should probably exercise, but I need help getting started.” People at this stage know that exercise is good for them, but it seems like a daunting task or they don’t think they can pull it off. Some may have tried and “failed” in the past, but they are still receptive to another go-round.
It’s important for people at this stage to consider some of the truths and falsehoods of exercise. For example, it is helpful to know that there are many forms of physical activity to select from, and that you can do your exercising in small chunks. It is not true that exercise has to be painful, or that you either succeed or fail. There is no such thing as “failure” — people become more or less active at different stages of their lives, and it is never too late to get moving again. And people at this stage should find assurance that an exercise plan can be very simple.
If you are at this stage, a good activity is write down (brainstorm) all your potential roadblocks — the things that you believe make exercise difficult — and to learn strategies for overcoming or side-stepping those hurdles. Many ideas are available on the Internet.
People at this stage might benefit from making a pledge, contract, or other commitment that they are going to get more active in the near future.
Prochaska and his colleagues write that people in this stage are “aware of the pros of changing but are also acutely aware of the cons. This balance between the costs and benefits of changing can produce profound ambivalence that can keep people stuck in this stage for long periods of time. We often characterize this phenomenon as chronic contemplation or behavioral procrastination.”
Thus, the goal is to get un-stuck by identifying the roadblocks, ways to overcome these hurdles, and making a commitment.
Stage 3: Preparation
These folks are primed and motivated. They are ready to give exercise a try. The goal of this stage is to create a specific action plan that takes all factors into account, so that the “launch” is successful.
People at this stage need to know how much they should be exercising, their target heart rate, and the types of exercises. They should explore the different kinds of exercises and decide on which ones to try. At this stage, they’ll evaluate exercise machines and health plans, if that interests them, pick the proper clothing or accessories, and consult a physician if necessary. And they need to think about how they are going to fit their exercise plans into their daily and weekly schedule.
If you are at this stage, you should also consider some backup plans — what to do if it rains, or if you don’t feel like exercising. That way you are prepared to overcome that hurdle when it happens. And you should be aware of what to realistically anticipate at the beginning (for example, you should understand that weight loss takes time, but the health benefits of exercise begin immediately).
Stage 4: Action!
People at this stage have just started exercising. This stage is where the most behavior change occurs — these folks have started to exercise but it is not yet a long-term, ingrained habit. Prochaska notes that this stage requires significant commitment and energy.
If you are at this stage, keep talking to friends and family for inspiration. Review your backup plans. Reward yourself for small achievements. And give yourself notes and reminders to exercise. If you can find a friend to exercise with, that can be a huge support as you get through this stage. You want to build and maintain momentum, because it gets easier once it is a habit!
Stage 5: Maintenance
The folks at this stage have been exercising at least 6 months. At this point, exercising has started to become a habit. The goal here is to prevent relapse.
If you are at this stage, identify ways that you can fine-tune your program. Continue to identify roadblocks and improve your backup plans. Think about what you have found most enjoyable about exercising. What benefits have you gained? Keep reminding yourself of these perks.
If giving yourself a challenge was part of your initial motivation, set new goals and give yourself new challenges. If you risk getting bored with your routine, find ways to vary it. Or maybe you have found a comfortable routine that you enjoy — if it’s working, great! Then no need to change it.
You might want to read or learn more about your method of exercising and develop a deeper level of understanding about it. Soon you’ll be a pro!
Let’s do it again
One point about the theory is that people do not proceed from one stage to another in a simple, step-by-step fashion. They actually cycle or spiral back and forth, so that they may move from stage 1 to 2 to 3, and then back to 2 again. They may stay in maintenance mode for years and then fall back to stage 2.
Remember that this is normal — if you tried exercising in the past and didn’t stick with it, don’t consider yourself a failure. Just know that it’s time to try again!

Wow, that is really interesting to read! Thankyou for sharing, Im at Stage 5, I go to the gym 6 days a week and train really hard out, I have a personal trainer and my goal is to get totally toned up, hopefully to competing in muscle and fitness competitions, Every step in my programme has been very challenging which I get such a kick out it. I started the gym 6 months ago and I am so wrapt that I joined. I also did alot of exercising at home and ran alot, due to having my littleones around me I had no one to look after them for me, I stuck at it for 6 days a week too, had a bit of rough period yes of slacking off for 2 months, then got motivated to get back into again when my youngest started morning kindy. Exercise is great! The results are amazing!

˚ state of calm 💗thank you  

Posted on 21/03/2009. Last edited on 22/03/2009.

In response to Pure Essence’s post:
Hi Pure Essence! Congratulations for mastering the exercise goal in your life!

In response to Pure Essence’s post:

Hey PE~ I am so proud of you. I am just at the beginning stage of your journey and about to hire a personal trainer. It is time that I scheduled in taking care of myself during the day. I’ve been going to the gym since November, but would like to step up the intensity. Any words of wisdom as I embark on this path???

Thankyou both so much for your encouraging words! I congratuate you both for going to the gym also! I AM SO PROUD OF YOU TOO! I LOVE HEARING WHEN PEOPLE ARE GOING TO THE GYM! Its such a buzz working out along side like minded people.

My words of wisdom is go for the burn! Feel the weights, pump up the weights when you feel you want too and when you feel comfortable doing so. (That’s what my personal trainer encourages me to do when she sets out programmes for me, I go for the ‘burn’).

Doing too much weights every day is not a good thing as it doesnt give your body time to recover, its a gradual process. Muscles have to rebuild.

My programme now consists of this…Day 1 is cardio and weight work, Day 2 is high cardio, Day 3 is cardio and weight work, Day 4 is high cardio, Day 5 is cardio and weight work, Day 6 is cardio and weight work and Day 7 is a lazy day. My recovery time for my muscle to recover is Day 2, Day 4 and Day 7. I love my lazy day cause depending if I want it or not, I can eat chocolate and potatoe chips instead of eating them at night time during the week watching tv!

The weight workout is my third weight workout. It is more intense than my other two weight workouts. I do the weight workout for 6 weeks then my trainer will give me a new one to work at, which will be alot more intense, very exciting, I cant wait.

I admire you both, your results will be TOTALLY STUNNING!

its taken me a long time to realise that i first need to accept what i do not like in life and then try and change it rather than try and failing to change something and then accepting it!

In response to Pure Essence’s post:

Thanks, PE! I start my Training tomorrow at 11:00am! Woo Hoo!! I am going to ask for something like you just described.

Hard body, here I come!! (hehehe)

You guys are so inspiring :)

I think i am at stage 3. Preparation, although, I’ve been at stage 4 before. I stopped because of health reasons and then when that was cleared, my foot was injured. I am starting to think I have an underlying thought that causes my body to sabotage itself so I don’t keep at it. I know I’ve never really liked exercise, but I like to do weights. Since injuring my foot, I’m doing physio exercises, which are actually quite enjoyable!

MM, you sound so excited :) Tis good to see!

AWESOME Meditatingmama! You Go Girl!

In response to se da luz’s post:
Great words se da luz! Acceptance as the first stage in any process is the ey. noting also that acceptance is the last stage in the grieving process, how much time and energy could be saved if acceptance came first.

In response to freygan’s post:

Its funny you should mention sabotage, Freygan! That is a recurring theme in my life as well as my sisters. Whenever we start to see success, we tend to sabotage ourselves right before we really shine. Wazzup with that??? Is it low self esteem? We don’t think we deserve it? I keep asking myself, “WHAT IS IT THAT I AM AFRAID OF?????”

In response to meditatingmama’s post:

In my case, I pinpointed my fear of dying. When I was a kid, I had asthma and when I exercised I couldn’t breathe and thought I was going to die. I went everywhere with my ventolin puffer.

So now when I get out of breath, I get panicky and sickly (I lose a bit of self awareness). I haven’t had asthma for years! I grew out of it when I was around 15. Once I know what thought is there, I can get around it and replace it with an affirmation.

My parents never did any exercise. They just worked REALLY hard all their life (they were migrants from China). So I also have the thought in my head that exercise is work. Hard work!

In response to laurie’s post:

Thanks to the link to your post, will try it out over the next week.

In response to Pure Essence’s post:

Just want to re say what I said inregards to “Doing too much weight work every day is not a good thing.”

I should have resaid it as this, doing too much weight work on one part of the body for two days is not a good thing, it is best (like my trainer said) is to cut working on body areas in half. Say do one day of upper body work and the next day lower body work and the following day do the upper body etc etc…., alternating each day. Which allows the parts of body you worked out time to recover when you working on the other areas of your body. I am sorry for misinforming you before and just want to say that every trainer is different and we all have different bodies too.

My day one consists of alot of lower body weight workout, My day three consists of upper body weight workout, my day five is the lower body weight workout again and day six is upper body weight workout again. I can do a programme where I do weights everyday thou I love cardio too much. Our classes are pumping and I love the music too much!

Once again sorry for misforming. Dee xxx000xxx

coming back to this thread later ,Thanks SMWE for bringing it back up .There is so much good stuff tucked away here

I,m one of those guys that you would never see in a gym.For several reasons,but if it works for you,then that,s all that matters.
Personally I feel I can get more just putting a blanket on the floor
and do what works for me,only reason I would join a gym,would be for swimming.But I understand what works for me,doesn,t necessarilly work for someone else.