Motivating high-risk older adults to exercise: does coaching matter?

The aim of the study was to compare two coaching channels--a combination of telephone and face-to-face coaching (combined phone and face-to-face) versus telephone coaching only (phone)--on exercise performances in a home-based low-intensity program. Multiple regression models were used to examine if the two coaching channels were associated with different 3-month posttest exercise performances. Individuals with the combined phone and face-to-face coaches had better exercise performances at 3-month posttest, compared to those who received phone coaching only. The evaluation suggests that, in a home-based, low-intensity training program that has been demonstrated to benefit high-risk, ethnically diverse older adults, face-to-face coaching appears to be a more powerful motivator than a phone-based approach only.