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Background <p>Most people who try to regularly exercise relapse. All-or-nothing thinking with exercise—defined as occurring when an individual is not willing or cannot adhere perfectly to their exercise intentions or plan and chooses to not exercise at all rather than modify the plan—is a potential barrier to sustained exercise that has received virtually no attention within the exercise, public health, and behavioral science literatures. The purpose of this study was to investigate all-or-nothing thinking among individuals who have tried but failed to stick with exercising, with a specific interest in whether and how all-or-nothing thinking may contribute to decisions to <i>not</i> exercise when a plan is disrupted.</p> Methods <p>Four focus groups were conducted among adults (89% female, 85% white) in two life stages (students, community members) who indicated that they had tried to regularly exercise but had not been able to stick with it (<i>N</i> = 27). Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis.</p> Results <p>We developed four themes: (1) Rigid idealized exercise criteria lay the groundwork for all-or-nothing thinking; (2) Seeking excuses not to exercise; (3) Exercise is expendable; and (4) Baffled by current inactivity in light of past exercise positivity. Overall, participants appeared to endorse all-or-nothing thinking, and this thinking style seemed to be supported by a set of implicit and explicit cognitive-motivational forces that converged into a greater culturally conditioned mindset that devalued exercising and cultivated rigid self-regulatory practices, guiding participants to opt out of exercising when their plans faced common challenges and competing goals.</p> Conclusions <p>Exercise-related all-or-nothing thinking seemed to exist among individuals who have tried but failed to sustain regular exercise and warrants more research. Findings can inform next-stage research and interventions to combat all-or-nothing thinking within public health, behavioral medicine, and community contexts.</p>

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The secret life of all-or-nothing thinking with exercise: new insights into an overlooked barrier

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2025年12月19日

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  • Michelle L. Segar,
  • John A. Updegraff,
  • Alexis McGhee-Dinvaut,
  • Jennifer M. Taber

摘要

Background

Most people who try to regularly exercise relapse. All-or-nothing thinking with exercise—defined as occurring when an individual is not willing or cannot adhere perfectly to their exercise intentions or plan and chooses to not exercise at all rather than modify the plan—is a potential barrier to sustained exercise that has received virtually no attention within the exercise, public health, and behavioral science literatures. The purpose of this study was to investigate all-or-nothing thinking among individuals who have tried but failed to stick with exercising, with a specific interest in whether and how all-or-nothing thinking may contribute to decisions to not exercise when a plan is disrupted.

Methods

Four focus groups were conducted among adults (89% female, 85% white) in two life stages (students, community members) who indicated that they had tried to regularly exercise but had not been able to stick with it (N = 27). Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis.

Results

We developed four themes: (1) Rigid idealized exercise criteria lay the groundwork for all-or-nothing thinking; (2) Seeking excuses not to exercise; (3) Exercise is expendable; and (4) Baffled by current inactivity in light of past exercise positivity. Overall, participants appeared to endorse all-or-nothing thinking, and this thinking style seemed to be supported by a set of implicit and explicit cognitive-motivational forces that converged into a greater culturally conditioned mindset that devalued exercising and cultivated rigid self-regulatory practices, guiding participants to opt out of exercising when their plans faced common challenges and competing goals.

Conclusions

Exercise-related all-or-nothing thinking seemed to exist among individuals who have tried but failed to sustain regular exercise and warrants more research. Findings can inform next-stage research and interventions to combat all-or-nothing thinking within public health, behavioral medicine, and community contexts.