DEVELOPING THE CONTEMPORARY CONCERN WITH EXERCISE BEHAVIOUR
Until the 1960s exercise was done by the young and talented and the emphasis was
on excellence. The Olympics, Wimbledon tennis and football leagues were for those
individuals who were the best at their game and who strove to win. At this time, the
focus was on high levels of physical fitness for the élite. However, at the beginning of
the 1960s there was a shift in perspective. The ‘Sport for All’ initiative developed by
the Council of Europe, the creation of a Minister for Sport and the launching of the
Sports Council suggested a shift towards exercise for everyone. Local councils were
encouraged to build swimming pools, sports centres and golf courses. However, although
these initiatives included everyone, the emphasis was still on high levels of fitness and
the recommended levels of exercise were intensive. The ‘no pain no gain’ philosophy
abounded. More recently, however, there has been an additional shift. Exercise is no
longer for the élite, nor does it have to be at intensive, and often impossible levels.
Government initiatives such as ‘Look after yourself’, ‘Feeling Great’ and ‘Fun Runs’
encourage everyone to be involved at a manageable level. In addition, the emphasis is no
longer on fitness, but on both physical and psychological health. Contemporary messages
about exercise promote moderate exercise for everyone to improve general (physical
and psychological) well-being. In addition, there is also an increasing recognition that
exercise that can be included into a person’s daily life may be the way to create maximum
health benefits. The most sedentary members of the population are more likely to make
and sustain smaller changes in lifestyle such as walking, cycling and stair use rather
than the more dramatic changes required by the uptake of rigorous exercise
programmes. This shifting perspective is illustrated by contemporary research on the
benefits of exercise.WHAT IS EXERCISE?
Aspects of exercise have been defined in different ways according to intention, outcome
and location.1 Intention. Some researchers have differentiated between different types of
behaviours in terms of the individual’s intentions. For example, Caspersen et al.
(1985) distinguished between physical activity and exercise. Physical activity has
been defined as ‘any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that results
in energy expenditure’. This perspective emphasizes the physical and biological
changes that happen both automatically and through intention. Exercise has
been defined as ‘planned, structured and repetitive bodily movement done to
improve or maintain one or more components of physical fitness’. This perspective
emphasizes the physical and biological changes that happen as a result of intentional
movements.
2 Outcome. Distinctions have also been made in terms of the outcome of the
behaviour. For example, Blair et al. (1992) differentiated between physical exercise168 HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY