Behavior Change Plan – Part One

Sam Kosmacki
Due Date: October 21, 2021 Total Points – 20

Directions: To answer these questions, review the Pre-Participation Screening and Wellness
Questionnaires and use MI through discussions with your client. Type thorough answers for each
question. You MUST attach the Pre-Participation Screening and Wellness Questionnaires to receive
credit for this assignment.

A. List the reasons your client is in the SHU Personal Training Program. Based on your
motivational interviews, what are the underlying motivations for his/her participation in the
program? (2 pts)

My client is in this program to feel good, improve strength, improve and maintain health, increase energy,
relieve stress and sleep better. She wants to feel stronger and get back to a regular routine of exercising.
My client did not make weight loss one of her main goals, but she hopes it is something that will come as
a side effect of training.

B. What are your client’s intrinsic motivators (doing something for the reward inherit in the activity
itself) for exercise? How are you incorporating these into your client’s program? (2 pts)

My client’s intrinsic motivators are to lose weight, increase energy, relieve stress, and improve overall
health. I am incorporating these into my client’s program by including cardiorespiratory exercises and
weight training exercises. As she is training, I check in to see if she is able to increase the weight for each
exercise she is doing and make sure that she is performing at her maximum capability each day.
Additionally, having the training program in the mornings allows her to feel more energized for the day.
Finally, we review weekly goals and ways she can incorporate physical activity on her own at least one
day each week.

C. Using the table on page 69 of the Coaching Psychology Manual, state your client’s reasons to
stay the same and reasons to change his/her behaviors. Do not compute composite scores. (2 pts)

My client’s main reason to stay the same is that it is what she is used to and comfortable with. Some
reasons to change her behaviors are to improve physical and mental health, and to strive towards meeting
her goals.

D. Using the confidence ruler on page 70 of the Coaching Psychology Manual, provide your client’s
confidence number for a critical behavior he/she wants to change. Why did he/she not pick a
lower number? What would assist your client to get a higher number? (2 pts)

I would give my client a rating of 7. When there is something she truly wants to achieve, she works
extremely hard to do so. I did not give her a higher rating because she has canceled a few times for being
tired. If she continues to push herself to work hard during our two training days as well as an additional
session on her own, she will be well on her way to achieving her goals. I can assist her by providing
encouragement and making sure that she is pushing herself in the amount of weight she is capable of
lifting and the level of cardiorespiratory exercise she is capable of achieving. If I can help her to hold
herself accountable for her efforts, she will have a better chance of continuing weekly exercise on her
own in the future.

E. Transtheoretical Model: Stages of Change, Self-Efficacy, Decisional Balance

 Review your client’s wellness questionnaire entitled “The Exercise Questionnaire” which
contains information on stage of change, self-efficacy, and decisional balance (last pages). This
information can be used to successfully move your client into the direction of a physically active
lifestyle or help him/her maintain exercise behavior. Use the scoring system below to identify
your client’s stage of change at the beginning of the semester:
If 1-4 = No = Precontemplation
If 1,3,4 = No and 2 = Yes = Contemplation
If 1,2 = Yes and 3 = No = Preparation
If 1,2,3 = Yes and 4 = No = Action
If 1,2,3,4 = Yes = Maintenance
Stage of change: Action

1. Based on the definition of “regular exercise” in the Exercise Questionnaire, do you agree that
this was the client’s stage of change at the beginning of the semester? If no, which stage do
you think your client is in? Explain (1 pt)

I do not agree with this stage of change for my client at the beginning of the semester. I believe she may
be more in the preparation stage rather than action. Although she states that she was exercising three days
a week, that was occurring in the summer when she was not teaching classes daily. With the return of
school, she has not been exercising three days a week for 30 minutes at moderate to vigorous intensity.

2. Which stage of change do you think your client is in now? Explain. (1 pt)

I think my client is in preparation. She exercises and intends to exercise in the next 6 months, but she has
not been exercising regularly. My client mentioned that she wants to develop an exercising routine, so
once she does this and continues it, she will move up in the stages of change.

3. Briefly summarize what you found from the self-efficacy questions (number 6a-e). Does
your client have a high, moderate or low self-efficacy towards exercise? What can you do to
help your client improve/maintain his/her self-efficacy based on the answers to the questions?
(2 pts)

My client has moderate self-efficacy towards exercise. When she is busy and does not have time, she
struggles with confidence, but aside from that, she is confident regardless of the weather or mood she is
in. She comes to every session ready to do whatever exercises I tell her to. She also has been trying to get
into a routine of exercising one day on the weekend on her own. If she keeps moving in this direction, I
believe her self-efficacy will grow closer to extremely confident. I can help my client by providing her
with exercise suggestions for her additional day. I could also make sure that I am holding her accountable
to showing up to each session. Setting appropriate weekly goals may also help her to improve and
maintain her self-efficacy.

4. Briefly summarize what you found from reviewing the decisional balance data (number 7).
(1 pt)
PROS = a, b, d, e, f, h, i, j, l, n
CONS = c, g, k, m, o, p

Based on the decisional balance data, exercise is beneficial for increasing her energy, relieving stress,
increasing confidence, improving sleep, all of which are the reasons she previously stated for wanting to
do the SHU training program. On the other hand, she does face some confidence issues while exercising
and finds that she is too tired to exercise at times. Overall, her answers show that the pros greatly
outweigh the cons, which is beneficial for having a positive training experience.

5. Choose another health/fitness related behavior that your client is working on that is not
considered regular aerobic exercise. State the behavior and determine the stage of change for
this specific behavior. Explain how you came to this conclusion. (2 pts)

Another behavior my client is working on is drinking more water on a daily basis. She is in the
contemplation stage. My client is currently starting to drink water and intends to start doing so daily in the
next 6 months, but she has not been able to do this behavior regularly.

6. Answer the three questions in the box on page 41 in the Coaching Psychology Manual with
regard to this health/fitness related behavior. (2 pts)

My client wants to try and change the behavior because she wants to feel better mentally and physically
and have the benefits that come along with drinking water. There is no true reason she should not try to
change her behavior, the only thing holding her back is commitment and self-discipline. As long as she
continues to consume some water each day, she will be able to make the change. It is going to require her
to keep water with her during the days, which will allow her to be in a consistent routine, thus allowing
her to change her behavior.

7. Comment on your client’s self-efficacy with regard to this health/fitness related behavior. (1
pt)

I think my client’s self-efficacy with regard to her daily water consumption has been increasing as she has
been drinking more water. She has been carrying around a 32-ounce cup of water every day. When we
first started training, she would go days without drinking water. As we have discussed this as a goal of
hers, we have been able to set attainable weekly goals that promote a desire to achieve. My client is most
likely in the moderate self-efficacy range for this health-related behavior.

8. List and describe which coaching skills for behavior change you will implement to help your
client with this behavior. (2 pts)

I will be motivational and continue to push my client to be consistent and exercise at the highest level she
can. When I am confident in what I am doing and provide her with proper instruction, she does her best.
Additionally, I will continue to discuss her goals so that we can ensure they are desirable and attainable.