Incentivizing Planning & Output in Exercising

University of Pennsylvania

Status: Completed

Conditions: Healthy

Treatments: Behavioral: Incentivizing exercise; Behavioral: Incentivizing planning

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03742765

827107-1255

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study will test whether incentivizing pre-workout activities (i.e., planning workouts) is more effective than incentivizing actual workouts. This study has two conditions: planning condition (with incentives for planning) vs. output (with incentives for working out). The focus of the incentives will be reinforced by three text messages per week and weekly emails.

Full description

Gym members register online to participate in a 28-day workout program. Upon registration, participants are assigned to one of two conditions (a condition that incentivizes planning or a condition that incentivizes workouts). Upon registration, participants are prompted to create a workout schedule and are given tips about how to create a workout habit. Over the 28-day intervention period, participants receive text message reminders prior to their scheduled workouts and emails reminding them of their schedules. In both conditions, participants receive points every day that they go to the gym, which can be redeemed for a gift card after the intervention period. In the planning condition, participants can receive bonus points for responding to each of three text messages each week asking about their plans for going to the gym. In the output condition, participants receive bonus points for their first three workouts each week.

Enrollment: 1,200 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Has 24 Hour Fitness gym membership

Exclusion criteria

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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1,200 participants in 2 patient groups

Incentivizing Planning

Experimental group

Description:

Participants will receive three texts each week asking a question to help plan for the next workout, and will receive 500 points for each text they answer. These bonus points are on top of points participants receive for each workout (200 points per workout).

Treatment:

Behavioral: Incentivizing planning

Incentivizing Exercise

Experimental group

Description:

Participants will receive three texts each week asking a question about their workout. Regardless of whether or not they respond to the texts, participants receive 500 bonus points for their first three workouts during the week. These bonus points are on top of points participants receive for each workout (200 points per workout).

Treatment:

Behavioral: Incentivizing exercise