The Sport Psychologist, 1994,8,262-270 O 1994 Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc.

On Exercise and Sport Avoidance: A Reply to Dr. Albert Ellis

Jim Taylor Alpine/Taylor Consulting

The objective of this article is to reply to Dr. Albert Ellis's application of his rational emotive behavioral therapy (REBT) paradigm to the issue of exercise and sport avoidance. This article begins with a consideration of why people avoid exercise and sport participation and an identification of what needs to be modified for people to initiate and adhere to exercise and sport programs. Then, in reponse to Dr. Ellis's discussion, some of the key elements of his proposed program are reviewed. Additionally, some of his techniques are reinterpreted in a manner with which exerciselsport psychologists may be more familiar. Also, some suggestions are offered to enhance the impact of REBT to exercise and sport avoidance.

Dr. Albert Ellis, one of the leading authorities on behavioral change, has offered an elegant, practical, and comprehensive application of his rational emo- tive behavioral therapy (REBT) paradigm to the problem of avoidance of exercise and sport participation. My intention is to review some of the key elements of his proposed program, reinterpret some of his techniques in a manner with which exerciselsport psychologists may be more familiar, and offer some suggestions that might enhance the impact of REBT on exercise and sport avoidance.

To begin this discussion, it is necessary to consider why exerciselsport avoidance is a problem in the f ~ s t place. The fundamental obstacle to exercise is that, in the early stages of participation, it is highly aversive while offering very few immediate rewards. Beginning exercisers are sweaty, smelly, tired, achy, and sore. The exercise activities in which they typically participate (e.g., walking, jogging, bicycling, Stairmaster, treadmill, weight training) are boring and monotonous (an exception is aerobics, which will be discussed later). Addi- tionally, there are no immediate and noticeable benefits or rewards. Also, initial performance in the activity is poor. Perhaps the most unpleasant aspect of exercise initiation is the strong negative social comparison and evaluation with experienced exercisers. There is a tremendous threat to self-esteem due to the direct and unavoidable contrast when an obviously overweight and out-of-shape person walks into a fitness club for the first time.

Jim Taylor is with AlpinelTaylor Consulting, P.O. Box 10205, Aspen, CO 81612.

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Sports participation has a few more immediate positive benefits (which, unfortunately, can also be considered negative) and additional negative elements. Positive aspects of sports participation that offer direct benefits not present in exercise include competition, social interaction, skill development, and fun. On the negative side, as Dr. Ellis points out, the constant pressure to win and avoid losing, competitiveness, rules, interactions with other players (especially in team sports), risk of injury, and the new component of skill development add further negative social comparison with skilled athletes and new threats to self-esteem;

Contrast all of these immediate and negative aspects of the exerciselsport experience with their well-established, but long-term, benefits: more energy, improved appearance, longer life, better overall health, less illness, learning a life-long sport, satisfaction of skill mastery, and winning. Rationally speaking, these lasting advantages far outweigh the transitory problems that are experienced initially by exercisers/athletes, but, as Dr. Ellis indicates, most people are rarely rational and, as a general rule, Americans are what Dr. Ellis calls "short- range hedonists. "

Thus, there are two primary goals in developing exerciselsport programs that people may initiate and adhere to long enough to gain the long-term benefits of fitness: First, following Dr. Ellis's model, change people's thoughts and feelings about themselves and exerciselsport that interfere with their consistent participation; second, devise exerciselsport programs that reduce the immediate negative consequences and components and increase the positive aspects of exerciselsport.

REBT Within an ExerciseISport Psychology Framework

Dr. Ellis's REBT model is a thorough program that intervenes at all levels of psychological functioning: thought, feeling, and behavior. Applied to the sport and exercise psychology field, these three areas may be viewed as skills in which "bad habits" have developed, much like poor technical sport skills. The way that these bad habits may be unlearned and healthy habits put in their place is described at length by Dr. Ellis (and will be discussed shortly). Within a sport context, using technical skills as a metaphor, this modification of thoughts, feelings, and behavior may be conceptualized with a simple formula that I use with exercisers/athletes called the positive change formula:

awareness + control + repetition = positive change

For positive change to occur, people must (a) become aware of their current thoughts, feelings, and behaviors; (b) control them by replacing them with more effective thoughts, feelings, and behaviors; and (c) through repetition, ingrain these new thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to the point they become auto- matic responses.

The three dysfunctional and absolutist "musts" described by Dr. Ellis as the primary cause of exerciselsport avoidance conflict directly with the immediate unpleasant psychological, social, and environmental consequences of exercise1 sport participation. For example, Dr. Ellis's first must, "I absolutely must do well . . . or I am an undeserving, pretty worthless person," (Ellis, 1994, p. 250), clashes with the inevitable, initially poor exerciselsport performance (e.g.,

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running, walking, biking slowly and laboriously; making many mistakes and losing in a sport) and the threat to self-esteem that occurs in the social comparison process that most novice exercisers/athletes experience. His second must, "Other people absolutely must treat me considerably and fairly" (Ellis, 1994, p. 250), conflicts with the way beginning exercisers1 athletes typically perceive experi- enced exercisers/athletes "looking down their noses" at them when they walk into a gym or onto a track, court, or course. Dr. Ellis's third must, "The conditions under which 1 live must be comfortable and easy and not require me to do anything I don't want to do" (Ellis, 1994, p. 250), is inconsistent with the fact that exerciselsport does take effort, there is discomfort, and it is necessary for a long and healthy life.

Dr. Ellis also quotes an earlier paper he wrote, in which he stated the fol- lowing:

Using self-control procedures (as against allowing themselves to be largely directed by teachers or therapists in changing dysfunctional thinking and acting), the self-control procedures frequently produce results that are at least as good, and often significantly better than, the results produced by external pushing. (Ellis, 1982, p. 29)

This view is consistent with the considerable body of research within exercise1 sport attesting to the value of intrinsic motivation in producing long-lasting adherence and greater satisfaction.

What is also noteworthy about Dr. Ellis's approach is that there is a strong emotional component to it. With the preponderance of cognitive-behavioral interventions in exerciselsport psychology, emotions are rarely considered and typically overlooked, even though they are essential (if not the most critical element) to exerciselsport participation and performance.

Cognitive Methods of Treating ExerciseISport Avoidance

In this section (which corresponds to Dr. Ellis's), I will review what I consider to be Dr. Ellis's key techniques for changing cognitions that interfere with exerciselsport participation, reframe them if necessary, and offer additional ideas that may enhance their value. In this area, as a general rule, it is my perception that Dr. Ellis does not place enough emphasis on replacing irrational beliefs with more positive beliefs about the self and exercise/sport participation. This will be discussed in more detail throughout this section.

Disputing Irrational Beliefs

Dr. Ellis suggests that it is important to scientifically dispute irrational beliefs. This involves debunking or disproving the severity of the negative aspects of exercise/sport participation, for example, helping avoiders to understand why they believe exerciselsport is awful and showing them that it may be "inconvenient, but hardly awful" (Ellis, 1994, p. 253).

I would take this disputation process one step further by not only disputing the belief that it is awful or even inconvenient, but also showing that it can be

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very positive by emphasizing the immediate and long-term positive aspects of exerciselsport. Research has indicated that "inconvenience" alone is sufficient to keep people from participating in exercise/sport regularly, so using it in a positive way seems inappropriate. Instead of a person saying, "Okay, it is not that bad and really just inconvenient" (which seems to be the outcome of Dr. Ellis's disputation), that person would say, "Hey, maybe there are some good things about exercise/sport." This further step is similar to Bandura's (1977) use of self-persuasion to facilitate initiation of a task. As I will discuss in greater depth later, it is essential that, with this new belief, new exercisers have a positive experience (Bandura's "performance accomplishment") to reinforce that new belief. Otherwise, the experience will simply reaffirm the "rationality" of their previous belief.

Other beliefs that Dr. Ellis indicates would need to be disputed would include such statements as "I must perform well," "I must not be pushed by other people and have to resist such pushing," and "I am a total failure because I have failed in the past." He does not go into detail about how this would be accomplished. The first belief may be countered by having the person recognize the intended reason for and goal of exercise/sport, that is, to improve overall health. Comparative performance is irrelevant to this stated objective. The person may be helped to accept this goal by refocusing his or her attention away from quality of performance by using goal-setting techniques that are commonly used in our field. This approach will also draw the person's focus away from short- term benefits and detriments onto the lasting advantages of exerciselsport.

The second goal can be disputed by having the person clarify why family and friends are pushing him or her. The original belief has the tone suggesting that the significant others are doing the pushing for malicious and ill-intentioned reasons (in fact, this tone probably comes from the person's own self-anger and defensiveness). However, in all likelihood, the person's family and friends are doing it out of love and concern for his or her health. With an understanding of this positive intention, there is no rational reason to resist their urgings (pushing could be reframed as encouragement and support). In fact, following this encour- agement would seem quite reasonable.

The third goal may be countered by getting the person to recognize that the past thoughts, feelings, and behavior are not always indicative of future thoughts, feelings, and behavior, and to focus not on the past (which cannot be changed), but on the future (of which the person has control). So such a person might say, "Whatever I said or did in the past is irrelevant. What is important is what I think, feel, and do in the future."

Rational Coping Statements

Similar to disputing beliefs, I find that Dr. Ellis's statements are not positive enough and, as a result, would not be that convincing to a person who actively avoids exerciselsport. As short-term hedonists, I don't think most avoiders would say, "But in the long run it's much harder if I don't exercise" (Ellis, 1994, p. 254). More affuming statements, such as, "The benefits I gain from exercise1 sport far outweigh any temporary discomfort I might feel," or, "I know that if 1 stick with this sport, I can become skilled," would seem to be more beneficial.

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This much more positive self-persuasion will, in my view, have a more dramati- cally positive effect on exercise/sport initiation.

Writing down and regularly thinking about rational coping statements is similar to the use of positive litanies that I and others in the field use. The following is an example of such a litany:

I like to exercise I am becoming the best exerciser I can be. Every day, in every way, I am getting more fit and healthy. I give my best effort when I exercise. I focus on my long-term goal when I exercise. I enjoy exercising.

An added tool in the use of such litanies is not only to think about them, but to say them out loud. Even if an avoider does not believe these positive statements at first, I have found that if people tell themselves something often enough (and combine it with successful experiences), they will start to believe it. Using powerfully positive statements, positive emotions, and positive body language further enhances the value of the self-statements. This is similar to Dr. Ellis's strong, dramatic coping statements. The overt expression of the self-statements while generating positive emotions and body language will help to retrain the negative thinking habits and attach positive feelings to them. A positive exercise/ sport experience, which is more likely if people enter it with an optimistic attitude, will then reinforce the new beliefs with more positive emotions.

Dr. Ellis recommends that avoiders list the disadvantages of copping out of exercise/sport. This approach places considerable emphasis on the negative as- pects of the experience. Based on his suggestion, avoiders should say things such as, "If I don't exercise, my health will suffer." However, this statement has two negative substatements, "don't exercise" and "my health will suffer" which will be heard and internalized every time it is said. These statements should be balanced with listing and thinking about the advantages of exercise/sport participation, which is what we ultimately want them to "sink firmly into their heads."

Psychoeducational Methods

Though not explicitly stated, Dr. Ellis suggests the need for immersion, consis- tency, and repetition of the change process. Invariably, the more a person can become immersed in a new personal zeitgeist, the easier it will be to acquire new ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving. This effect is largely due to providing a new and more positive focus. If a person is constantly concentrating on positive aspects of exercise/sport, he or she will not have the time or energy to think dysfunctional thoughts.

From our perspective as sport psychologists, the development of user- friendly reading materials, and audio- (litany recordings) and videotapes ("high- light" films) is essential for contributing to long-lasting change, particularly

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when we do not have an opportunity for long-term contact (e.g., give a talk at a health club or spend two days with a team giving seminars). Also, having potential workout partners, teammates, family, and friends learn about the REBT techniques and the goals of the individual will provide social support for the change.

Find Good Models

Dr. Ellis's suggestion for finding positive role models to spend time with is essential. I call this social management, in which the avoider surrounds him- or herself with coping (not mastery) models who regularly participate in and enjoy exercise/sport and avoids those who do not. A negative example of the influence of role models is the person who is trying to lose weight but has a roommate who stocks the kitchen with fattening food and constantly eats lots of unhealthy food.

Emotive Methods of Treating ExerciseISport Avoidance Dramatic Coping Statements

I discussed this technique in the Rational Coping Statement section. However, as has been a theme throughout, I believe that Dr. Ellis's examples of ''positive" statements could be more positive. For example, instead of saying, "No matter how rotten I am at playing, I am never, never a weak or rotten person" (Ellis, 1994, p. 255), a more positive bent on this statement could be, "No matter how I play, I am still a strong and good person for playing."

Rational Emotive Image y

Dr. Ellis suggests that people imagine themselves failing to exercise and replacing strong negative emotions such as panic and depression with "appropriate, helpful negative feelings" (Ellis, 1994, p. 255) such as disappointment and regret. I see two negative aspects of this type of imagery. ~ i r s c t h e avoiders are regularly seeing themselves failing to exercise in their imagery. This is akin to having people imagining themselves doing, for example, a tennis backhand incorrectly. As Woolfolk, Parrish, and Murphy's (1985) research from several years ago indicates, this approach causes people to become more skilled at doing the wrong thing. By having avoiders imagine themselves failing to exercise (regardless of the more "helpful negative" emotions), they are reinforcing an image of themselves failing.

Like all sport psychologists, I use mental imagery often to create and reinforce positive performances of the athletes with whom I work. These imagined positive performances increase positive thoughts and positive emotions related to the performance. The same approach would seem to be appropriate with exercise avoiders. Instead of using negative imagery to reduce the severity of the negative emotions, I would use positive imagery in which avoiders imagine themselves participating in an exercise activity or sport and having positive thoughts and feelings, and, most importantly, a positive experience. This approach would not simply reduce the negativity but rather replace the negativity with a positive view of exercising, which should be the ultimate goal for the avoider.

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discomfort, boredom, and social comparison. In this way, anxiety-reducing activ- ity becomes a form of stress inoculation to the more severely aversive aspects of exerciselsport that may occur later on.

Mabeline Example

This technique of staying in a highly aversive situation is similar to implosive therapy in which exposure to the aversive stimulus is maintained until the negative response is extinguished. Though the evidence for the effectiveness of implosive therapy is mixed, an added strategy to facilitate this process would be to explore why Mabeline felt so enraged by her partner, Susan's, arrogance. It may be that her response was not a function of Susan, but rather of people whose confidence threatens Mabeline's self-esteem. Thus, the problem would be solved not only with Susan or related to racquetball games, but for all situations in which Mabe- line's competence might be challenged.

Reinforcement

Dr. Ellis suggests that avoiders reward themselves for exercise/sport participation with an unrelated activity that they enjoy. I am a bit skeptical that avoiders would abstain from an activity, such as reading or listening to music, that is very enjoyable to them (and something that is presumably a part of their daily lives) unless they engage in an activity, namely, exerciselsport, that they find highly aversive. I would suggest using his reinforcement approach by building it into the sportlsport itself.

The selection of the appropriate exercise/sport activity is critical here. As I have indicated previously, an unfortunate aspect of many exercise/sport activities is that they offer little immediate reinforcement. Particularly for avoiders, it is important that they select an exercise/sport activity that offers some immediate reinforcement beyond any physical rewards that might occur. For example, aero- bics was, in my view, one of the greatest boons to fitness for women. Traditionally, women were not encouraged to participate in organized sports, and intense solitary exercise such as running and weight lifting was considered "unfeminine." Aerobics provided women several elements that were traditionally considered reinforcing to women, namely, dance and social interaction.

In selecting an exercise/sport activity, avoiders should look for elements of the activity that provide immediate reinforcement, for example, music, setting (a mountain hike with a view), the potential for meeting other people, and the like. So Clyde, rather than rewarding himself with listening to Bach after he exercises, could listen to Bach while he exercises, thus creating a reinforcing association between the pleasure of the music and the exercise activity.

Stiff Penalties

I am also a bit skeptical about the use of "severe" punishment, or stiff penalties, for avoiding exercise/sport participation as an inducement for exerciselsport involvement. Difficult customers, or DCs as Dr. Ellis refers to them, are character- ized by extreme beliefs that manifest themselves in stubbornness to change behavior. It seems unlikely that an extreme thinker such as Marian would actually

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accept dating boring men because she does not exercise. Since dating boring men is at least as aversive to her as exercising, I would anticipate as much resistance to dating boring men as she would demonstrate toward exercising. As such, intervention at the behavioral level might be difficult.

A more likely approach might be to intervene at the rational and emotional levels using techniques described by Dr. Ellis. For exampIe, it would be useful to examine why Marian holds such extreme beliefs about exercise. In cases like this, there is often either a significant lack of knowledge or a considerable amount of inaccurate information about exerciselsport participation. Providing Marian with accurate and realistic information about exercise would dispute some of her extreme beliefs, thereby making her more open to alternative beliefs and expe- riences.

Additionally, with DCs, there may have been an aversive experience that avoiders had in their past that produced these extreme beliefs and strong negative emotions that have become associated with exerciselsport in the present. Helping them recognize and understand the experience and the related beliefs and emotions will facilitate easing the beliefs and letting go of the emotional ties to the expe- rience.

Conclusion Dr. Ellis's REBT model offers sport psychologists an effective framework within which to address problems of exerciselsport avoidance. REBT provides consul- tants with an overall framework in which they may plan their intervention pro- gram. It also advances many specific techniques to address the problem at all three levels of human functioning. I hope that the ideas and techniques I have offered will allow sport psychologists to gain a fuller perspective on applying REBT to the exerciselsport setting and to better customize and fine-tune Dr. Ellis's REBT model to the unique aspects of exerciselsport participation.

References Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psycho-

logical Review, 84, 191-215. Ellis, A. (1982). Self-direction in sport and life. Rational Living, 17(1), 23-33. Ellis, A. (1994). The sport of avoiding sports and exercise: A rational emotive behavior

therapy perspective. The Sport Psychologist, 8, 248-261. Woolfolk, R.L., Pamsh, W., & Murphy, S.M. (1985). The effects of positive and negative

imagery on motor skill performance. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 9,335-341.

Manuscript submitted: April 29, 1994