The effect of a supervised exercise trial on exercise adherence among African American men: A pilot study

Objective: The objective of this pilot study was to determine the effect of a supervised short-term exercise trial on exercise adherence in a sample of African American males. Methods: We observed exercise adherence rates among a group of African American men in response to an exercise intervention. Exercise adherence was determined by dividing the total number of actual sessions attended by the total number of possible sessions (12 sessions). A participant was classified as an adherer if they completed 9 out of 12 exercise sessions (75%). Results: Seventy-one percent of the study participants (12/17) completed at least 75% of the study sessions and therefore adhered to the study protocol. Among the adherers, 7 out of 12 (58%) had adherence rates of 100%. Five participants withdrew from the exercise group due to lack of time and lack of interest. Conclusion: Exercise adherence rates among African-American men in this study were favorable during this supervised exercise intervention and were comparable to adherence rates observed in other supervised exercise interventions. Recommendations based on this pilot study are provided to reduce participant withdrawal and to inform future large-scale studies