0000000000115917
AUTHOR
Will Critchley
Can Digital Coaching Boost Your Performance? – A Qualitative Study among Physically Active People
The use of sport and wellness technology devices among athletes is highly popular. At the same time the demand for easy to understand, clear, and personalized information is also growing. Instead of numbers, users need and want solutions. Digital coaching can offer solutions for this by providing valuable training data and offering guidance and instructions on how to improve the training. This exploratory study focuses on the experiences, needs, and wants regarding a digital coach application among physically active people, more precisely crosscountry skiers. We found that the digital coach was perceived to have motivational elements. It was also viewed having potential to increase the awar…
Young Elderly and Digital Coaching : A Quantitative Intervention Study on Exercise Self-Efficacy
Sport and wellness technology devices are becoming an increasingly relevant topic when discussing health and wellness. This study focuses on the use of a “digital coach”, within a specific population, young elderly people. This research explored how the use of a digital coach would affect self-efficacy related to physical activity and exercise among young elderly. Thisquantitative intervention study provided a digital coaching device to a group of young elderly people ranging from 61-78 in age for 10-weeks. It was found that a digital coach may be useful for this population, particularly in increasing their perceived confidence in exercising independently. However, the participants’ percept…
Using Sport and Wellness Technology to Promote Physical Activity: An Intervention Study among Teenagers
Life-long physical activity patterns are established during teenage years. Thus, promoting physical activity for teenagers is important. Sport and wellness technology shows promise for promoting physical activity. Yet, its research with teenage populations is sparse. This intervention study focused on whether using a sport and wellness technology application could affect the physical activity intention of teenagers, its antecedents, and the antecedents’ effects on intention by using the theory of planned behavior combined with the concept of self-efficacy as a theoretical framework. The results showed no statistically significant difference between the intervention and the control group in …
Digital coaching and athlete’s self-efficacy : A quantitative study on sport and wellness technology
The use and demand for sport and wellness technology devices among athletes are increasing. The technology is used to improve the quality of training but also to improve quality of life by, for example, reducing risk of injury. Together with the increased interest towards sport and wellness technology, the demand for clear and easy to understand personalized information is growing. Digital coaching offers solutions for this demand by not only providing valuable training data but also offering instructions and guidance on how to improve the training. By doing this, the sport and wellness technology can act as a personal coach and therefore can also affect athletes’ confidence and perception …
Critical Experiences with Sport and Wellness Technology Digital Coach : A Study among University Students with Low Levels of Physical Activity
University age students have been found to be in a high risk of disengagement with physical activity and therefore exercise promotion to this target group is important. Since today’s students are familiar with different kinds of digital technology, it is worth including personal wellness devices in physical activity promotion. This study explores critical experiences occurring during the implementation phase of a sport and wellness technology digital coach among university students with low or sedentary physical activity level. This study uses qualitative methods and is based on a thematic analysis of 30 interviews combined with the critical incident technique. The study reveals the experie…
Digital Coaching among University Students with Low Levels of Physical Activity: A Quantitative Intervention Study on Exercise Self-efficacy
University aged people have been found to be at a high risk of disengagement of physical activity. They also belong to a generation where technology is strongly integrated into most parts of their lives. Therefore, using technology also in physical activity promotion has potential. This exploratory study investigates the perceived effects of a sport and wellness technology digital coach among physically inactive university students during a 10-week intervention. The perspective for the research came from exercise psychology focusing on the effects of the use of a digital coach on self-efficacy related to physical activity and exercising. The results indicate that a digital coach can increas…
Digital Coaching Motivating Towards Physical Activity in Japan During the Covid-19 Pandemic
COVID-19 influenced peoples lives enormously and its impact was also seen in physical activity and exercising. This mixed methods intervention study highlights some of the impact the pandemic had on the physical activity and exercising behaviors of 10 Japanese information systems employees and students. This study also focuses on the influence that using sport and wellness technology digital coaching had on peoples’ physical activity, exercise motivation and exercise self-efficacy during the pandemic. Based on the findings digital coaching can have motivational elements to support people towards a more physically active lifestyle for example by making users more aware of their own physical …
Sport and Wellness Technology to Promote Physical Activity of Teenagers
Life-long physical activity patterns are established during teenage years, so promoting physical activity is important. Sport and wellness technology has potential for promoting physical activity. Yet, research concerning its use among teenage populations is sparse. This intervention study investigated whether using a sport and wellness technology application could affect teenagers' physical activity intention, its antecedents, and the effects of these antecedents on intention. The study uses the theory of planned behavior (TPB) combined with self-efficacy as a theoretical model. The results showed no statistically significant difference between the intervention and control group in terms o…
Activity Trackers Influencing Motivation and Awareness: Study Among Fitness Centre Members
Consumer fitness technology products are becoming increasingly popular. This leads to interesting questions about the influence of activity trackers on a person’s motivation to exercise. This study explored the role of activity trackers in motivating fitness centre members towards exercising and in increasing their awareness regarding their own health and physical activity. The study included 100 fitness centre members divided into a test group and a control group and three sub-groups: OLD, NEW, and personal trainer (PT) members. The focus was on gym visit frequency during a 10-week test period and on tracking the consistency of activity levels. Participants also completed a pre and post st…