ACSM-EP Behavioral Coaching 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A client consistently cancels exercise sessions citing work stress. Which behavioral coaching strategy best addresses this pattern?
- Increase session frequency to compensate
- Explore barriers and collaborate on problem-solving strategies (Correct answer)
- Reduce exercise intensity to lower perceived burden
- Remind the client of health risks from inactivity
Correct answer: Explore barriers and collaborate on problem-solving strategies
Collaborative barrier identification and problem-solving is a core motivational interviewing technique that addresses underlying obstacles to adherence.
Question 2: Which stage of the Transtheoretical Model describes a client who has been exercising regularly for 8 months?
- Preparation
- Action
- Maintenance (Correct answer)
- Contemplation
Correct answer: Maintenance
Maintenance begins when a client has sustained the target behavior for more than 6 months.
Question 3: During a coaching session, an exercise physiologist asks, 'On a scale of 1-10, how important is it to you to become more active?' This is an example of:
- Decisional balancing
- Importance and confidence rulers (Correct answer)
- Cognitive restructuring
- Behavioral contracting
Correct answer: Importance and confidence rulers
Importance and confidence rulers are motivational interviewing tools that quantify a client's readiness and self-efficacy on a numeric scale.
Question 4: Self-efficacy theory predicts that a client's belief in their ability to exercise will most directly affect:
- Their resting heart rate response to training
- The goals set by the exercise physiologist
- Their likelihood of initiating and persisting with exercise (Correct answer)
- Their muscular strength gains over time
Correct answer: Their likelihood of initiating and persisting with exercise
Bandura's self-efficacy theory holds that perceived capability is the primary cognitive determinant of behavior initiation and persistence.
Question 5: A client says, 'I know I should exercise, but I just can't find the time.' Which MI-consistent response is most appropriate?
- 'You should schedule workouts like appointments.'
- 'Many people feel that way—let's explore what gets in the way.' (Correct answer)
- 'If you really wanted to, you'd make the time.'
- 'Try waking up 30 minutes earlier each day.'
Correct answer: 'Many people feel that way—let's explore what gets in the way.'
Reflective listening and empathic exploration without advice-giving maintains rapport and elicits the client's own solutions, consistent with MI spirit.
Question 6: Which behavior change technique involves having a client write down specific exercise plans including when, where, and how they will exercise?
- Action planning (Correct answer)
- Stimulus control
- Social support enhancement
- Reinforcement management
Correct answer: Action planning
Action planning (implementation intentions) creates specific if-then scenarios that bridge intention and behavior.
Question 7: A client in the Contemplation stage should primarily receive coaching focused on:
- High-intensity training protocols
- Resolving ambivalence and increasing pros of change (Correct answer)
- Advanced goal-setting and periodization
- Relapse prevention strategies
Correct answer: Resolving ambivalence and increasing pros of change
Contemplators are ambivalent about change, so coaching should tip the decisional balance by increasing perceived benefits of exercise.
ACSM-EP Behavioral Coaching 2
A client consistently cancels exercise sessions citing work stress.
Which behavioral coaching strategy best addresses this pattern?