ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Exercise adherence is necessary for achieving long-term benefits. Along with other elements, stories and narratives can play a role in understanding and promoting adherence. The aim of the present study was to explore how stories and narratives may affect adherence to Pilates. METHOD: 8 Pilates practitioners who had been participating in a Pilates program for 6 or more years were interviewed. Data obtained were analysed using thematic narrative analysis, (focusing on the whats of stories) and holistic narrative analysis (examining how narratives acted on adherence). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Results highlight pain, Pilates as a health-related method, and the social relations as characters, plots and scenarios of stories enhancing long-term participation in Pilates. Exercise is medicine and eudaimonic well-being are presented as narratives articulating the coherence to practitioners' adherence. They act for participants subjectivizing their Pilates practice into a serious commitment to health. CONCLUSION: Stories and narratives are relevant to give meaning and sense to the adherence to Pilates. A focus on stories can be added as a strategy to promote adherence to Pilates.
