This study sought to develop an instrument for assessment of motivation for exercise, the Exercise Orientation Scale, and use it to examine the relationship between exercise orientation and use of a behavioral change technique in an exercise setting. In Study 1 designed to develop the scale, we employed 204 elementary school students, 310 junior high school students, and 252 university students. Factor analysis of the 18-item Exercise Orientation Scale revealed a six-factor structure comprising (1) relatedness orientation, (2) discipline orientation, (3) fulfillment orientation, (4) practice orientation, (5) reward orientation, and (6) superiority orientation. The scale was found to have reliability and validity. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to examine differences in exercise orientation by sex and developmental stage. The scores for fulfillment orientation, reward orientation, and relatedness orientation differed significantly between boys and girls: boys had significantly higher fulfillment and reward orientation scores, while girls had significantly higher relatedness orientation scores. Almost all orientation scores for elementary school students were significantly higher than those for the older groups. In Study 2, the participants were 195 university students. Covariance structure analysis revealed that content-related motivation (i.e. the practice, discipline, and fulfillment orientation factors) in particular predicted the use of a behavioral change technique to promote exercise participation. Moreover, fulfillment orientation was directly related to the duration of exercise participation. The results of these studies suggest that content-related motivation promotes exercise participation via the use of a behavioral change technique.