Motivation Levels and Goals for the Practice of Physical Exercise in Five Different Modalities: A Correspondence Analysis

Abstract

The identification of the practitioner’s profile regarding their motivation level for physical exercise engagement could be a behavioral strategy to increase exercise adherence. The present study investigates the associations between motivation levels, modalities practiced, and goals concerning the practice of physical exercise among physical exercise practitioners. A total of 100 physical exercise practitioners, of which 67 were women, took part in this study. The participants were engaged in extreme fitness program, strength training, fight training, Pilates, and functional training. Motivation level (BREQ-3) and expectations regarding regular physical exercise (IMPRAF-54) were assessed. A multiple correspondence analysis demonstrates preferential relationships between descriptive and non-inferential variables. Strength training and fight training practitioners seek these modalities with the goals of “Health” and “Aesthetics,” demonstrating low autonomy in relation to the behavior for the practice of physical exercise. Extreme conditioning program and functional training practitioners have as goal “Pleasure,” demonstrating medium and high levels of autonomy for such practice and Pilates practitioners have the goal of “Stress Control.” To promote and encourage the regular practice of physical exercise, this strategy could be used to take actions that increase the public’s intention to start or continue in a physical exercise program.

Assessment of Self-Determined Motivation in Exercise: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

“…This suggests that most self-determined behaviors are primarily driven by intrinsic motivation, while extrinsic motivation plays a secondary role. These findings align with previous studies applying the BREQs to assess self-determined exercise motivation [22,51,62]. Individuals who score higher on intrinsic regulation and lower on amotivation tend to perceive exercise as socially acceptable and enjoyable [70].…”

“…The Americas, BREQ-2 (2): Canada [60,61]. The Americas, BREQ-3 (7): Brazil, Canada, USA [10,11,18,23,[62][63][64]. Asia, BREQ-2 (4): China, Singapore [28,[65][66][67].…”

Comparing Different Typologies of Physical Activities With a Focus on Motivation

“…Tests of Between-Subject Effects were further checked to estimate the main effects, and Estimated Marginal Means with Bonferroni correction were consulted as post hoc tests. We also performed correspondence analysis (similarly to Borges et al, 2021) to graphically illustrate the PAs groupings according to each category (Supplementary Figures 1-4).…”

“…In both theoretical and empirical research, studies addressing motivation and participation/choice of PA are mostly oriented by Self-Determination Theory (e.g., Frederick and Ryan, 1993;Ryan et al, 1997;Andrade Bastos et al, 2006;Molanorouzi et al, 2015;Borges et al, 2021;Jenkins et al, 2021;Varella, 2021). For example, Andrade Bastos et al (2006) found that fitness participants scored higher on appearance and social motives than walking participants.…”