Exercise Motives of College Students after the COVID-19 Lockdown

Abstract

This study describes the physical activity of university students (PA) and their motives to exercise in the summer of 2021, after the COVID-19 lockdown in Slovenia. Adults over 18 years of age (n = 493; 72% women) completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) short form and the Exercise Motivation Inventory-2 (EMI-2) via an anonymous online survey. Since the EMI-2 has never been used with the Slovenian population, the measurement properties of the Slovenian version (EMI-2) were also determined in this study. A forward–backward translation was used for cross-cultural adaptation. The internal consistency of the EMI-2 subscales was high. The results of the study showed that male students spent more minutes per session on intense physical activity and performed this activity more frequently per week, whereas female students were more likely to walk for more than 10 min without a break. In addition, female participants were more likely than male participants to cite weight management as a motivator. Male participants were more likely than female participants to cite fun, challenge, social recognition, belonging, competition, and strength and endurance as motivations. Results showed that respondents with a history of competitive sports had higher scores for revitalization, fun, challenge, social recognition, affiliation, competition, positive health, appearance, strength and endurance, and flexibility. They also engaged in intense physical activity more frequently per week, and when they engaged in moderate or intense PA activity, they did so for longer periods of time. Compared to respondents who never exercised, more of them overcame COVID-19. The results also showed some correlation between motivation and physical activity. The motives of revitalization, enjoyment, challenge, competition, strength and endurance, and stress management were more important for individuals who exercised vigorously more often in the past 7 days. Total time spent in daily physical activity is also related to the enjoyment of exercise and challenge. In conclusion, understanding the motives for exercise is important for the behavior of PA, especially after a period of inactivity due to lockdown.

Impact of Fitness Influencers on the Level of Physical Activity Performed by Instagram Users in the United States of America: Analytical Cross-Sectional Study

“…Our data confirm the inspiring effect of Instagram on physical activity performance. However, it does not seem that it favors intense physical activity, probably because a greater long-term sports habit conditions the performance of this type of physical activity [ 36 ], and it is not so easily modifiable.…”

Motivation of physical education, health, and recreation students in carrying out movement activities after the Covid-19 transition period in Indonesia

“…This makes the experience of sports influenced by mediation effects and from the commitment to sports to maintain sports activities (He et al, 2022). People who do sports during the Covid-19 pandemic have revitalizing intensity, pleasure from challenge, social recognition, affiliation, competition, positive health, appearance, strength and endurance, and a very high degree of flexibility (Vučković et al, 2022). Wiguno,Kurniawan,Heynoek,Nasution,Haetami,Sudirman,health,and recreation studensts … 137 Many students agree with this statement that they want to do the physical activity that they have done but also still be able to improve the quality of their health.…”

Exercise motives among university students – A Brazil-Portugal transnational study

“…The EMI was originally developed for English-speaking exercisers ( Markland and Hardy, 1993 ) and then underwent some adaptations for broadening the assessment of motive-related factors and extending its use to non-exercisers. This new version was named EMI-2 ( Markland and Ingledew, 1997 ) and has been translated, adapted, and used in several countries and populations ( Ingledew and Sullivan, 2002 ; Cho et al, 2020 ; Kim and Cho, 2022 ; Vuckovic et al, 2022 ) including Portugal ( Alves and Lourenço, 2003 ) and Brazil ( Klain et al, 2015 ). As any psychometric instrument, before applying the EMI-2 to a specific population, its psychometric properties should be assessed in a sample of the population ( Marôco, 2021a ) to ensure that the collected data is valid and reliable.…”

“…Studies indicate that characteristics such as sex, weight status, and level of exercise may also influence the motives for exercise ( Ingledew and Sullivan, 2002 ; Lores et al, 2004 ; Guedes et al, 2013 ; Ednie and Stibor, 2017 ; Ley, 2020 ; Anic et al, 2022 ; Vuckovic et al, 2022 ). Among young men and women, the main motive for exercising is related to physical appearance ( Ednie and Stibor, 2017 ; Anic et al, 2022 ), competitiveness ( Guedes et al, 2013 ), and sociability ( Ley, 2020 ; Valenzuela et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Body mass index is positively related to weight management motives ( Ingledew and Sullivan, 2002 ; Anic et al, 2022 ) and negatively related to the other factors of EMI-2 ( Ingledew and Sullivan, 2002 ). For athletes and people in advanced-level sports, motives are linked to competition and socialization ( Lores et al, 2004 ; Vuckovic et al, 2022 ), while among beginners, motives are related to appearance and body image ( Lores et al, 2004 ).…”