The role of enjoyment and motivational determinants in persistence in the practice of physical exercise

Abstract

The scope of this paper was to analyze the impact of motivational determinants in enjoyment and persistence in physical exercise among practitioners of physical exercise. In total, 967 gym and health club exercise practitioners aged between 18 and 65 (M=45.08; SD=13.76) were recruited for analysis. All participants had more than six months of regular exercise practice. Participants completed and validated scales in the exercise context duly translated into Portuguese, assessing interpersonal behaviors, basic psychological needs, and behavioral regulation. Persistence was measured using computerized records considering persistent exercisers as being those who were exercising at similar frequencies as those self-reported at the initial assessment. Results showed that the measurement and structural model fit the data. Several significant effects were found supporting previous literature. Indirect effects showed enjoyment to play a crucial role on exercise persistence, both by the significant effect via autonomous and controlled motivation. In essence, activities that give pleasure that gym and health club exercisers experience during the practice of physical exercise can be the key variable of long-term persistence.