The present study investigated the motivational factors, behavioral regulations based on self-determination theory framework, and the relationships between basic psychological need satisfaction and actual exercise behaviors of CrossFit and resistance training (RT) participants. A total of 493 subjects (males = 351, females = 148), RT (n = 365, 279 males, 86 females) and CrossFit (n = 128, 69 males, 59 females) completed an online questionnaire. Results indicated that CrossFit participants presented higher levels of enjoyment, stress management, social recognition, affiliation, competition, and weight management. Conversely, RT participants reported higher motive for appearance. Intrinsic motivation to exercise was significantly higher in CrossFit, whereas RT participants scored higher controlled motivation. There was no significant difference between weekly exercise volume between groups; therefore, correlation and mediation analysis were conducted with pooled data. Autonomy and competence were significantly associated with more autonomous forms of motivation. Exercise frequency and weekly exercise volume were positively related to intrinsic motivation. When examining the mediating model, competence and intrinsic motivation were found to mediate the relationship between enjoyment and weekly exercise volume. Our results support the relationship among psychological needs satisfaction, intrinsic motivation, and exercise behavior in CrossFit and RT participants. Exercise professionals can encourage individuals to seek self-determined and personally meaningful exercise benefits to promote long-term exercise adherence in fitness centers.
Annesi, J. J. (1998). Effects of Computer Feedback on Adherence to Exercise. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 87, 723-730. https://doi.org/10.2466/pms.1998.87.2.723
Annesi, J. J. (2003). Effects of Cognitive Behavioral Treatment Package on Exercise Attendance and Dropout in Fitness Centers. European Journal of Sport Science, 3, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461390300073206
Caudwell, K. M., & Keatley, D. A. (2016). The Effect of Men’s Body Attitudes and Motivation for Gym Attendance. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 30, 2550-2556. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000001344
Cid, L., Moutao, J., Leitao, J., & Alves, J. (2012). Behavioral Regulation Assessment in Exercise: Exploring an Autonomous and Controlled Motivation Index. Spanish Journal of Psychology, 15, 1520-1528. https://doi.org/10.5209/rev_SJOP.2012.v15.n3.39436
Claudino, J. G., Gabbett, T. J., Bourgeois, F., Souza, H. S., Miranda, R. C., Mezencio, B., & Serrao, J. C. (2018). CrossFit Overview: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine-Open, 4, 11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40798-018-0124-5
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “What” and “Why” of Goal Pursuits : Human Needs and the Self-Determination of Behavior. Psychology Inquiry, 11, 227-268. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01
Duncan, M. J., Eyre, E. L., Bryant, E., Seghers, J., Galbraith, N., & Nevill, A. M. (2017). Autonomous Motivation Mediates the Relation between Goals for Physical Activity and Physical Activity Behavior in Adolescents. Journal of Health Psychology, 22, 595-604. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105315609089
Edmunds, J., Ntoumanis., N., & Duda, J. L. (2006). A Test of Self-Determination Theory in the Exercise Domain. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 36, 2240-2265. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0021-9029.2006.00102.x
Fisher, J., Sales, A., Carlson, L., & Steele, J. (2017). A Comparison of the Motivational Factors between CrossFit Participants and other Resistance Exercise Modalities: A Pilot Study. The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 57, 1227-1234.
Fiuza-Luces, C., Garatachea, N., Berger, N. A., & Lucia, A. (2013). Exercise Is the Real Polypill. Physiology (Bethesda), 28, 330-358. https://doi.org/10.1152/physiol.00019.2013
Frederick, C. M., & Ryan, R. M. (1993). Differences in Motivation for Sport and Exercise and Their Relations with Participation and Mental Health. Journal of Sport Behavior, 16, 124-146.
Guede, D. P., Legnani, R. F. S., & Legnani, E. (2012). Propriedades Psicométricas da versão brasileira do Exercise Motivations Inventory (EMI-2). Motriz, 18, 667-677. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1980-65742012000400005
Guedes, D. P., & Sofiati, S. L. (2015). Tradução e validação psicométrica do Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire para uso em adultos brasileiros. Rev Bras Ativ Fís Saúde, 20, 397-412. https://doi.org/10.12820/rbafs.v.20n4p397
Hayes, A. F. (2018). Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis. A Regression-Based Approach (2nd ed.). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
Ingledew, D. K., & Markland, D. (2008). The Role of Motives in Exercise Participation. Psychology & Health, 23, 807-828. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870440701405704
Ingledew, D. K., Markland, D., & Ferguson, E. (2009). Three Levels of Exercise Motivation. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, 1, 336-355. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1758-0854.2009.01015.x
Kathrins, B. P., & Turbow, D. J. (2010). Motivation of Fitness Center Participants toward Resistance Training. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 24, 2483-2490. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181e27488
Kilpatrick, M., Hebert, E., & Bartholomew, J. (2005). College Students’ Motivation for Physical Activity: Differentiating Men’s and Women’s Motives for Sport Participation and Exercise. Journal of American College Health, 54, 87-94. https://doi.org/10.3200/JACH.54.2.87-94
Klain, I. P., de Matos, D. G., Leitao, J. C., Cid, L., & Moutao, J. (2015). Self-Determination and Physical Exercise Adherence in the Contexts of Fitness Academies and Personal Training. Journal of Human Kinetics, 46, 241-249. https://doi.org/10.1515/hukin-2015-0052
Markland, D., & Hardy, L. (1997). On the Factorial and Construct Validity of the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory: Conceptual and Operational Concerns. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 68, 20-32. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.1997.10608863
Moutão, J., Cid, L., Leitão, J. C., & Alves, C. (2012). Translation and Validation of the Perceived Autonomy Support: Exercise Climate Questionnaire in a Portuguese Sample of Exercise Participants. Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica, 25, 701-708. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0102-79722012000400009
Moutão, J., Cid, L., Leitão, J. C., Alves, J., & Vlachopoulos, S. P. (2012). Validation of the Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale in a Portuguese Sample. Spanish Journal of Psychology, 15, 399-409. https://doi.org/10.5209/rev_SJOP.2012.v15.n1.37346
Partridge, J. A., Knapp, B. A., & Massengale, B. D. (2014). An Investigation of Motivational Variables in CrossFit Facilities. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 28, 1714-1721. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000000288
Pridgeon, L., & Grogan, S. (2011). Understanding Exercise Adherence and Dropout: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Men and Women’s Accounts of Gym Attendance and Non-Attendance. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 4, 382-399. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2012.712984
Rodgers, W. M., Markland, D., Selzler, A. M., Murray, T. C., & Wilson, P. M. (2014). Distinguishing Perceived Competence and Self-Efficacy: An Example from Exercise. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 85, 527-539. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.2014.961050
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being. American Psychologist, 55, 68-78. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68
Ryan, R., & Deci, E. L. (2007). Active Human Nature: Self-Determination Theory and the Promotion and Maintenance of Sport, Exercise, and Health. In M. Hagger, & N. Chatzisarantis (Eds.), Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Exercise and Sport (pp. 1-19). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Ryan, R., Frederick, C., Lepes, D., Rubio, N., & Sheldon, K. (1997). Intrinsic Motivation and Exercise Adherence. International Journal of Psychology, 28, 335-354.
Sebire, S. J., Standage, M., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2011). Predicting Objectively Assessed Physical Activity from the Content and Regulation of Exercise Goals: Evidence for a Mediational Model. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 33, 175-197. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.33.2.175
Sibley, B. A., & Bergman, S. M. (2016). Relationships among Goal Contents, Exercise Motivations, Physical Activity, and Aerobic Fitness in University Physical Education Courses. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 122, 678-700. https://doi.org/10.1177/0031512516639802
Sibley, B. A., & Bergman, S. M. (2017). What Keeps Athletes in the Gym? Goals, Psychological Needs, and Motivation of CrossFit™ Participants. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 16, 555-574.
Silva, M. N., Markland, D., Carraca, E. V., Vieira, P. N., Coutinho, S. R., Minderico, C. S. et al. (2011). Exercise Autonomous Motivation Predicts 3-yr Weight Loss in Women. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 43, 728-737. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181f3818f
Sperandei, S., Vieira, M. C., & Reis, A. C. (2016). Adherence to Physical Activity in an Unsupervised Setting: Explanatory Variables for High Attrition Rates among Fitness Center Members. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 19, 916-920. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2015.12.522
Teixeira, P. J., Carraca, E. V., Markland, D., Silva, M. N., & Ryan, R. M. (2012). Exercise, Physical Activity, and Self-Determination Theory: A Systematic Review. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 9, 78. https://doi.org/10.1186/1479-5868-9-78
Vlachopoulos, S. P., & Michailidou, S. (2009). Development and Initial Validation of a Measure of Autonomy, Competence and Relatedness in Exercise: The Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale. Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise Science, 10, 179-201. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327841mpee1003_4
Wallhead, T. L., Garn, A. C., & Vidoni, C. (2013). Sport Education and Social Goals in Physical Education: Relationships with Enjoyment, Relatedness, and Leisure-Time Physical Activity. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 18, 427-441. https://doi.org/10.1080/17408989.2012.690377
Weman-Josefsson, K., Lindwall, M., & Ivarsson, A. (2015). Need Satisfaction, Motivational Regulations and Exercise: Moderation and Mediation Effects. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 12, 67. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-015-0226-0
Westcott, W. L. (2012). Resistance Training Is Medicine: Effects of Strength Training on Health. Current Sports Medicine Reports, 11, 209-216. https://doi.org/10.1249/JSR.0b013e31825dabb8
Williams, G. C., Grow, V. M., Freedman, Z. R., Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (1996). Motivational Predictors of Weight Loss and Weight-Loss Maintenance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 115-126. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.70.1.115
Wilson, P. M., Rodgers, W. M., Loitz, C. C., & Scime, G. (2006). “It’s Who I Am … Really!” The Importance of Integrated Regulation in Exercise Contexts. Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research, 11, 79-104. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9861.2006.tb00021.x